No. 8 Harvard Suffers First Loss of Season, Falls at Cornell, 4-3

Pictured: Junior forward Katharine Chute scored a goal and handed out two assists Saturday afternoon.
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography

ITHACA, N.Y. – Katharine Chute scored a goal and assisted on two other tallies, while Kathryn Farni dished out two assists and Anna McDonald added a goal and an assist, but the No. 8 Harvard women’s hockey team dropped its first game of the season, falling at Cornell Saturday afternoon by the score of 4-3. Christina Kessler stopped 22 shots in goal for Harvard, and the Crimson won 39 of 66 face-offs on the day.

After falling behind, 1-0, on an even-strength goal by Cornell’s Catherine White at 7:33 of the first period, McDonald found the back of the net for the second straight game with a score at 12:16 of the second period. Chute and Farni earned assists on the play, as Harvard (1-1, 1-1 ECAC Hockey, 0-1 Ivy League) knotted the game, 1-1. Six minutes later, Harvard gained a 2-1 lead as Jillian Dempsey scored on the power play, as Farni and Chute handed out their second assists of the day. With time winding down in the second period, Cornell made it a 2-2 contest on a shot by Melanie Jue at 19:08.

Early in the third, Cornell (2-2, 2-0 ECAC Hockey, 2-0 Ivy League) earned a power play after Harvard was whistled for a tripping penalty, and the Big Red capitalized, scoring on a shot off the stick of Chelsea Karpenko at 2:55. The Crimson tied the game once again with an even-strength goal by Katharine Chute at 11:20, as McDonald and Kaitlin Spurling earned assists on the play. With 3:03 remaining in regulation, the Big Red broke a 3-3 tie with Jue’s second goal of the afternoon, coming off a pass from Kelly McGinty. The Crimson earned a power-play chance with 58 seconds left, but a shot by Josephine Pucci sailed wide and another by Cori Bassett was blocked before time expired.

Harvard finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while holding Cornell 1-for-3 on the Big Red’s chances with an extra skater. The Crimson will host No. 3 Clarkson and No. 6 St. Lawrence at Bright Hockey Center Nov. 6-7.