No. 4 Women's Hockey Readies to Host No. 5 Cornell in NCAA Quarterfinals
Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot.
Live Statistics
Live Video (free stream)
Complete NCAA Bracket
Purchase Tickets
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
McDonald to Participate at 2010 NCAA Frozen Four
Skills Challenge
The Particulars
No. 4 Harvard, which boasts a 20-7-5 overall record, has qualified
for its eighth NCAA tournament in the 10-year history of the
event. The Crimson is 10-2-1 in its last 13 games entering
the NCAA postseason and is seeking the program’s sixth NCAA
Frozen Four berth.
Harvard will take on fifth-seeded Cornell, which captured the ECAC
Hockey tournament championship. The winner of the game
between Harvard and Cornell will face either top-seeded Mercyhurst
or No. 8 seed Boston University in a semifinal matchup at the NCAA
Frozen Four March 19.
Around The NCAA Tournament
The Harvard vs. Cornell game is the only contest scheduled for
Friday. The other three games, Mercyhurst vs. Boston
University, Minnesota vs. Clarkson and Minnesota Duluth vs. New
Hampshire, will take place Saturday afternoon.
The Crimson owns a 1-3-4 record against the teams competing in the
NCAA quarterfinals. Harvard’s lone victory came at home
against Minnesota Dec. 4.
Follow From Home
GoCrimson.com will provide live
statistics for this weekend’s game. A free live video stream will also be available at
GoCrimson.com. Glenn Conway and Matt Sawyer will have the
call.
Series History Against Cornell
Harvard and Cornell have played 71 times, with the Crimson
boasting a 50-18-3 advantage. Harvard stands at 0-1-1 against
the Big Red this year. Cornell defeated Harvard, 4-3, in
Ithaca, N.Y., Oct. 31, and tied the Crimson, 4-4, at Bright Hockey
Center Jan. 15.
Last Time Out
Harvard fell in the ECAC Hockey semifinals, losing at Clarkson by
a score of 3-2 March 5. Kate Buesser and Liza Ryabkina each
netted a goal for the Crimson, while Laura Bellamy recorded 19
saves in net.
Legendary: Head Coach Katey Stone
Katey Stone is in her 16th season as the Landry Family Head Coach
for Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey, and she brings a 339-143-27
(.693) record into Friday’s game. With Harvard’s 5-1
win over Princeton Feb. 26, Stone became the all-time Division I
record holder for victories, as she moved ahead of Laura Halldorson
(337 wins), who coached at Minnesota and Colby.
Stone has led Harvard to all eight of its NCAA tournament
appearances and has guided the Crimson to 10 Beanpot titles, as
well as six ECAC Hockey regular-season titles, five ECAC Hockey
tournament appearances and five Ivy League championships.
They’re Honored
Forward Kate Buesser was tabbed to the All-ECAC Hockey first team,
while defender Leanna Coskren was named to the All-ECAC Hockey
third team. Freshman Jillian Dempsey was selected to the
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie team. Additionally, Randi Griffin was
a finalist for ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year. Among
Ivy League award winners, Buesser earned first-team honors, while
Coskren and Dempsey were named to the second team and defender Cori
Bassett and goaltender Christina Kessler garnered All-Ivy League
honorable mention.
Bright Spot
In 20 home games this season, Harvard owns a 14-3-3 record on home
ice, and is 6-4-2 in road contests.
To Be The Best ...
With its 3-2 loss at No. 6 Clarkson March 5, the Crimson
stands at 5-3-4 against ranked foes this year.
Hot Streak
Harvard has won 10 of its last 13 games and is 10-2-1 in its last
12 contests.
Harvard In The NCAA Tournament
The Crimson has reached the NCAA postseason eight times, reaching
the Frozen Four on five occasions and the national final three
times. Harvard owns a 6-7 record in the NCAA tournament, with
its last victory coming in the quarterfinal round against Dartmouth
in 2008. The Crimson defeated the Big Green, 5-1, at Bright Hockey
Center on March 15, 2008.
The Crimson and Big Red have never met in the NCAA tournament, but
Harvard is 4-0 against Cornell in its last two postseasons.
The Crimson swept the Big Red in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals in
2008 and then again in 2009.
Harvard Against The Ivy League
The Crimson owns a 6-2-2 against opponents from the Ancient Eight
this season. In its last eight games against Ivy League teams,
Harvard is 6-0-2, most recently defeating Yale, 4-3, Feb. 6. The
Crimson finished the season second in the Ancient Eight to Cornell
after winning the conference crown in each of the last two seasons.
License to Kill
The Crimson boasts the nation’s sixth-best penalty kill
unit, stopping 116 of 129 opponent power plays (.899). The Crimson
also has a shorthanded goal to its credit this season, coming off
the stick of Jillian Dempsey in a 4-0 win over Union Jan. 22.
Clean Sheets
With its 1-0 win over Northeastern in the Beanpot final Feb. 9,
Harvard now has recorded seven shutouts this season. Laura Bellamy
has earned three clean sheets, as she also shut down Union Jan. 22
and Boston College Feb. 2. Six of the Crimson’s seven
shutouts have come at Bright Hockey Center. Senior Christina
Kessler has recorded 25 shutouts during her career at
Harvard, a program record.
First Thing’s First
Harvard is 17-2-2 when netting the game’s first goal and
3-5-3 when the opposition scores first.
Crimson Leading The League
Kate Buesser, who was twice named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week
this season,was second in ECAC Hockey with 32 points in conference
games and was second in assists with 20. Buesser was also
fifth with 12 goals in ECAC Hockey contests. Rookie Jillian
Dempsey (10-11-21) ranked tied for eighth in conference points
among all players and second among freshmen in the league.
Defender Leanna Coskren was tied for first with 11 power-play
points (4-7-11),was tied for seventh with four power-play goals and
stood tied for third with three game-winning tallies to her credit.
Coskren was fourth among defenders with 16 points (6-10-16). Cori
Bassett stood third in defender scoring with 17 points on four
goals and 13 assists. She was also tied for sixth among all
skaters with 13 assists.
Tip Of The Caps
Liza Ryabkina and Randi Griffin have each recorded a hat trick
this season, both counting as natural hat tricks. Ryabkina netted
four goals, including three in the third period, against Boston
College in the Beanpot semifinal Feb. 2. Griffin lit the lamp three
times in the second period at Clarkson Feb. 20.
When The Game Is On The Line
Nine different Harvard players have scored a game-winning goal
this season -- Kaitlin Spurling, Liza Ryabkina, Jillian Dempsey,
Leanna Coskren, Anna McDonald, Cori Bassett, Kathryn Farni, Kate
Buesser and Randi Griffin. Ryabkina, Spurling and Griffin
have a team-best four game winners to their credit, while Coskren
has notched three to lead Harvard blue liners.
Scoring In A Bunch
As a team, Harvard ranked second in ECAC Hockey with 3.14 goals
per game, having scored 69 tallies in 22 conference games. The
Crimson averaged 3.60 goals per contest in Ivy League games, good
for first in the Ancient Eight.
A Balanced Attack
The Crimson has had 14 different players score at least one goal
this year, as the team has netted a total of 92 goals.
Sixteen players have at least one point to their credit.
Storied Program
With its 3-0 victory over St. Lawrence Nov. 7, Harvard earned the
500th victory in program history. The Crimson owns a
518-294-43 (.631) record over its storied 31-year history.
Spreading The Puck Around
The Crimson has 11 players who have reached double digits in
points: Kate Buesser (39 points), Jillian Dempsey (27), Liza
Ryabkina (22), Randi Griffn (20), Leanna Coskren (18), Cori Bassett
(18), Anna McDonald (17), Kathryn Farni (15), Josephine Pucci
(13), Kaitlin Spurling (12), and Katharine Chute (10).
Just Win, Christina!
Senior goaltender Christina Kessler is 64-16-6 (.779) in her
career in net, placing her first on Harvard’s all-time goalie
wins, as she passed Ali Boe ’06 with a 5-1 victory against
Colgate Jan. 16. Kessler currently holds the NCAA career
record with a .9413 save percentage, as she has stopped 1,863 of
1,979 shots faced during her career. Jessie Vetter (Wisconsin
2006-09) owned a .941 save percentage to set the record (2,175 of
2,312, .9407).
Beanpot Returns To Cambridge
The Crimson scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over No. 9
Northeastern at Bright Hockey Center Feb. 9, as Harvard captured
its 13th Beanpot title. Liza Ryabkina netted the game-winner,
giving her five goals for the tournament and was named unanimously
as the Beanpot MVP. In net, Laura Bellamy recorded her second
straight tournament shutout, making 27 saves. For her effort,
Bellamy took home the Bertagna Award, given to the Beanpot’s
top goaltender.
It’s All Over
Harvard is 111-2-6 (.958) since the start of the 2004-05 season
when leading after two periods. The Crimson is 17-1-2 (.900) in
this category this season. Harvard’s lone loss came at
Rensselaer Feb. 12, as the Crimson fell, 3-2, in overtime after
holding a 2-0 lead in the third period. The Crimson led, 1-0,
through two periods of play.
Stopping The Puck
Since stepping into the starting role, goaltender Laura Bellamy
stands sixth in the country with a 1.42 goals-against average,
while boasting the nation’s eighth-best save percentage (320
of 343, .933). She owns a 10-4-2 record good for a winning
percentage of .688, tied for the seventh highest mark in the
country. Christina Kessler ranks fifth with a save percentage of
.944 (351 of 372) and stands seventh with a 1.39 goals-against
average.
Kylie Stephens earned her first start of the season Feb. 13,
picking up the victory in Harvard’s 2-1 win at Union.
Stephens made 13 saves and has a 2.65 goals-against average on the
season.
The World’s Best
Five former Harvard standouts competed for their countries at the
2010 Vancouver Olympics. Two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial
Award winner Jennifer Botterill ’02-03 and Sarah Vaillancourt
’08-09, who was the recipient of the trophy in 2008, captured
the gold medal with Team Canada. Angela Ruggiero
’02-04, who took home the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2004, Julie
Chu ’06-07, winner of the trophy in 2007, and Caitlin Cahow
’07-08 claimed the silver medal while skating for Team
USA.
Overall, Harvard has had nine current and former women’s
hockey players represent their countries in the Olympics since
1998.
Welcome To The Show
Harvard freshmen have had the scoring touch this season, led by
Jillian Dempsey who is second on the team with 11 goals, 16 assists
and 27 points. Josephine Pucci (4-9-13) and Kaitlin Spurling
(9-3-12) have also been scoring threats. Spurling is also
tied for first on the team with four game-winning goals.
What A Finish
In her final regular season game, Randi Griffin recorded the first
hat trick of her career, netting three straight goals within 10:07
of each other in the second period in the 3-3 tie at Clarkson Feb.
20. A day earlier, Griffin scored on a penalty shot at St.
Lawrence Feb. 19 and was honored as ECAC Hockey Player of the Week
for her effort.
A Stone Wall
The Crimson earned back-to-back shutouts against Minnesota Dec.
4-5, marking the first time that the Golden Gophers were held
scoreless since Feb. 2, 2007. The Crimson had not recorded
consecutive shutouts since holding Cornell without a goal during
the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals Feb. 27-28, 2009.
Red Lights
Harvard ranks third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing
only 1.50 goals per game. The Crimson also ranks fourth in
scoring margin (+1.38), sixth on the penalty kill (116 of 129,
.899), seventh in combined special teams (141 of 266, .530) and
10th in scoring offense (2.88 goals scored per game). Harvard
has also been successful on the power play, scoring 17.9 percent of
the time (25 of 137), good for the 11th-best mark in the
country.
Crimson Among The Nation’s Best
With 0.72 assists per game, Kate Buesser ranks 15th in the nation
in this category. Buesser also stands 20th with 1.22 points
per contest. Liza Ryabkina, Randi Griffin and Kaitlin Spurling all
have four game-winning goals, tying them for 16th, while at the
blue line, Cori Bassett and Coskren are averaging 0.56 points per
game, placing them tied for 18th. Among all rookies, Jillian
Dempsey stands 10th with 0.84 points per contest. Randi
Griffin is tied for 17th with six power-play goals to her
credit.
Solid Start
In 16 career starts, Laura Bellamy owns an 10-4-2 record with
three shutouts. She has won 10 of her last 11 games in net,
including the Beanpot championship Feb. 9, and stopped a
career-high 37 shots in 4-1 win at Dartmouth Jan. 29.
Shining All-Stars
Seniors Cori Bassett and Anna McDonald and junior Kate Buesser
each earned a spot on the ECAC Hockey All-Star Team, which faced
the U.S. Women’s Hockey National Team in an exhibition game
Jan. 3. McDonald scored a goal, while Bassett and Buesser
each had an assist.
Hall Of Fame Worthy
The 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team, which included
three former Crimson players, and was led by head coach Ben Smith
’68, was recently enshrined into the United States Hockey
Hall of Fame Dec. 1. The 1998 U.S. women’s roster included
former Harvard skaters Sandra Whyte ’92, A.J. Mleczko
’97-99 and Angela Ruggiero ’02-04. The team was
inducted at The Westin Boston Waterfront hotel in Boston.
Trophy Case
Christina Kessler made 15 saves for the shutout in Canada’s
National Women’s Under-22 Team’s 9-0 victory over
Switzerland in the gold-medal game of the 2010 MLP Cup, held in
Ravensburg, Germany Jan. 4-9.
