HANOVER, N.H. – The Harvard women's ice hockey team battled through 65 minutes of intense and physical hockey on Friday afternoon, eventually skating to a 1-1 tie with Dartmouth at Thompson Arena. The Crimson (3-3-1, 1-3-1 ECAC) earned a point-and-a-half on the road behind a strong effort from first-year goaltender
Izzy Whynot, who turned away 21 shots, while
Angelica Megdanis provided the lone goal in the opening period.
The Crimson held that one goal lead for nearly two periods with the defense keeping the Big Green off the board. Dartmouth managed to get the goal back midway through the third to tie the game and eventually send the contest into an overtime period.
"The big focus going into tomorrow is finishing in the third period," said junior defender
Annie Sun. "We need to make sure we continue to work hard down low and make our easy breakout passes to get more looks."
Harvard came close to ending the game on three occasions in overtime as
Gwyn Lapp and
Carla McSweeney each had great looks get turned aside.
"It's a game of inches and that's what decided it tonight," continued Sun. "We played so well in overtime but we need to start to finish those chances and keep making those types of plays."
How it Happened
The Crimson made its way up to Hanover to begin a home-and-home series with the Dartmouth Big Green as the team continued its ECAC schedule.
Harvard struck first midway through the opening frame with Megdanis punching a shot into the back of the net on the doorstep.
Bella Finnegan started the rush with a great drive into the slot, putting a shot on goal that rebounded onto the stick of Megdanis. The junior's third goal of the season came off assists from Finnegan and
Gwyn Lapp, marking the first helper of the year for both skaters. The Crimson controlled much of the pace early, holding the Big Green to six shots in the period while recording five of their own and taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
In the second period, Harvard continued to generate offensive chances, firing nine shots on goal compared to Dartmouth's six. After controlling the pace early in the second period, Dartmouth got a chance to equal with a powerplay midway through the period. Harvard's PK unit continued to perform well, holding off the Big Green behind a series of great defensive plays and four saves from Whynot. The Crimson nearly doubled their lead on a pair of close-range opportunities from
Antonina Dinges and
Emily Hamann, but the Dartmouth goalkeeper turned both aside to keep the score at 1-0 heading into the final frame.
The physicality began to ramp up in the third period, with each team refusing to give an inch. Dartmouth finally managed to even the contest midway through the third after cleaning up a loose rebound in front of the net. Both teams clamped down defensively the rest of the way, as Whynot made several key stops to preserve the tie through regulation.
In the three-on-three overtime period Harvard created several high-danger looks - including four shots on goal - but were unable to take advantage as the final horn sounded with the teams still tied at 1-1. Dartmouth took the shootout win, defeating the Crimson in five rounds but the teams split the three points as Harvard tacks on 1.5 more points to its season total.
Harvard Highlights
Up Next
Harvard and Dartmouth will square off again tomorrow night in the second game of its home-and-home series. The Crimson and the Big Green will skate on the ice at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in game two which is scheduled for a 3:00 PM puck drop. All the action will stream live on ESPN+.
