CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Goals from four underclassmen helped lead the Crimson to a commanding 6-0 win over Saint Michael's on opening night at Bright-Landry Hockey Center. 

Keira Ley, Alexandra Paulsen, Angelica Megdanis, and Emily Hamann all found the back of the net to help Harvard pull away from the Purple Knights. Veterans Brooke Manning and Zoe Boosamra also scored in the opener, as the Crimson tallied six goals at home for the first time since January 2022. 

"Just so excited with that start. For us, I think it was a great team effort," Coach Bellamy said after the opening night win. "Obviously, we put six on the board and just felt like offensively, that's a great place to start. We had everybody involved — the D were moving — and we didn't give up many chances, so we're happy with that. This is a good starting point for us. I think we had good habits all the way through, and we're just excited to try to turn it around and get another one tomorrow."

Ley was the star this evening, finishing with a goal and two helpers while netting her first career tally. 

Emily Davidson stopped all eight shots she faced as the senior captain recorded her second career shutout.

Ley finished the game with an impressive +5 rating and was joined by first-year Alexandra Paulsen, who also finished with a +5 mark. Dating back to 2018, Harvard has not had two defensemen record at least a +5 rating in the same game and has not had a single defenseman reach that mark since Ali Peper in October 2019.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Harvard opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the game after Brooke Manning put home a puck that was sitting in the crease following several strong looks from the Crimson attack. Manning, who has scored one goal in each of her last two seasons, finished the night with a goal and an assist to start her junior campaign. 

Ley doubled the Crimson lead shortly after with her first career goal, firing a puck from the point that found its way through traffic. 

The Crimson continued to press in the second period, with Paulsen starting the frame by throwing a puck on net through traffic for her first career goal to make it 3–0. 

Angelica Megdanis extended the lead with her first goal of the season, making a strong move from the corner to the front of the net before wrapping the puck around the goaltender for Harvard's fourth of the game. 

Emily Hamann added another just 22 seconds later, ripping a quick shot off a faceoff win from first-year Morgan McGathey. Zoe Boosamra capped the night for the Crimson, finishing a 3-on-1 opportunity with Manning and Megdanis late in the contest.

GAME NOTES 

• Dominique Petrie holds the program's highest single-game plus/minus rating since 2018 at +6. 
• The Crimson recorded a shutout on opening night for the second consecutive season—both with Emily Davidson in goal. Davidson has made a combined 42 saves in those two openers.

NEXT UP
Harvard travels to Durham to face UNH tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.