CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Harvard women's ice hockey will make its first road trip of the new semester - and first since Thanksgiving - this weekend when it travels to Troy, N.Y. to take on the RPI Engineers. The Crimson and the Engineers will meet for the second time this season on Friday night at Houston Fieldhouse. The Crimson will attempt to grab a critical three points in the matchup as it looks to climb up the ECAC standings to secure a home playoff game.
Harvard came out on the wrong side of a 4-5 OT thriller in the last matchup against RPI. Harvard scored a season-best four goals in the last outing against RPI, and will now look to top that total when its takes on the Engineers on its home ice. Harvard is unbeaten in its past five games at Houston Fieldhouse.
Scouting the Competition
RPI comes into the contest ranked last in the ECAC standings with just four points on the year. The only two wins for the Engineers came in its first ECAC weekend of the season after a pair of 5-4 OT wins against Dartmouth and Harvard. The Engineers dropped a pair of ECAC matchups last weekend at Clarkson and St. Lawrence to fall to 2-12-1 in the conference. Ellie Kaiser and Marah Wagner lead the team with 16 points each. Nyah Philip and Kaiser share the team lead in goals with seven each in 2023-24. Amanda Rampado leads the goaltending effort with a .915 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA.
- What You Missed: Harvard started the second half of the season strong, picking up a 2-1 victory over the NEWHA's Sacred Heart University at the Bright. The Crimson allowed a season low 17 shots on goal while putting up a season high 35 shots on net. Gwyn Lapp continued her hot streak, scoring both Crimson goals in the victory. Junior goaltender, Alex Pellicci, allowed just one goal for the second time in three games, making 16 saves and picking up her third win of the season. The team dropped two ECAC contests in the following weekend against a pair of ranked opponents in the No. 6 Quinnipiac Bobcats and the No. 11 Princeton Tigers. The first round of the 2024 Beanpot Tournament also ended in a defeat after a narrow 1-0 loss to Northeastern
- Led By Lapp: Gwyn Lapp has emerged as the team's primary scoring threat in her breakout sophomore season. The Massachusetts native has now scored six goals in her past eight games and leads the team with eight goals and 11 points on the season. Lapp was especially terrific in the win over Sacred Heart, notching her first career multi-goal game against the Pioneers. The Phillips Academy Andover product has cemented her spot in the top-six for the Crimson and leads the powerplay charge with three goals this season. Lapp has now scored six of the past eight Crimson goals to take a hold on the team lead.
- Pellicci Puts Herself in the Record Book: Junior goaltender, Alex Pellicci, made her way into the record books with her 52-save shutout against St. Lawrence (Dec. 1). Pellicci logged the most saves for a Harvard goalie in a shutout effort in program history and the fourth-most saves in a game all-time. Pellicci now has seven of the 18 highest-save total games in HH history. Her career high save total of 54 against Yale (Oct. 28, 2022) stands third all-time in the record book. Pellicci was lights out in the last outing against the Huskies, allowing just one goal (a redirect in front) on 40 Northeastern shots.
- Getting in the Way: Mia Biotti and Maria Pape have been fearless in their defensive zone this season, blocking a team high 44 and 40 shots each this season.The totals are the best in the ECAC and tied for the 22nd most in the nation.
- Get to the Garden: For the first time in history the women's Beanpot will be held at the TD Garden. The championship and consolation games are slated for Jan. 23 on the Bruins ice. Harvard takes on Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot on Jan. 16, fighting for a chance to raise the first Women's Beanpot Championship banner in the rafters at the Garden. The Crimson will battle Boston College this Tuesday in the consolation round of the Beanpot. It will be the first colelgiate women's hockey game ever played at the TD Garden.
- Welcome Back: Junior forward Paige Lester returned to the Harvard lineup against Sacred Heart, playing in her first game of the 2023-24 season. Lester was slotted on the second line -alongside Shannon Hollands and Gabi Davidson Adams - that had a solid outing in the win over SHU.
- Up Next: The Crimson will take on the Boston College Eagles in the Conoslation Round of the Beanpot this Tuesday (Jan. 23). The Crimson and the Eagles will square off in the first collegiate women's hockey game ever held at the TD Garden.
