CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard women's hockey heads into its final ECAC series of the regular season when it travels to Brown and Yale for a pair of Ivy League matchups. The Crimson will look to get back in the win column and gather momentum before it heads into the ECAC playoffs next weekend (Feb. 24-26).
Harvard is also looking to snap its longest losing skid of the season when it steps on the ice on Friday against Brown. The Crimson have dropped its past five contests despite turning in solid efforts. Most recently, the Crimson put up four goals - its second-highest total this season - in the consolation matchup of the 2023 Beanpot Tournament. The game before, Harvard nearly completed a comeback against Clarkson - then ranked the No. 9 team in the country - before falling in a 4-2 final.
The Crimson have already clinched a spot in the ECAC playoffs and will be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the tournament. Harvard's first round opponent will be decided this weekend after the regular season concludes.
Scouting The Competition
The Brown Bears have been on a roller coaster ride in their 2022-23 campaign. The Ivy League foe is coming off a pair of losses against Cornell and Colgate last weekend. The weekend prior, the team swept a series against Union and RPI. This trend has been the story of the season for Brown, who started off 3-1-1 before a seven-game midseason losing streak pushed them to the bottom of the ECAC leaderbaord.
The Bears are led by Jade Iginla, who has scored a team-leading 15 goals this season, 10 more than anyone else on the roster.
On Saturday, Harvard will faceoff against the No. 2 team in the nation, the Yale Bulldogs. Yale is coming off a weekend in which it lost just its second game of the season. Before that, the Bulldogs rattled off 15 striaght victories and even took over the title of the No. 1 team in the nation before its loss to Colgate a week ago.
Elle Hartje is the team's leading scorer (37p, 9g, 28a) and is backed up by one of the nation's best goaltenders, Pia Dukaric, who owns a 1.32 GAA and a .940 save pct.
HOLLANDS HEATIN' UP
Harvard Junior center, Shannon Hollands, has begun to find her groove offensively, notching nine points in 13 games since the break. Hollands kicked off the run with a goal on the Frozen Fenway ice against Quinnipiac (Jan. 6).
The Canadian 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) before scoring a goals against RPI (Jan. 20) and the game-winner against Cornell (Jan. 27).
Hollands in currently on a two-game point streak after an assist against Clarkson (Feb. 10) and her first career multi-goal game against Boston University (Feb. 14).
DELLA ROVERE LEADS THE NATION
First-line center, Kristin Della Rovere, has been dominating in the faceoff circle so far this season, posting 470wins on the dot, a total that is good for best in the nation.
Her .601 winning percentage is good for No. 13 in the country among qualified centers (100 or more attempts).
Despite playing fewer games, Della Rovere ranks first in the country with her faceoff wins total of 470. The senior captain has won 10 or more draws in all but one game this season.
WINNING TIME
In games that Harvard has won this season, the Crimson is outscoring its opponents 21-10, holding opponents to a 1.43 goals per game clip. Scoring first has been crucial to the Crimson's success, as the team holds a 4-2-2 record when lighting the lamp before opponents.
Three of Harvard seven wins this season have come by way of the shutout, giving them the seventh-most in the conference.
Alex Pellicci has dominated in the games Harvard has won, recording a .956 save percentage while allowing only ten goals on 225 opponent shots. Her three shutouts also give Harvard the seventh most in the ECAC.
Captains Kristin Della Rovere and Anne Bloomer have also played a huge role in the team's victories, as the duo has posted 11 points each in the team's wins this year.
THE MAGNIFICIENT ALEX PELLICCI
Sophomore goaltender, Alex Pellicci, has started all but one game in net for the Crimson, giving her team excellent goaltending efforts so far in 2022-23.
Pellicci has saved 40-plus shots eight times this season 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 896 total saves are fourth-highest in the nation despite playing fewer games than her opponents and her save percentage of .922 is good for No. 20 in the country.
Pellicci is on pace to break the single season saves record of 927 set by Lindsay Reed in 2018-19. Currently, Pellicci has the 2nd-most season saves in program history.
DAVIDSON ADAMS IS DANGEROUS
Sophomore forward, Gabi Davidson Adams, has started to find her rhythm as she gets more playing time in 2022-23. The winger scored the game-winning goal against the RPI Engineers (Jan. 20) on a great individual effort. GDA also bent the twine against Cornell (Jan. 27) and has now recorded seven points in her past eight games. GDA's 10 points are tied for the third highest total on the team.
Davidson Adams has also turned in three multi-point efforts since Jan. 20, a total which is also good for third-most on the team.
CAREER NIGHT FOR KDR
Senior captain, Kristin Della Rovere had a productive weekend for the Crimson against Cornell and Colgate (Jan. 27-28), finishing with five points on a goal and four assists. The four helpers all came in the win over Cornell, which was good for a career-high.
It was the first time a Crimson skater had reached the four assist mark since 2019-20 when Becca Gilmore tallied four against Princeton.
BLOCK PARTY
The Crimson defense has continued to put its bodies on the line for its goaltender, as three players now rank in the top 50 nationally in blocked shots.
Sophomore defender, Mia Biotti currently ranks T-13 in the nation with 55 blocked shots this season. That total is also the third-highest in the ECAC and already is the most since Kaitlin Tse in 2018-19.
Fellow sophomore, Jenna MacDonald and her 43 blocked shots rank T-54 in the country while Kyra Willoughby has blocked 43 shots, a total good for 47th in the NCAA.
