Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot
The Harvard women's hockey team earned the program's
ninth 20-win season, as the Crimson returned to the NCAA postseason
for the eighth time and claimed its 13th Beanpot title.
Harvard finished the season 20-8-5 overall, going 13-6-3 in ECAC
Hockey and 6-2-2 in the Ivy League.
In addition, Katey Stone, the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard
Women's Hockey, added another accolade to her career, as she
became the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history.
Through her 16 seasons with the Crimson program, Stone has compiled
an impressive 339-144-27 (.691) overall mark.
After opening with a 2-3 record in its first five games, the
Crimson began an eight-game unbeaten streak by topping Quinnipiac,
7-2, in a home contest Nov. 15. Harvard then earned a 1-1 tie
against No. 4 New Hampshire Nov. 18, before picking up three
straight wins against Ivy League and ECAC Hockey rivals Yale, Brown
and Dartmouth Nov. 20-25. In a key two-game home series
against No. 2 Minnesota, Harvard, ranked ninth at the time, earned
a 1-0 win against the Golden Gophers Dec. 4, as Liza Ryabkina
netted the game's only goal. Christina Kessler recorded
24 saves to earn the shutout. On the following evening,
Kessler stopped all 29 shots she faced, as the Crimson and Golden
Gophers skated to a 0-0 tie.
On Dec. 8, Kessler tied Ali Boe '06 for the most career
victories for a Harvard goaltender with 63, as she helped the
sixth-ranked Crimson knock off Connecticut, 2-1. After the
holiday break and a trip to the MLP Cup in January, in which she
helped Canada win the gold medal, Kessler became Harvard's
all-time wins leader, as she made 21 stops in a 5-1 victory over
Colgate at Bright Hockey Center Jan. 16. Kessler, whose
season was cut short by an injury later in January, added to her
list of accomplishments, as she finished her career as the NCAA
all-time leader in save percentage (.9414).
Harvard entered the 32nd Annual Women's Beanpot riding a
two-game win streak, and the Crimson was eager to continue to play
well, as the team hosted the tournament at Bright Hockey
Center. In the opening round, Ryabkina had a career day, as
she netted four goals, including two on the power play and three in
the third period alone, as Harvard cruised to a 5-0 win.
Following wins against Brown and Yale Feb. 5-6, No. 5 Harvard faced
No. 9 Northeastern in the Beanpot final. Ryabkina, who took
home Beanpot MVP honors, notched a goal early in the second period,
and it held up as the game-winning tally, as Harvard held on for a
1-0 win. Laura Bellamy, who took over as the starting
goaltender in late January, was honored with the Bertagna Award,
presented to the Beanpot's top goaltender, after recording a
pair of shutouts in the tournament. Bellamy enjoyed a strong
rookie season, as she posted a 10-5-2 overall record with three
shutouts and a 1.68 goals-against average.
The Crimson completed the regular season with a 2-1 win at St.
Lawrence Feb. 19 and a 3-3 tie at Clarkson Feb. 20, enabling
Harvard to earn the third seed and home ice in the first round of
the ECAC Hockey tournament. Randi Griffin, a finalist for the
ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year Award, scored on a penalty
shot in the victory against the Saints and had the first hat trick
of her career in the contest against the Golden Knights.
Harvard hosted Princeton in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals Feb.
26-27, and the Crimson was looking to improve on a 0-1-1 record
against the Tigers during the regular season. Harvard jumped
out to a 4-0 lead in the first period in Game 1, as the Crimson
outshot the Tigers 18-6 in the opening frame and 38-17 overall in a
5-1 victory. After the win, Stone was honored by her players
and fans as the NCAA career leader in victories, as she surpassed
former Minnesota and Colby head coach Laura Halldorson.
In Game 2, Kate Buesser, Kaitlin Spurling and Ryabkina each found
the back of the net, enabling the Crimson to take a 3-0 lead after
two period. Jillian Dempsey added another goal in the third
period, as Harvard clinched a two-game sweep with a 4-1 win.
In the ECAC Hockey semifinals, the fourth-ranked Crimson traveled
to Potsdam, N.Y., to face No. 6 Clarkson March 5. After falling
behind, 1-0, in the first period, Buesser and Ryabkina notched
goals in the second to give Harvard a 2-1 lead. The
Crimson's advantage was short-lived as Clarkson knotted the
game with a score with 2:24 remaining in the second. Clarkson
scored again late in the third to hold off Harvard, 3-2.
Harvard, which boasted a 5-0-2 non-conference record during the
regular season, earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, as
the Crimson reached the national postseason for the eighth time in
the 10-year history of the event. Harvard hosted Cornell, the
ECAC Hockey tournament champion, in the NCAA quarterfinals March
12. Griffin and Leanna Coskren found the back of the net for
the Crimson, but the Big Red advanced to the Frozen Four with a 6-2
win.
Buesser was honored on the All-ECAC Hockey and All-Ivy League
first team after pacing the Crimson with career-highs in points
(40), goals (16) and assists (24). She was also named to the
ECAC Hockey All-Star Team and ranked second in the conference with
32 points (12-20-32) in ECAC Hockey action.
Coskren joined Buesser on the All-ECAC Hockey team, as she
garnered a spot on the third team as a defender. Coskren
amassed a career-best 19 points, scoring eight goals and handing
out 11 assists. An All-Ivy League second team selection,
Coskren helped the Crimson rank fifth in the nation in scoring
defense.
Dempsey was tabbed to the All-ECAC Hockey Rookie team, as she
stood second on the Crimson with 11 goals and 16 assists for 27
points. She was 10th in the nation among freshmen with 0.82
points per game and was honored on the All-Ivy League second
team.
Cori Bassett earned All-Ivy League honorable mention after
accumulating 19 points from the blue line. Bassett handed out
15 assists and scored four goals, while helping Harvard stand fifth
in scoring defense.
Kessler rounded out Harvard's all-league selections, as she
also grabbed a spot on the All-Ivy League honorable mention
team. Despite playing only 15 games, Kessler posted a 9-3-3
record with a 1.39 goals-against average and a .944 save
percentage, as she ranked fifth in the country in both categories.
