CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – With the regular season in its rear-view mirror, Harvard women's ice hockey now turns to prepare for the opening round of the ECAC Championships, where it will meet the No. 9 Quinnipiac Bobcats at M&T Bank Arena in Hamden on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson (5-22-2, 3-18-1 ECACH) will take on Quinnipiac in the opening round where the winner will advance to the quarterfinal round to play a best-of-three series with the Colgate Raiders.
 

WHAT TO KNOW

THE MATCHUP

The Crimson and the Bobcats have played twice this season, with both meetings going to Quinnipiac. The ECAC foes have only met once in the conference tournament, a 2-1 win for the Crimson in the 2015 ECAC Championship semifinals. In that same season, Harvard also defeated the Bobcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 5-0.
 
The Crimson will look to snap a five-game losing skid to the Bobcats when the sides meet on the ice this Saturday.
 

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION

The ninth-ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats head into the postseason after a sweep of RPI and Union in its final ECAC series of the season. The Bobcats bounced back after a tough six-loss-in-seven-game stretch dating from Jan.16-Feb.10. With its 13-9 conference record, Quinnipiac earned the league's fifth seed and will host the Crimson in the opening round.
 
The Bobcats displayed a balanced scoring attack in the 2023-24 season as nine different skaters posted more than 20 points in the campaign. Led by Sadie Peart and Nina Steigauf (15 goals each), the Bobcats outscored its opponents 123-66 on their way to a 24-9-1 record.
 
Fifth-year Logan Angers has had another standout season in net, posting a 1.85 GAA and a save percentage of .936 in 2023-24.
 

ACTIVE PLAYERS vs. QUINNIPIAC

 
M. Biotti – 0G, 3A, 3P
S. Ensley – 0G, 1A, 1P
G. Lapp – 1G, 0A, 1P
P. Lester – 0G, 1A, 1P
S. Hollands – 2G, 1A, 3P
E. Winges – 0G, 2A, 2P
 

LED BY LAPP

Gwyn Lapp has had a breakout season in her second year wearing the Crimson and White, scoring 11 goals and collecting 15 points to lead the team in both categories. Lapp has risen to the top of the Harvard line chart, cementing herself in the lineup with her strong play in the middle and her knack for finding the back of the net.
 
Her five powerplay goals this season rank her in the top 10 in ECAC Hockey and top-15 in the nation.
 

ECAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Harvard has competed in the ECAC Hockey Championships in every season except for four since it began in the 1997-98 season. The Crimson has posted a 47-24 overall record in ECAC Tournament games and has compiled a 16-11 record in single-elimination contests.
 
Harvard has not won the ECAC Hockey Tournament since the 2014-15 season, when the current Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's Ice Hockey Laura Bellamy was an assistant coach for Harvard.
 
The Crimson owns six ECAC Tournament titles in program history, which is the most among the active members of the ECAC Hockey Conference.
 

YOUNG GUNS

Harvard's underclassmen skaters have begun to develop under the new coaching staff this season, accounting for 47-percent of the team's point production in 2023-24. The first-year and sophomore players have also scored 22 of the team's 38 goals, giving them an underclassmen scoring percentage of 58-percent. That percentage ranks third in the ECAC behind only Brown (81-percent) and Union (65-percent). Harvard's young talent has come up in big spots throughout the season, accounting for nine powerplay goals and two game-winning goals.
 

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Sophomore goaltender, Emily Davidson, has given the Crimson a number of solid outings in net over the past several weeks, earning two wins and a shootout victory in three of her first seven career starts. In her seven games played this season, Davidson has posted a 2.65 GAA and a .925 save percentage. The Ottawa native has only allowed three or more goals in two of the seven games she has started and led Harvard to the shootout win over No. 13 Boston College in the 2024 Women's Beanpot Consolation round.
 

BLOCKING SHOTS

The Crimson has showed no fear of jumping into shooting lanes this season, blocking 457 shot on the year, ranking fourth nationally in the category. The top defensive pair of Mia Biotti and Maria Pape has led the way, blocking 67 and 64 shots, respectively. Biotti's total is good for the best in the ECAC and sixth in the nation while Maria Pape's is good for second in the ECAC and ninth in the nation.
 

UP NEXT

With a win over Quinnipiac, the Crimson would advance to the ECAC Championship quarterfinal round which would pit Harvard against the top-seeded Colgate Raiders next weekend (Mar. 1-Mar.3) in Hamilton, N.Y. at the Class of 1965 Arena.