CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's hockey is set to close out its regular season home schedule this weekend with a pair of matchups against ranked opponents at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. The Crimson (12-12-2, 6-10-2 ECAC) will play host to the No. 8 Quinnipiac Bobcats (21-7-2, 11-6-1 ECAC) on Friday before taking on the No. 7 Princeton Tigers (19-6-0, 14-4-0 ECAC) in an Ivy League showdown. Puck drop is slated for 3:00 PM in both contests and all the action is set to air on ESPN+.
The Matchup
With only four games remaining in the regular season, Harvard hopes to continue gaining ground in the ECAC standings when it takes on a pair of league foes this weekend. The Friday afternoon contest will pit the Crimson against the Bobcats, who currently hold the four seed in the league with 35.5 conference points and a 11-6-1 record. The Tigers come into the weekend as the leaders of the ECAC with 41 conference points and a 14-4-0 record. Currently in ninth place in the league table, Harvard hold 21.5 conference points and finds itself 5.5 back of the eighth-place St. Lawrence Saints.
Crimson Upsets
Playing in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, Harvard has played 13 games against teams who are receiving votes in the national polls this season. The Crimson has won four of those contests to match the programs output from the last two seasons combined. The wins have come against RV St. Lawrence (Nov. 1), No. 10 Yale (Nov. 14), No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (Jan. 2) and No. 12 Cornell (Jan. 31).
Series History Against Quinnipiac and Princeton
- Harvard and Quinnipiac have met 44 times in series history dating back to the 2005-06 season.
- The series between the ECAC foes is currently tied at 20-20-3.
- Harvard is looking for its first win over Quinnipiac since the 2021 season as the Bobcats have won the past ten meetings.
- Princeton and Harvard have clashed on the ice 101 times in the series history that dates back to the 1979-80 season.
- Harvard owns a 51-43-7 record in the rivalry over Princeton
- The Tigers have won the past four matchups and own a 8-1-1 advantage in the last 10 meetings.
Player History Against Quinnipiac/Princeton
- Brooke Manning and Gwyn Lapp lead the Crimson with three points each against Princeton. Manning has logged three assists and Lapp owns two goals and an assist in the rivalry.
- Kaley MacDonald has posted two points with a goal and an assist. Carla McSweeney scored in the previous meeting against Princeton this season and Zoe Boosamra recorded an assist on the goal to help the duo notch their first points against Princeton.
- Both Ainsley Tuffy (2 GP) and Emily Davidson (1 GP) have seen action against Princeton, owning .921 and .875 save percentages, respectively.
- Four skaters own a point in their careers against Quinnipiac. Gwyn Lapp and Elle Sproule each have scored a goal while Zoe Boosamra and Bella Finnegan own assists.
- Davidson has started three games in goal, posting a 3.38 GAA and a .902 save percentage.
- Tuffy started one game against the Bobcats last season, making 40 saves and allowing just one goal in a narrow 1-0 loss.
- Izzy Whynot made the start between the posts earlier this season, making 36 saves and allowing three goals in the contest.
ECAC Standings Race
With just four games remaining in the ECAC regular season, Harvard owns 21 conference points and sits in ninth place in the table. The team is just 5.5 points behind St. Lawrence, who sits in eighth place with 26.5 points. Colgate currently is in seventh place in the conference with 30.5 points. Harvard will look to gain ground on the Saints by picking up key conference points against Quinnipiac and Princeton.
Leading the Nation
Sophomore goaltender
Ainsley Tuffy has been on a tear in her sophomore season and currently leads the country with a .956 save percentage. In 13 games played, the Duxbury native has made 473 saves on 495 shots faced to help her take hold of the national lead.
Tuffy also ranks inside the top 10 nationally with a 1.673 GAA and 13
th in the NCAA with her .654 winning percentage.
Boston Belongs to the Harvard Crimson
The Beanpot made its return to Cambridge on Tuesday (Jan. 20) after the Crimson knocked off the Boston University Terriers in the 47th Dunkin' Women's Beanpot Championship game. It was a storybook ending for the Crimson, who got the win in overtime after
Carla McSweeney scored on a penalty shot. The victory was sparked by a tremendous goaltending effort from sophomore
Ainsley Tuffy, who made 46 saves to stump the Terrier offense. For her stellar effort, Tuffy was named the Beanpot MVP and the Bertagna Award winner as the tournament's top goalie.
Bellamy Becomes the First
After capturing the 2026 Dunkin' Women's Beanpot Championship, the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's Ice Hockey, Laura Bellamy, is now in her own category in the tournament's storied history. Bellamy is officially the only person to ever win the Beanpot as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
A member of three Beanpot Championship teams, Bellamy helped lead her team to the 2010 Beanpot as the team's starting goaltender in 2010. In the two games, Bellamy posted two shutouts while making 42 saves to shutout both Boston College and Northeastern. Bellamy was behind the bench for the Crimson in the 2015 tournament and now owns a title as a head coach after winning the 2026 tournament this season.
It Takes Everyone
Contributions from the entire lineup have helped the Crimson find success on the offensive end of the ice in 2025-26. Harvard already has seven skaters in double figures through 24 games after having just two in 2024-25.
Carla McSweeney and
Zoe Boosamra are tied for the team lead with 13 points while
Elle Sproule,
Angelica Megdanis and
Ella Lucia are tied in second on the team with 12 points.
Morgan McGathey and
Emily Hamann are the other two skaters in double figures for Harvard.
McClutch
In just her first season with the Crimson,
Carla McSweeney is beginning to make a name for herself by coming through in clutch moments. Most recently, the Chicago native scored the overtime game-winner – on a penalty shot – against Boston University in the Beanpot.
McSweeney lived up to her "McClutch" nickname in the Friendship Series as well, scoring the game-winning goal against No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal round of the tournament.
The first-year currently leads the Crimson with 13 points and nine goals – three of which are game-winners - on the season.
Getting in the Way
A staple of the Harvard defense since Laura Bellamy's hiring has been blocking shots. Harvard's defensive core has continued to get into shooting lanes and disrupt opposing forwards with active sticks that has led to 408 blocked shots this season. The third highest total in the ECAC, Harvard is led by
Kaley MacDonald who has blocked 61 shots this season.
Standing Tall
The Crimson defense has been outstanding in 26 games played this season, allowing just 55 goals and holding opponents to just 2.1 goals per game. That number makes Harvard the 14th best scoring defense in the NCAA heading into the week. The defense has allowed two or fewer goals in 15 of 26 games and has secured three shutouts on the year.
Harvard's standout sophomore goaltender,
Ainsley Tuffy, made history at the Beanpot on Tuesday (Jan. 20), becoming just the second player ever to win the Beanpot MVP and the Bertagna Award given to the tournament's top goaltender. The Duxbury native was selected as the recipient for both awards after making 86 saves and allowing just two goals in the two games of the tournament.
Down a Skater, Up for the Challenge
The Harvard penalty kill has been on an excellent run this season, stopping opponents on 48-of-58 penalties. The team's penalty killing percentage of .828 ranks fifth in the ECAC and 19th in the NCAA heading into the week. The Crimson had a season-best 16-kill streak snapped against Brown on Nov. 15.
Youth Movement
The Crimson offensive resurgence has been led by its undergraduate players, who account for 89 of the teams 139 points this season. Harvard's undergraduate points percentage of 64 is the highest in the ECAC.
Nine of the team's 11 points in win over Maine (Nov. 28-29) were scored by undergraduate players which was the most points by the group in a game this season.
The Crimson Climb
The Crimson showed rapid improvement from its 2024-25 season in just the first semester of 2025-26. The team posted seven wins, which tied the program's wins total from the last two seasons combined. Harvard also scored 36 goals in the first semester schedule which was more than the team's 2024-25 season total of 35 goals.
Taking Home ECAC Weekly Awards
For her spectacular play in net during the friendship series, sophomore goaltender,
Ainsley Tuffy earned the ECAC's MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week award on Jan. 5. The sixth weekly award for the Crimson this season, Tuffy earned the nomination after posting a 55-save win over No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in the Friendship Series Semifinal (Jan. 2). It is the first ECAC weekly honor in Tuffy's career and the first Goaltender of the Week award since
Emily Davidson in the 2024-25 season.
The Crimson dominated the conferences Rookie of the Week award early in the season, taking four awards in a five-week stretch.
Izzy Whynot earned the award in back-to-back weeks, followed by
Elle Sproule and
Morgan McGathey. Carla McSweneey has also earned conference honors, being named the ECAC Rookie of the Month in December.
Biotti Beats the Buzzer
First-year defender
Emi Biotti scored the latest game-winning goal in Harvard Women's Ice Hockey history on Friday (Jan. 9), beating the buzzer and putting the puck in the back of the net with just 0.2 second remaining in overtime against Brown (Jan. 9). It was Biotti's third goal of the season and sent Harvard off with its first win over Brown in four years.
180 Degree Turnaround
Under the leadership of Laura Bellamy and her staff, the Crimson has shown rapid improvement from previous seasons. Currently at 12 wins in 2025-26, the Crimson has posted 10 more victories than 2024-25, which is already the third biggest turnaround in program history.
When looking at just regular season records, the Crimson's +10-win mark is tied for second place in program history and four shy of the record for largest turnaround.
Up Next
Harvard women's ice hockey will close out its regular season next weekend with a road trip to RPI (Feb. 13) and Union (Feb. 14). Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 3:00 PM with all the action streaming live on ESPN+.
