HAMDEN, Conn. – Harvard women's ice hockey put up a fight against No. 6 Quinnipiac this afternoon but would eventually fall in a 4-1 defeat. The Crimson (10-10-1, 5-8-1 ECAC) put together a solid defensive effort to slow down the Bobcats (19-5-2, 9-4-1 ECAC) but a third period surge gave the ECAC rival the win at M&T Bank Arena.
Elle Sproule scored the lone Crimson goal while first-year netminder
Izzy Whynot backed the effort with 36 saves between the pipes.
How it Happened
The Crimson closed out its ECAC road trip this afternoon at M&T Bank Arena on the campus of Quinnipiac University to take on the Bobcats for the first time this season. Playing its third game in five days, the Crimson took on an opponent receiving votes in national polls for the fifth time in the last seven games.
After the puck dropped, Harvard quickly took control of the pace. The Crimson was granted an early powerplay opportunity after a Bobcat penalty and put four consecutive shots on goal. The Quinnipiac keeper swept the chances aside, giving her team a chance to counter. Harvard's starting goalkeeper,
Izzy Whynot, kept the Bobcats off the board in the early stages of the period, making saves on the first eight shots she saw. Quinnipiac finally broke through at the 12-minute mark in the period, taking a 1-0 lead.
It took Harvard just 17 seconds to answer, as
Elle Sproule raced past the Bobcat defense the ice after a center-ice faceoff win and scored the tying goal for Harvard. Sproule's fifth goal of the season knotted the score at one all. The Bobcats retook the lead late in the period to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The Harvard defense stepped up in the second period, holding the Bobcats off the scoreboard to keep the Crimson within striking distance. Whynot added another nine saves to her total and Harvard put six shots on goal but the score would stand at 2-1 after a back-and-forth second period.
Quinnipiac looked to attack in the third period, quickly throwing a flurry of shots on the Harvard goal. Whynot made 12 consecutive saves to open the period, getting across the 30-save threshold in the contest. The Bobcats kept hunting and found the insurance goal midway through the period to take a 3-1 lead. Harvard attempted to counter and put four shots on target but the Bobcat goaltender made the saves necessary to keep Harvard off the board.
Quinnipiac added an empty net goal at the end of regulation to help the team secure a 4-1 win over the Crimson.
Harvard Highlights
Up Next
The Crimson will be back on the ice this Tuesday at TD Garden to play for the 2026 Dunkin' Women's Beanpot Championship. Harvard will take on Boston University in the title game that is set to begin at 7:30 PM. All the action at the Garden will air live on NESN.
