CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's ice hockey will continue its busy month this week with a nonconference matchup against Maine on Friday afternoon. The Crimson (2-11-2, 1-10-1 ECAC) will take on Maine (5-17-0, 5-11-0 HEA) for the first time since the 2018-19 season when the teams face off at 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon. It's busiest stretch of the season, Harvard will be playing in the third of ten games in the month of January, a run that features seven contests on home ice at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
 

What to Know

 

Last Time Out

Harvard is coming off an overtime loss and a tie to Dartmouth over the weekend that netted the team 2.5 points in the ECAC standings. Both contests with the Big Green needed went in overtime with Dartmouth winning in overtime on Friday and taking the shootout win in the draw on Saturday. Harvard played two solid contests over the weekend after its Winter break with the defense leading the way in both tightly contested games.  
 

The Matchup

Harvard and Maine will compete on the ice for the first time since the 2018-19 season when the sides meet on Friday afternoon. The Crimson will take a break from ECAC action this weekend to take on the Black Bears in the team's final tune-up before the Beanpot semifinals next Tuesday (Jan. 14). The Crimson is familiar with Hockey East teams, having played three games against HEA foes so far in 2024-25.
 

Scouting Maine

The Black Bears will come into the Bright-Landry Hockey Center with a record of 5-17-0 on the season including an 0-4-0 mark against ECAC squads. Maine has had some success recently, earning two wins over Merrimack (Dec. 14) and New Hampshire (Jan. 3) before falling to Boston College last Sunday (Jan. 5). The Black Bears currently sit in fifth place in the Hockey East standings.
 
The Black Bears have played in many close games during the 2024-25 season as 12 of the team's 22 results have been decided by two goals or fewer. Overall, Maine is being outscored by its opponents 78-34 and outshot narrowly by an average of 32.7 to 27.1.
 
Senior forward Alyssa Wruble leads the team with 11 points on the year after scoring five goals and dishing out six assists in the team's first 22 games. She is closely followed by sophomore forward Lily Fetch who owns 10 points with five goals and five assists in 20 games played. First-year Kiia Lahtinen leads the charge in net for Maine, having started 17 games on the year while posting a .897 save percentage and a 3.41 goals-against-average.
 

Series History Against the Black Bears

Former conference foes Harvard and Maine will battle it out for the 11^th time in series history this weekend and for the first time since 2018-19. Harvard owns a 9-1-0 record against Maine all-time, with the lone loss coming in the last matchup. Previously, Harvard had owned the series, outscoring the Black Bears 50-10 in the previous nine victories.
 

Against the Hockey East

Harvard and its bench boss, Laura Bellamy, have had success against the Hockey East in the past two seasons, posting a 2-3-2 record in eight games dating back to the start of last season. This year, Harvard opened its campaign with a 1-0 shutout victory over No. 8 UConn (Oct. 19). The team also took on Providence in a home-and-home series that resulted in a 3-2 overtime loss (Nov. 22) and a 2-2 draw (Nov. 23).
 

Lucia Makes History

First-year forward, Ella Lucia, wrote her name in the NCAA record books over the weekend against Dartmouth, scoring just 11 seconds into the matchup to record the T-8 fastest goal in NCAA history. Lucia joins former Harvard great Kristin Della Rovere '23 on the list, who also scored 11 seconds into a game against Dartmouth in the 2022-23 season.
 

On Fire

Just over halfway through her first collegiate season, first-year Ella Lucia is beginning to her hit her stride with the Crimson. The Michigan native has recorded a point in her past five games, scoring two goals and notching three assists over the stretch. Lucia became the first first-year to accomplish the feat since Kristin Della Rovere '23, who hit the mark in the 2018-19 season. It is also the longest point streak for the Crimson since Becca Gilmore tallied a point in 10 straight games during the 2021-22 season.  
 

Too Tuff

First-year goaltender Ainsley Tuffy has shined through nine career games played, posting a .934 save percentage and a 2.17 GAA. The save percentage is the 11th highest nationally. Tuffy stymied a surging No. 7 Quinnipiac team in just her second career start on Nov. 9, making 40 saves and holding the team to just one goal. It was the first time a Harvard first-year goalie had made 40 or more saves in a game since the 2017-18 season when Lindsay Reed accomplished the feat, also in her second career start. Tuffy recently surpassed her career high, recording 43 saves against Dartmouth (Jan. 4).
 

Blocking Shots

The Crimson's ability to get in shooting lanes and block shots has been a staple of the team's defensive success during the 2024-25 season. Currently, Harvard leads the ECAC and ranks third in the nation with 17.6 blocked shots per game.
 
Individually, Mia Biotti and Jenna MacDonald both rank in the top 15 in the nation and tied for fifth in the ECAC with 2.1 blocked shots per game. First-Year forward, Scout Oudemool, has also helped out in the defensive zone, blocking 1.3 shots per contest to ranks amongst the top-five highest shot blocking forwards in the nation.

First-Half Firsts

The first semester of the Crimson's season was full of notable first-time achievements. Junior goaltender, Emily Davidson, recorded her first career shutout on opening night against the No. 8 Connecticut Huskies. Two weeks later against No. 15 Yale, Antonina Dinges and Scout Oudemool both recorded their first career goals. In the series against Providence, Kaley MacDonald posted her first career multi-point performance and Ella Lucia also notched her first career goal.
 

MacGoal-Scorer

Kaley MacDonald went on a tear down the stretch of the first half to grab a hold of the team lead in points with nine. She recorded four points in the final six games of the season including three in the series against Providence. The sophomore blueliner has scored two goals and dished out five assists to build her point lead.
 

Beanpot Season

The 2025 Dunkin' Women's Beanpot is right around the corner, as Harvard is set to compete against Boston University in the semifinal round of the tournament on Tuesday (Jan. 14). The Crimson will face off against the nationally ranked Boston University Terriers in the matchup that is set to begin at 4:30 PM at Matthews Arena on the campus of Northeastern University.