Hanover, N.H. – First-year goaltender Ainsley Tuffy played tremendously between the posts for Harvard women's ice hockey this afternoon, making a career best 43 saves to help the Crimson earn a draw against Dartmouth at Thompson Arena. The Crimson (2-11-2, 1-10-1 ECAC) did all it could but was held off by the Big Green (2-14-1, 1-10-1 ECAC) as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.  
 

How it Happened

 
The Crimson made its way up North this afternoon to take on the Dartmouth Big Green in the second half of a home-and-home series with the Ivy League rival. It took Harvard just 11 seconds to get a goal on the board at Thompson Arena thanks to Ella Lucia. The first-year cleaned up an attempt from Ellie Bayard and Gabi Davidson Adams in the crease to put the Crimson on top early in the first period.
 
The Crimson leaned on its defense through the first period as the team needed to weather a storm of Dartmouth shots in the period. The Big Green would tally 22 shots on goal in the period, one of which found the back of the net five minutes into the period. Except for the lone goal allowed, Tuffy was up to the task in the opening frame, making 21 stops.
 
After an early Dartmouth charge in the second period that did not result in a goal, Harvard settled in and began to find its groove in the offensive zone. Tuffy made six saves in the stretch – including five on the penalty kill – to spark the Crimson bench. Harvard created several strong opportunities in the ensuing minutes, including a shot from Angelica Megdanis that hit the post and a pair of shots from Kaley MacDonald that were just narrowly deflected off goal. MacDonald found the back of the net later in the period, but the goal was wiped off the board after a Dartmouth challenge, keeping the score at 1-1 midway through the period.
 
The Big Green successfully killed off a 5-on-3 chance for the Crimson late in the period that featured a few dangerous looks for Harvard. The Crimson returned the favor, killing off a late advantage for the Big Green to send the teams into the second intermission still tied at one.
 
Harvard came out of the second intermission flying, dominating possession for the first eight minutes of action. The Crimson continued to drive the puck deep into the Dartmouth zone, but was held off the board after a series of saves and blocked shots. Tuffy would only need to make three saves in the period as the Crimson defense stood tall. Two of Harvard's best chances were created by Paige Lester, who was all over the ice in the final frame.
 
After the final horn sounded, the teams would remain tied as play moved into an overtime period. Dartmouth had the first good look in extra time but was shut down once again by Tuffy. Harvard's counter resulted in a pair of shots, one of which was blocked and another that was once again narrowly saved. Two more opportunities at the buzzer for Harvard did not find the twine as the teams made it to the 65-minute mark still tied at one goal each.
 
Dartmouth emerged as the victor after four rounds of a shootout, but each team will take home a point and a half after officially going into the books as a draw.
 

Harvard Highlights

• Ella Lucia scored her third goal of the season just 11 seconds into the action.
• Lucia extends her point streak to five consecutive games.
• Ainsley Tuffy played incredibly in net, making a career-best 43 saves.
• Ellie Bayard and Gabi Davidson Adams recorded the assists on the Lucia goal.
• Lucia, Antonina Dinges and Kaley MacDonald paced the team with four shots on goal each.
• Keira Ley blocked a team-best three shots.
• The Crimson penalty kill was perfect tonight, stopping all three of Dartmouth's chances.

 

Up Next

Harvard will take a break from ECAC action next weekend when it hosts the Maine Black Bears for a single game on Friday afternoon at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. The Crimson and Maine will square off at 3:00 PM in Boston and live on ESPN+.