CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A trip to the North Country awaits Harvard women's ice hockey this weekend as the team continues its ECAC schedule with another pair of games. The Crimson (2-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC) will first battle No. 9 Clarkson (5-3-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) on Friday before taking on the St. Lawrence Saints (4-5-1, 2-0-0 ECAC) on Saturday afternoon. Harvard is coming off two competitive games against a pair of nationally ranked opponents and will now look to continue its growth as a team when it takes on two more talented ECAC foes this weekend.
Game Information
Game 5 at No. 9 Clarkson – 3:00 PM, Friday, October 31 – Cheel Arena – ESPN+
Game 6 at RV St. Lawrence – 3:00 PM, Saturday, November 1 – Appleton Arena – ESPN+
What to Know
Last Time Out
The Crimson suffered its first two defeats of 2025-26 this past weekend against No. 5 Cornell and No. 9 Colgate. Despite the scores, both matchups were tightly contested and saw the Crimson go toe-to-toe with two of the ECAC's top teams.
Harvard fell 5-2 to No. 5 Cornell in the first game of the weekend despite controlling possession for a majority of the contest. First-year goaltender Izzy Whynot made her collegiate debut in the matchup, recording 27 saves against one of the nation's top teams. Emi Biotti scored her first collegiate goal, and Emily Hamann notched her second goal of the season to help power the Crimson offense.
Against No. 9 Colgate, Harvard once again commanded possession with a relentless forecheck that forced the Raiders into taking seven penalties. Emily Davidson was strong in net, making 33 saves between the posts.
Scouting Clarkson
The ninth-ranked Clarkson Golden Knights enter the second weekend of ECAC play with a 5-3-0 record after sweeping their series against Union and RPI last weekend. The Golden Knights split their first three series of the season with Hockey East foes Merrimack, Connecticut, and Providence before earning back-to-back wins a week ago.
The high-powered Clarkson offense has registered 29 goals through eight games—an average of 3.6 goals per game. Equally impressive on the defensive end, Clarkson sports a 2.00 goals-against average, allowing just 16 goals on the season. The shots differential is similarly lopsided, with Clarkson averaging 38.8 shots per game compared to just 19.8 by its opponents. On special teams, the Golden Knights boast a power play that has converted on 29 percent of its opportunities and a penalty kill that has succeeded on 21 of 26 attempts.
Individually, Clarkson is led by first-year forward Sara Manness, who ranks fourth in the nation with 1.88 points per game. The Canadian has tallied three goals and 12 assists for 15 total points. Senior Lara Beecher leads a balanced scoring effort for Clarkson with five goals on the year, while 10 Golden Knights have scored two or more goals through just eight games. Fifth-year goaltender Holly Gruber leads the effort between the pipes, posting a 2.03 GAA and a .910 save percentage in five appearances.
Scouting St. Lawrence
The St. Lawrence Saints come into the weekend with a 5-4-1 overall record and a 2-0-0 mark in ECAC play after sweeping RPI and Union in the opening week of conference action. After starting the year with three straight losses, the Saints have begun to turn things around, posting wins over Mercyhurst and RIT before last weekend's sweep.
St. Lawrence's success is powered by its defense, which has allowed only 20 goals in 10 games this season. On offense, the Saints have scored 17 goals and average 29.3 shots per game. Their power play has converted on 16 percent of its chances (5-for-31), while the penalty kill has stopped 82 percent of opponent opportunities (23-for-28).
Alexia Côté (1g, 4a) and Cheyenne Degeer (5a) lead a balanced offensive attack that features 13 skaters with two or more points. In goal, the Saints have split duties between Emma-Sofie Nordström and Kassidy Lawrence. Lawrence, a junior, owns a 1.40 GAA and a .953 save percentage, good for eighth-best in the nation, in five starts, while Nordström sports a 2.22 GAA and a .929 save percentage in her five starts.
Series History
Harvard will take on its two North Country rivals this weekend as it looks to get back above the .500 mark on the year. In the series against Clarkson, the Golden Knights own a 23-19-5 advantage, including wins in the last six meetings. Three members of the Crimson have recorded points against Clarkson with Ella Lucia (1g), Zoe Boosamra (1a), and Angelica Megdanis (1a) all logging points in the matchups.
The series between Harvard and St. Lawrence dates back to the 1983–84 season and has featured 75 meetings. Harvard holds a 45-20-10 advantage in the all-time series, but the matchup has been even over the past four seasons, with the teams splitting a 3-3-2 record since 2021–22. Harvard's last win over SLU came in 2023–24, when Gwyn Lapp scored an unforgettable overtime game-winner to give the Crimson a 1-0 victory. Emily Hamann leads all current Crimson players with two career points (1g, 1a) against St. Lawrence. In total, seven Harvard skaters have recorded points against the Saints, including Hamann, Lapp, Boosamra, and Annie Dinges, who have each scored goals.
Hammer Time
Sophomore forward Emily Hamann is off to a strong start in 2025–26, scoring two goals in Harvard's first four games. The Marlborough native potted a goal in the season opener before finding the back of the net again against No. 5 Cornell last Friday. With two goals on the year, Hamann is tied for the team lead with Angelica Megdanis.
Double Dose
Through just four games, Harvard skaters have posted five multi-point performances—already closing in on the 2024–25 team total of eight. Emi Biotti and Ella Lucia were the most recent to accomplish the feat against No. 5 Cornell, as Biotti tallied a goal and an assist while Lucia posted two helpers.
Creating Chances
Harvard has begun to find its rhythm in the offensive zone this season, driving more possession and creating more scoring opportunities as a result. The Crimson's ability to generate sustained pressure has led to a significant uptick in shots on goal. Through four games, Harvard is averaging 38.5 shots on goal and has surpassed the 30-shot mark in every contest. Last season, the team recorded 30-plus shots just once and averaged fewer than 20 per game.
The Crimson's top line of Morgan McGathey (21 shots), Elle Sproule (14 shots), and Carla McSweeney (12 shots) all rank among the top four on the team in that category.
On the Dot
Harvard's success in the faceoff circle has also contributed to its offensive momentum. The Crimson owns a .539 faceoff winning percentage, good for 12th in the nation. Morgan McGathey leads the team at .565, while teammates Zoe Boosamra (.533) and Ella Lucia (.524) are both above the 50-percent mark.
As a team, the Crimson has led in faceoff wins in three of four contests this season.
Harvard's Young Guns
Featuring a roster full of young talent, the Crimson lineup includes 10 underclass skaters and two goaltenders. The group is beginning to hit its stride, accounting for 59 percent of the team's point production so far. Sophomore defender Keira Ley (3 points) and sophomore forward Emily Hamann (2 points) lead the way.
ECAC Defender of the Week
For the first time in her young career, sophomore defender Keira Ley earned ECAC Defender of the Week honors. Ley recorded three points in the opener against Saint Michael's, scoring her first career goal and adding two assists.
She earned the award after a stellar performance in the Crimson's first game of the season, contributing an assist on Harvard's opening goal by Brooke Manning before scoring from the point just minutes later. The Massachusetts native capped the night with another assist on Angelica Megdanis' first strike of 2025–26.
Ley became just the sixth Harvard defender since 2018 to record three or more points in a game—and the first since Mia Biotti did so in 2022–23 against RPI. She also finished with a +5 rating on the night, the second-highest single-game plus/minus by a Crimson skater since 2018. The record, a +6 mark, was set by Dominique Petrie '22 in 2018.
McClutch
In just her second career game, Harvard forward Carla McSweeney rose to the occasion as the hero of the Crimson's win over UNH. Late in the third period with the game tied 1-1, the first-year forward made a tremendous play to steal the puck from a UNH defender at the blue line. After racing past the defender and gaining possession in the neutral zone, McSweeney created a breakaway opportunity and slid a low shot through the goaltender's five-hole to put Harvard ahead 2-1.
It marked the latest regulation game-winning goal for Harvard women's hockey since the 2022–23 season, when Mia Biotti '25 scored with just 30 seconds remaining.
A Big Win on Opening Night
With a 6-0 victory over Saint Michael's, the Crimson recorded its largest opening-night win since the 2011–12 season—a 7-1 victory over St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena. The captain of that team was junior goaltender and current head coach Laura Bellamy '13.
To find a larger opening-night win for Harvard, you'd have to go back to the 2006–07 season, when the Crimson defeated RPI 11-0 at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
A Goal Parade at Bright-Landry
Harvard women's hockey saw six different players find the back of the net in the season opener. Brooke Manning, Keira Ley, Alex Paulsen, Angelica Megdanis, Emily Hamann, and Zoe Boosamra each scored to help the Crimson secure a 6-0 win over Saint Michael's.
It marked the most goal scorers Harvard has had in a single game since the 2018–19 season, when seven players scored against Holy Cross.
Up Next
Harvard continues ECAC action next weekend with a home-and-home series against Dartmouth. The Crimson and the Big Green will first meet on Friday (Nov. 7) at Thompson Arena in Hanover before returning to Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Saturday (Nov. 8). Both puck drops are set for 3:00 PM, with live coverage on ESPN+.
