CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's ice hockey opened the second half of its season in the win column, emerging victorious from a hard-fought battle with the Sacred Heart Pioneers. Sophomore forward, Gwyn Lapp, continued her hot streak by scoring both Crimson goals, lifting the group to a 2-1 victory.
 
The offense and defense were both firing on all cylinders, putting 35 shots on net, and allowing only 17 on its own goal, both a season high and a season low. The Crimson improve to 3-12-1 on the season with the win and pick up its second positive result in its past three contests.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Harvard and the New England Women's Hockey Allaince's (NEWHA) Sacred Heart Pioneers met tonight for the second time in series history. This was the first time the sides squared off at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
• The Crimson was out looking for revenge on a Pioneers squad that escaped with an overtime victory over Harvard a year ago.
• The Crimson opened the contest strong, dominating possession for the opening 10 minutes of play. The Crimson outshot the Pioneers 9-5 in that span, creating more than a few quality scoring chances, but were denied of the first goal.
• Sacred Heart put the first tally on the board, sneaking a shot past starting goaltender Alex Pellicci at 9:47 in the first frame.
• The lead would not hold for long, as Gwyn Lapp broke free after stealing the puck, creating a breakaway opportunity. Lapp beat the goalie to the top right corner, potting her fourth goal in five games to give the Crimson the lead.
• The sides went back-and-forth in the second period, trading long possessions for the first 13 mintues of play.
• Down a skater after taking a penalty late in the period, Gabi Davidson Adams nearly had the go-ahead goal after breaking free on the penalty kill. Shielding the puck on her forehand from a pursuing defender, Davidson Adams flipped to her backhand and put a shot on net that just found the right pad of the SHU goalkeeper, robbing GDA of the shorthanded goal.
• Harvard weathered a relentless SHU onslaught in the period, as the game would go into the second intermission tied at one.
• The Crimson came out firing in the final frame, putting the first six shots on net. The final shot resulted in the go-ahead goal scored by Lapp, her second of the contest. Lapp poked in the loose puck after a nifty steal and drive to the net by Sophie Ensley.
• Harvard held on to its 2-1 lead for the remaining 13 minutes of action, led by Pellicci who made five saves in the final frame to put the game away for her team. 

HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS

• Gwyn Lapp scored both Harvard goals, her sixth and seventh goals of the season.
• Lapp has now scored five goals in the last five games and leads the team in scoring.
• Sophie Ensley and Ellie Bayard each tallied assists in the contest.
• Harvard outshot Sacred Heart 35-17, putting the most shots on goal and allowing the fewest shots on goal in a game this season.
• Shannon Hollands led the way on the faceoff dot, winning 12 of 17 draws.
• Zoe Boosamra and Mia Biotti each recorded three blocked shots.
• Harvard killed all four of Sacred Heart's powerplays.
• Alex Pellicci made 16 saves to backstop the effort.

UP NEXT

Harvard will have the weekend off to rest and prepare for a return to ECAC play next weekend with a series against Quinnipiac and Princeton. The two conference games are slated for Friday, January 12 at 6:00 PM against the Bobcats and Saturday, January 13 against the Tigers. Both matches with take place at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center and will stream live on ESPN+.