Pictured: The Harvard class of 2010 has helped Harvard reach the
NCAA tournament twice.
Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography
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Crimson
in the Olympics: Five Alumnae to Skate in
Vancouver
Ryabkina
Scores Four Goals in Beanpot Semifinal Win over Boston
College
The Particulars
The sixth-ranked Harvard women's hockey team will close out
the home portion of its ECAC Hockey regular-season schedule, as the
Crimson welcomes conference rivals Brown and Yale to Bright Hockey
Center. Harvard enters the weekend in third place in ECAC Hockey
with 20 points and a 9-5-2 record and in second in the Ivy League,
just two points behind Cornell.
Follow From Home
GoCrimson.com will provide live statistics
for this week's games, all home games and most road contests
this season. Live audio and
video is available for both games with a subscription on
GoCrimson.com. Glenn Conway and Matt Sawyer will provide the call
on GoCrimson.com
Series History
Harvard and Brown have met 70 times with the Crimson enjoying a
35-30-5 edge in the series. Harvard has won the last eight games
between the schools and is unbeaten in the last 18 contests between
the Ivy League rivals (16-0-2).
Harvard and Yale have played 68 times, with the Crimson holding a
sizable, 58-8-2, record in those contests. Harvard has claimed wins
in the last nine games against the Bulldogs, dating back to
2006.
Last Time Out
Liza Ryabkina netted four goals, while Laura Bellamy stopped all 15
shots she faced to earn the shutout in a 5-0 win over Boston
College. Kate Buesser, Kelsey Romatoski and Anna McDonald chipped
in with two assists apiece, while Josephine Pucci netted the other
Harvard goal. The Crimson will face Northeastern, who defeated
Boston University, 2-0, in a shootout, in the Beanpot
championship
Hall of Fame Inductee
Former Harvard standout Tammy Shewchuk '00-01 will be
inducted into the Women's Beanpot Hall of Fame during a
ceremony between the consolation and championship games at Bright
Hockey Center Feb. 9. Shewchuk is second all-time in Women's
Beanpot history with 25 points in eight games, having scored nine
goals and handed out 16 assists. She helped Harvard win three
Beanpots in 1999, 2001 and '01. Other Crimson Beanpot Hall of
Fame Inductees include Jennifer Botterill '02-03 (2008) and
Cheryl Tate '82 (2009).
Harvard Against The Ivy League
The Crimson owns a 4-2-2 against opponents from the Ancient Eight
this season. In its last six games against Ivy League teams,
Harvard is 4-0-2, most recently defeating Dartmouth, 4-1, in
Hanover, N.H. Jan. 29. The Crimson is two points behind Cornell
(5-0-2) and one point ahead of Princeton (4-2-1) in the race.
Where's Your Beanpot?
Following its 5-0 win over Boston College in the semifinal round of
the 32nd Annual Women's Beanpot, hosted by Harvard at Bright
Hockey Center, the Crimson will prepare to face Northeastern in the
championship game Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. The Huskies earned a
4-4 tie against Boston University, but advanced to the championship
with a 2-0 win in the shootout. Northeastern has won the most
Women's Beanpots (14), while Harvard has claimed 12, the
second most of any school.
Hot Hand
Liza Ryabkina established a new career high, scoring four goals,
including three in the third period alone, in Harvard's 5-0
win over Boston College in the semifinal round of the Beanpot
Tuesday evening. Ryabkina notched two power-play tallies and scored
two even strength goals. Her four goals mark the most for a Harvard
player since Sarah Vaillancourt '08-09 lit the lamp four
times in a 5-2 win at Cornell Feb. 13, 2009.
Senior Day
At the conclusion of Saturday's game against Yale, Harvard
will honor its five seniors: Cori Bassett, Kathryn Farni, Randi
Griffin, Christina Kessler and Anna McDonald.These players have
helped the Crimson win two ECAC Hockey regular-season titles, one
ECAC Hockey tournament, two Ivy League championships and one
Beanpot. In addition, Harvard has reached the NCAA tournament twice
during their careers and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four in
2008.
Down The Stretch
With six conference games remaining entering the weekend, Harvard
sits in a third-place tie in ECAC Hockey with a 9-5-2 record and 20
points. Princeton and Rensselaer also had earned 20 points and the
teams sat behind Clarkson (27 points) and Cornell (23 points) in
the standings.
Clean Sheets
With its 5-0 win over Boston College Feb. 2, Harvard now has
recorded six shutouts this season. Laura Bellamy has earned two
clean sheets, shutting down Union Jan. 22 and Boston College. Five
of the Crimson's six shutouts have come at Bright Hockey
Center. Senior Christina Kessler has recorded 25 shutouts during
her career at Harvard, a program record.
Harvard 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 332-141-26
(.691) record into Friday's game. Stone, who ranks second
all-time in Division I victories, has led Harvard to all seven of
its NCAA tournament appearances and has guided the Crimson to nine
Beanpot titles. Stone is also the active leader in victories among
Division I women's hockey coaches.
Stone is only five wins shy of tying the all-time Division I
record, held by Laura Halldorson (337 victories).
License to Kill
The Crimson boasts the nation's fifth-best penalty kill unit,
stopping 80 of 89 opponent power plays (.894). Harvard has killed
the last 13 power plays by opponents, dating back to Jan. 23. 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.
Crimson Leading The League
Kate Buesser has an ECAC Hockey-best 25 points in league games and
also stands first in assists with 16. Rookie Jillian Dempsey
(8-10-18) ranks fourth in conference points among all players and
first among freshmen in the league. Defender Leanna Coskren is
fifth with five power-play points in ECAC Hockey contests. Coskren
is also tied for first with three game-winning goals during
conference action. Cori Bassett, meanwhile, stands third in
defender scoring with 12 points on four goals and eight assists.
Coskren ranks fourth among defenders with 11 points (4-7-11).
The World's Best
A trio of former Harvard standout skaters have been named to the
2010 U.S. Women's National Team, which will compete at the
2010 Vancouver Olympics. Angela Ruggiero '02-04, the Patty
Kazmaier recipient in 2004, Julie Chu '06-07, the winner of
the Patty Kazmaier trophy in 2007, and former All-American Caitlin
Cahow '07-08 were named to the American team. On Team Canada,
Harvard will be represented by two-time Patty Kazmaier Award winner
Jennifer Botterill '02-03, and Sarah Vaillancourt
'08-09, who was named the top women's college hockey
player in 2008. Overall, Harvard has had nine current and former
women's hockey players represent their countries in the
Olympics since 1996.
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. Coskren leads the team and ECAC Hockey with
three game-winning tallies, while Ryabkina has notched two this
season.
Scoring In A Bunch
As a team, Harvard ranks second in ECAC Hockey with 3.25 goals per
game, having scored a league-best 52 tallies in 16 conference games
entering the week.
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 63 goals. Sixteen
players have at least one point to their credit and Harvard had 15
different players light the lamp last season as well, scoring a
total of 95 goals.
First Thing's First
The Crimson was 18-0-2 when scoring first and 1-10-1 when the
opponent lit the lamp first last season. So far in 2009-10, Harvard
is 11-1-2 when netting the game's first goal and 2-4-2 when
the opposition scores first.
It's All Over
Harvard is 105-1-5 (.968) since the start of the 2004-05 season
when leading after two periods. The Crimson is 11-0-1 (.958) in
this category this season.
Spreading The Puck Around
The Crimson has nine players who have reached double digits in
points: Kate Buesser (28), Jillian Dempsey (20), Liza Ryabkina
(15), Cori Bassett (13), Anna McDonald (12), Leanna Coskren (12),
Kathryn Farni (11), Katharine Chute (10) and Randi Griffin
(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).
Welcome To The Show
Harvard freshmen have had the scoring touch this season, led by
Jillian Dempsey who is tied for the team lead with eight goals and
is second with 12 assists and 20 points. Josephine Pucci (3-6-9)
and Kaitlin Spurling (5-3-8) have also been scoring threats.
Storied Program
With its 3-0 victory over St. Lawrence Nov. 7, Harvard earned the
500th victory in program history. The Crimson owns a 511-292-42
(.630)record over its storied 31-year history.
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.
To Be The Best ...
With its 2-1 win over No. 9 Providence Jan. 29, the Crimson stands
at 4-2-3 against ranked foes this year. Harvard was 2-6-1 against
top 10 opponents last season.
Bright Spot
The Crimson was 9-4-2 at Bright Hockey Center last season, while
posting a 9-5-1 mark on the road. In 15 games this season, Harvard
owns a 9-3-3 record on home ice, and is 4-2-1 in road contests.
Hot Streak
Entering Friday's game against Brown, Harvard has won three
straight games and is 3-1-1 in its last five games.
Red Lights
Harvard ranks second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing
only 1.41 goals per game. The Crimson also ranks fourth in scoring
margin (+1.45), fifth on the penalty kill (80 of 89, .899), 10th in
scoring offense, 20th on the power play (15 of 106, .142) and 23rd
in combined special teams (95 of 195, .487).
Rank And File
Harvard is ranked sixth in the latest USCHO.com national poll and
sixth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national poll.
Solid Start
In seven career starts, Laura Bellamy owns a 4-2-1 record with one
shutout. She has stopped 132 of 141 shots faced for a .936 save
percentage. She also sports an impressive 1.25 goals-against
average and has won her last three games in net, stopping a
career-high 37 shots in 4-1 win at Dartmouth Jan. 29.
Road Warriors
The Crimson has played six road games this season, going 3-2-1.
Harvard has four road games left in the regular season, beginning
with the contest at Rensselaer Feb. 12.
