CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard women's ice hockey fell 2-0 to the Dartmouth Big Green on Saturday night at Bright-Landry Hockey Center in its first ECACH action back at home since January 13. The Crimson (5-18-2, 3-14-1 ECACH) fought until the end – leading in shots on net 34-28 — in the close, defensive matchup. Emily Davidson only allowed one goal against and turned away 26 saves from the Big Green (6-17-2, 3-13-2 ECACH).
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the first time since January 16, Harvard women's ice hockey was back in its home rink to take on the Dartmouth Big Green in ECAC Hockey action. Earning her fifth collegiate start, Emily Davidson opened the game with two saves over the first two minutes before Harvard recorded the next five shots on net. The Crimson led in shots on target by a 5-3 margin at the first media timeout. With five minutes remaining in the opening frame, a net-front Hannah Chorske picked up Mia Biotti's blast from the blue line for the rebound-attempt but was denied by Dartmouth's netminder. Scoreless after the first frame, the Crimson led in shots on net 10-9 and blocks 4-2 in the back-and-forth conference contest.
After dominating possession to start the middle period, Harvard earned the first two power plays of the game — recording four shots on net but failing to convert. Dartmouth opened the scoring on its first power-play attempt at 11:35 of the second period. Harvard applied some offensive pressure to close out the middle period but headed into the third down a goal. Davidson picked up 12 saves over the second period.
Capitalizing on a Big Green turnover, Brooke Manning was in all alone on Dartmouth's netminder mid-way through the third period, but the forward's shot was turned away. Soon after, Harvard had a big penalty kill at 8:32 of the third, with Davidson turning away two shots, to keep it a one-goal contest. The Crimson started its rally, pulling Davidson at the 16:28 mark, but Dartmouth doubled its lead on an empty-netter with 50 seconds remaining to decide the game.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS
- In her fifth collegiate start, Emily Davidson finished the game with 26 saves.
- The Crimson defense limited chances all night, totalling 10 blocks.
- Paige Lester recorded a new career-best six shots on net.
- The Crimson held the edge at the face-off dot, winning 26 of 48 draws. Gwyn Lapp remained sharp, taking home 13 of 19 at the dot.
UP NEXT
The Crimson will continue its three-game home stand next weekend, hosting Brown on Friday (Feb. 9) and Yale on Saturday (Feb. 10), to close out its regular-season home schedule. Both games will be available for streaming on ESPN+, with Saturday's matchup to also air on NESN as Harvard celebrates National Girls & Women in Sports Day.
