Harvard Women’s Hockey Shuts Out No. 8 UConn in Season Opener

Harvard women’s ice hockey (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) shutout the No. 8-ranked University of Connecticut Huskies (0-1-0) in a 1-0 upset victory to open its season Saturday night at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.

The victory was a strong defensive showing from a team that won just five games last year in Head Coach Laura Bellamy’s ’13 first season.

With the help of a dominant 34-save performance from junior goalie Emily L. Davidson, the Crimson fended off a number of first-period Husky shot attempts and countered several UConn scoring opportunities off slow line switches.

An uneven shot tally in UConn’s favor was compensated for by strong play from a pair of freshmen in center Antonina G. Dinges and right defender Keira H. Ley on a penalty kill midway through the first.

The second period opened with much stronger UConn setups in the offensive zone that kept the Crimson on its back heels. Desperate to stave off the attack, Harvard conceded a pair of penalties for tripping and kneeing that led to a brief 5-on-3 opportunity for the Huskies.

A heroic effort from Davidson stymied the Huskies shot surge preserving the shutout as the match approached the halfway mark.

Harvard’s defense would catch a much-needed break when it earned its first power play following a hooking penalty against senior Husky left wing Riley Grimley.

The power play was unsuccessful but allowed the Crimson to build offensive zone time that eventually led to a scoring breakthrough that would put Harvard in the lead. Senior left defender Jenna G. MacDonald’s goal in the first minute of the third period would wind up being the only score of the match.

Stubborn defense from left defender Mia I. Biotti ’25 and MacDonald prevented a score during an empty net opportunity, closing the door on a late UConn comeback attempt with two minutes to play.

The Crimson look to build on their opening night victory when they take on the Union Raiders to open ECAC play next Friday on the road. Coverage of the game will begin at 3 p.m. from Schenectady, N.Y. on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com.