TROY, N.Y. – Harvard women's ice hockey came away with a victory in its first road trip since November, defeating the RPI Engineers, 2-1 on Friday night at Houston Field House. The Crimson (4-14-1, 2-11-1 ECACH) picked up three points in the conference standings after
Paige Lester lifted the team to the result with a highlight-reel goal late in the third period.
Emily Davidson shined in her career debut, making 25 saves and allowing just one goal in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Harvard women's ice hockey made the trip to Troy, N.Y. and Houston Field House on Friday night to play in its first road contest since November.
- Harvard came out fast in the first five minutes, putting six shots on net to start the game.
- After Harvard was stumped on its first powerplay chance of the night, the team's would play almost nine consecutive minutes without a whistle. The Harvard penalty kill unit was called upon late in the period and rose to the occasion to keep the game scoreless.
- Emily Davidson cleaned up all six shots she faced in the first period – including one on the penalty kill – to send Harvard into the first intermission locked in a scoreless tie.
- RPI countered with a series of shots out of the intermission, putting four shots on Davidson but could not find the twine. The Harvard defense blocked seven shots in front of Davidson in the opening six minutes of the second period.
- Harvard finally broke the scoreless tie 11 minutes into the second frame on the powerplay. After RPI sent a skater to the box for five minutes after a boarding call, Shannon Hollands won the ensuing faceoff to Gabi Davidson Adams. GDA drifted to the slot unmarked and made the Engineers pay, ripping a shot to the top right corner and putting Harvard up 1-0.
- The Crimson continued to move the puck deep into the Engineer zone but could not get any of its next five shots to go. The Engineers were able to sneak one past Davidson late in the second period to tie the score at 1-1 going into the second intermission.
- Neither team was able to create a solid scoring chance for the majority of the third period due to solid defensive stands on both ends of the ice. Harvard's PK unit once again held off RPI in a critical moment midway through the period, keeping the game tied at one.
- Harvard had two good chances on its powerplay late in the third period, but could not get a tally on the board.
- Late in the third period Mia Biotti took possession of the puck in the neutral zone and found a streaking Paige Lester right outside the blue line. Lester made her way into the zone with a series of dazzling moves around three Engineer defenders. Lester was tripped up as she made a move in the right circle, but the junior was still able to get a diving shot off that snuck underneath the left pad of the RPI goalie, giving the Crimson a 2-1 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the contest.
- The Harvard penalty kill was called on once more late in the game after a two-minute tripping minor was called on the Crimson. After RPI pulled its goalie to get an extra skater, the Engineers would have two minutes of 6-on-4 hockey. Emily Davison and the Harvard PK unit performed excellently in the stretch, keeping RPI at arms length to secure the 2-1 victory.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS
- Emily Davidson shined in her career debut, earning her first win while making 25 saves and allowing only one goal.
- Paige Lester scored her first goal of the season and added an assist to come away with two points.
- Lester's highlight reel goal came with under four minutes remaining and would go down as the game-winner.
- Gabi Davidson Adams scored her fourth goal of the season.
- Shannon Hollands collected two assists and now leads the team with six on the season.
- Harvard blocked 26 shots on the night.
- Jenna MacDonald blocked a season single-game high eight shots in the contest.
UP NEXT
The Crimson will look to carry the momentum from tonight's effort into its Beanpot matchup against Boston College next Tuesday at the T.D. Garden. The Crimson and the Eagles will face off in the consolation round of the tournament in what will be the first collegiate women's hockey game ever played at the historic Garden.
