CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's hockey put together a solid effort against No. 11 Clarkson, playing a fast-paced physical brand of hockey in what became a track meet at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. In the end, the Crimson (11-11-2, 5-9-2 ECAC) fell to the Golden Knights (18-7-3, 11-3-2 ECAC), after the opponent put an end to a third period comeback attempt by Harvard. Morgan McGathey scored the lone Harvard goal in a third period that saw Harvard outshoot the Golden Knights 10-6, but the Crimson could not get any of its other chances to fall in an eventual 3-1 defeat.
 

How It Happened

The Crimson welcomed the Clarkson Golden Knights to the Bright-Landry Hockey Center this afternoon on what was a frigid day on the banks of the Charles River. Harvard was looking to secure more points in the ECAC standings race against the No. 11 Golden Knights, who were also coming off an overtime game last night.
 
Clarkson came storming out of the gates, throwing a flurry of shots towards the Harvard net. Starting goaltender Ainsley Tuffy made three quick stops guarding the net in what became a track meet on the ice at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. Harvard settled in after the quick start, matching the Golden Knights pace and using their speed to counter with a few good chances of its own. After 20 minutes, the teams would head into the locker room deadlocked in a scoreless tie. Clarkson held a slight 9-8 lead in shots on goal but each team logged a pair of high-danger scoring chances.
 
The Golden Knights made its move in the second period, scoring back-to-back goals to build a 2-0 lead at the halfway point of the contest. Harvard countered with seven shots in the period but could not find the twine as the Golden Knights preserved their lead. Despite the two goals allowed, Tuffy performed well in the second frame, making 15 saves to keep the Crimson within reach.
 
Harvard got the answer it was looking for early in the third period when Morgan McGathey broke through to score the Crimson's first goal of the game. The first-year snuck a shot into the back of the net from the slot to cut the Clarkson lead in half with over 19 minutes remaining. The Golden Knights fought back midway through the period, restoring its two-goal lead with a strike with just under nine minutes to play. The Crimson put another series of shots on net but were held off by the Clarkson defense to help the Golden Knights skate away with a 3-1 victory.  
 

Harvard Highlights

•  Morgan McGathey scored the Harvard goal, her seventh tally of the season.
• Elle Sproule logged the assist on the McGathey goal.
• Annie Sun led the team with four blocked shots.
• Ainsley Tuffy made 29 saves to backstop the effort.
• The Crimson did not take a single penalty in the contest.

 

Up Next

The Crimson will hit the road for Central New York next weekend, where it is set to battle another pair of ECAC conference foes. A matchup with Colgate (Jan. 30) is first up for Harvard on Friday night at 6:00 PM in Hamilton. The following afternoon, Harvard will head to Lynah Rink to battle the Cornell Big Red (Jan. 31).