CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - After a 1-1-1 record in three games last week, Harvard women's hockey will continue its ECAC schedule with two critical matchups against RPI and Union this weekend. Harvard currently owns slight advantages over each opponent in the rankings and looks to solidify its position as the team moves into the home stretch of the regular season.
Harvard tied its games against both opponents earlier this season. First the team netted a 2-2 result against Union before tying RPI 3-3 the following afternoon. Harvard has an eight point lead over Union and a 10-point lead over RPI in the standings, currently.
The contests will be No. 20 and No. 21 on the season for the Crimson, who hope to make some noise down the stretch and improve its positioning before the playoff push and the Beanpot tournament next month.
This weekend will also be Harvard women's hockey alumnae weekend and Title IX celebration. The Crimson is excited to welcome back former student-athletes to enjoy the games while also invtiing kids onto the ice after the game against Union for a post game clinic. Fans in attendance on Friday night are invited to wait on the concourse for players who will be doing an autograph session 15 minutes after the conclusion of the game.
Scouting The Competition
Both RPI and Union are currently below Harvard in the rankings after starting slow out of the gates in 2022-23. Both squads were able to steal a point and a half in the first meetings with the Crimson after the tying results.
RPI will be the first to square off against Harvard at Bright-Landry this Friday night, coming into the matchup with a 6-17-1 record and a 2-10-1 conference mark. RPI has been vulnerable on the defensive end, allowing a third-worst 2.62 goals per game in conference games. The same struggles come on the opposite end of the ice, where RPI has scored only 12 goals in 13 games against ECAC opponents.
Union comes into the contest on an active four-game losing skid where it has been outscored 27-2. The Dutchwomen are 3-9-1 in the ECAC, and need a win over the Crimson to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The most penalized team in the ECAC, Union has had problems staying out of the box, which has allowed opponents to rack up 18 powerplay goals in 2022-23.
Last Time Out
Harvard took down Dartmouth before falling to Sacred Heart in a nonconference tilt last weekend. First, Harvard picked up two key points in the ECAC standings with the OT win against Dartmouth, cementing its position at seventh place in the ECAC. The Crimson got goals from Anne Bloomer and Paige Lester before Della Rovere's game-winner.
The Crimson then dropped a close battle to Sacred Heart on Sunday in the teams' first ever matchup. Paige Lester had the lone Harvard goal in the loss.
Hollands Heating Up
Harvard Junior center, Shannon Hollands, has begun to find her groove offensively, notching points in three of four games since the break. First, Hollands kicked off the run with a goal on the Frozen Fenway ice against Quinnipiac (Jan. 6).
The Canadian has followed that effort up with assists in three straight contests. Hollands dished out the assist on the game-tying goals against St. Lawrence (Jan. 10) and Dartmouth (Jan. 13) last week.
Hitting Their Stride
A few Crimson skaters have begun to find their rhythm in the offensive end since the break including sophomores Mia Biotti and Paige Lester.
Biotti has registered points in four of her past six games, including a game-winning and game-tying goal in each matchup against St. Lawrence.
Lester is currently on a two-game goal streak and has tallied points in three of her last five outings.
Free Hockey!
The Crimson played into overtime in all three contests last week, which is tied for the longest OT streak in program history. The Crimson have played three consecutive OT games four times since 1978-79.
Della Rovere Leads the Nation
First-line center, Kristin Della Rovere, has been dominating in the faceoff circle so far this season, posting 339 wins on the dot, a total that is good for best in the nation. Her .617 winning percentage is good for No. 9 in the country amongst qualified centers (100 or more attempts).
Despite playing fewer games, Della Rovere ranks third in the nation with her faceoff wins total of 339. The senior captain has also won 10 or more draws in 18 consecutive games, the longest such streak of her career. As a team, Harvard ranks third in the ECAC with a .529 winning pct. on the dot.
Donut Factory
Three of Harvard four wins this season have come by way of the shutout, giving them the seventh-most in the conference.
In all four of Harvard's wins, the team is outscoring opponents, 8-1, killed off all six penalties and scored the first goal in three of those games. Kristin Della Rovere has a point in all four wins, additionally.
Alex Pellicci has dominated in the games Harvard has won, recording a .992 save percentage while allowing only one goal on 127 opponent shots.
Penalty Kill Prowess
Harvard has been solid on the penalty-kill in 2022, holding opponents to only eight goals on 54 powerplays. The mark is good for fifth-best in the conference and is No. 16 in the nation.
The Crimson have also made the most out of tough situations in 2022-23, netting three short-handed goals in the first half of the season.
Pellicci Commanding the Crease
Sophomore goaltender, Alex Pellicci, has started every game in net for the Crimson, giving her team excellent goaltending efforts so far in 2022-23.
Pellicci has saved 40-plus shots seven times this season - including a 44-save effort against St. Lawrence on Tuesday - and 50-plus shots in two contests. Her 54 and 51 save games make her just the second Crimson goaltender to record two 50-plus save games in the same season in program history. Her 54 saves against Yale were also third-most all-time for a Crimson goaltender.
Her 659 total saves are third-highest in the nation despite playing fewer games than her opponents and her save percentage of .923 is good for No. 20 in the country. Pellicci is on pace to make 1,050 saves in 2022, which would shatter the single season record of 927 set by Lindsay Reed in 2018-19.
Up Next
Harvard will hit the road next weekend for another ECAC series against a pair of ranked opponents in Central New York. First the Crimson will faceoff with the Colgate Raiders on Friday before taking on the Cornell Big Red on Saturday afternoon in what will prove to be another important series as the Crimson look to make its final push towards the playoffs.
