CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For just the second time this season, No. 10/10 Harvard women's hockey (9-4-0, 6-3-0 ECAC Hockey) dropped a contest in regulation, falling to No. 8/7 Minnesota Duluth (10-7-0, 8-6-0 WCHA), by a score of 5-2 in a nationally ranked showdown on Friday afternoon at Bright-Landry Hockey Center. 
 
The game was the first of a back-to-back between the Crimson and the Bulldogs, with the two teams slotted to play again tomorrow.
 
Just 4:35 into the contest, UMD's Anna Klein, the leading goal scorer for the Bulldogs entering the day, got things going by capitalizing on an excellent centering pass from linemate Èlizabeth Giguère to make it 1-0 to the visitors. Harvard responded on the power-play as Anne Bloomer redirected a pass from Becca Gilmore into the back of the net, evening the score at 12:52 in the first period. The Bulldogs, however, would take the lead to the locker room after a power-play goal of their own by McKenzie Hewett with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame. 
 
The second period nearly came and went without any changes to the score line before Minnesota Duluth's offensive engine, Gabby Hughes stole the puck in the Crimson zone and buried an unassisted goal with only 25 seconds left in the period, making it 3-1. 
 
Things tightened in period number three as Harvard was able to score its second power-play goal of the day off a textbook passing sequence. With the Crimson snapping the puck around in the offensive zone, defender Emma Buckles found Kristin Della Rovere down low, who, in turn, centered to Gilmore for the finish, bringing Harvard to within one with 9:38 left in the game. 
 
The Bulldogs responded just 30 seconds later, however, as Naomi Rogge picked up her eighth of the year, firing a wrist shot past Harvard goalie Lindsay Reed as she fell to the ice. 
 
Hughes would put the game out of reach with less than four minutes to play, extending the Duluth lead to three goals with her second of the contest. The senior center, who began the day tops in NCAA Division I with 1.81 points per game, tallied three points in all. 
 
Harvard Highlights 

• Kristin Della Rovere assisted on Harvard's second goal, extending her point-streak to 10 games. Della Rovere is the first Crimson skater to record a point in 10 straight since Miye D'Oench in 2014. 
• Becca Gilmore and Anne Bloomer each scored once on the day, continuing to pace the Crimson offense. Gilmore leads the team with nine goals on the year while Bloomer is second with eight.  
• Dominique Petrie led Harvard with six shots on target in the game.  
• Chloe Ashton and Lunasa Sano each made their season debuts. 

Game Notes 

• The loss marks just the second in regulation for Harvard this season (at Yale). 
• The result ends a season-high, four-game winning streak for the Crimson. 
• Harvard scored multiple power-play goals for the third time this season ( at Dartmouth, Boston College), going 2-6 with the extra skater.  
• Harvard continued its excellent performance in the face-off circle, outdueling the Bulldogs, 30-22, for the day. The Crimson has gained an advantage in draws in 12 of its 13 games. 
• The Crimson was outshot by Minnesota Duluth, 29-25, in the contest. 
• Harvard now trails the all-time series vs. Minnesota Duluth, 5-13-1, with the Bulldogs having won four straight.

Up Next 
Harvard faces Minnesota Duluth for the second half of the back-to-back tomorrow (Jan. 1).  Face-off will be at 2 p.m. from Bright-Landry Hockey Center.