Pictured: Margaret Chute tallied the first goal of her career in the third period.
Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Christina Kessler stopped 21 shots to earn the 23rd shutout of her career, helping the Harvard women's hockey team defeat archrival Yale, 5-0, Friday evening at Ingalls Rink. The Crimson scored three times in the first five minutes of the game, two of which were netted by Jillian Dempsey, who also handed out an assist during the game. Kate Buesser scored once and handed out two assists for a three-point effort, while Ashley Wheeler and Margaret Chute also contributed to the win with a goal apiece.

Harvard (4-3-1, 4-3 ECAC Hockey, 1-2 Ivy League) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Dempsey, the reigning ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week, netted an goal only 25 seconds into the first period, sneaking a shot past Jackee Snikeris. Buesser and Alisa Baumgartner combined for the assists on the tally. Two minutes later at 2:43, Wheeler extended Harvard's lead to 2-0 after receiving a pass from Buesser, who was honored as the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week Monday, and Kathryn Farni. The Crimson offense continued to surge, netting its third goal of the frame off the stick of Dempsey for an unassisted score at 4:48.

After the Crimson's third goal, Yale (1-6-1, 1-6, 0-2) replaced Snikeris with Genny Ladiges between the pipes. In the first period, Harvard outshot its archrival, 14-4, and held the Bulldogs scoreless on two power plays.

After a scoreless second period in which Yale had the edge in shots, 11-5, Buesser made it a 4-0 contest when she found the back of the net on a shot at the 3:20 mark of the third. Buesser's goal, which was assisted by Josephine Pucci and Dempsey, gives her four tallies on the season to lead the Crimson. With 1:53 to play in the game, Chute put the game out of reach with her first goal of the season, as Anna McDonald and Katharine Chute earned assists on the Crimson's fifth goal.

The Crimson successfully killed all five Yale chances with an extra attacker, while being held scoreless on its own four power plays. Harvard held the final count in shots, 25-21.

Harvard, which has now won its last nine games against Yale, remains on the road to play at Brown Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.