CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Another strong defensive showing by the Harvard women's ice hockey team helped the group earn a draw and an eventual shootout victory over the No. 8 Quinnipiac Bobcats on Friday afternoon. The Crimson (12-12-3, 6-10-3 ECAC) earned 1.5 conference points with the result against the Bobcats (21-7-3, 11-6-2 ECAC) to improve its position in the ECAC standings race.
 
Angelica Megdanis scored Harvard's lone goal in regulation while starting goaltender Ainsley Tuffy made 30 saves and allowed just a single goal to one of the best offenses in the nation. Carla McSweeney scored the shootout goal to lift Harvard to the result.  
 

How It Happened

The Crimson kicked off its final regular season weekend at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center with a contest against the No. 8 Quinnipiac Bobcats. Three key ECAC points were up for grabs as both teams looked to better position themselves in the ECAC standings.
 
Havard built some early momentum in the contest, scoring the game's first goal three minutes into the action. Scout Oudemool kicked off the rush with a neutral zone faceoff win and carry into the Bobcat zone. Angelica Megdanis grabbed possession of the puck and worked her way into the slot, where she threw a shot into the top left corner of the net that went bar down and in. Her fifth goal of the season helped Harvard grab an early 1-0 lead over the Bobcats. The Crimson defense was stout in the first frame, holding Quinnipiac to just six shots on goal. Tuffy cleaned up all the attempts to help Harvard go into the first intermission leading, 1-0.
 
The Bobcats made their move in the second period, recording several scoring chances in the frame. The Crimson defense weathered the storm for a majority of the period thanks to 13 saves from Tuffy and nine blocked shots from nine different skaters. Quinnipiac managed to find the equalizing goal with just 0.6 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 1-1.
 
A fast-paced third period began with Quinnipiac taking another swing at the Crimson by throwing three quick shots on net in the first five minutes of play. Tuffy cleared them all aside to keep the game tied. There would only be two more faceoffs for the remainder of the period as the teams raced up and down the ice for nearly 14 consecutive minutes. The Harvard offense was clicking in the sequence, putting chance after chance on the Quinnnipiac goalie, who made several difficult saves to withstand the barrage. The final buzzer sounded and with the score still tied at 1-1, the game would move into an overtime period.
 
Harvard's defense was forced to make big plays to start overtime, as Quinnipiac skated 4-on-3 after a late penalty from the Crimson. Tuffy collected another three saves and Keira Ley stepped up to block a shot during the penalty to kill it off and keep the score tied. Morgan McGathey had a late opportunity for the game-winner knocked away by the Quinnipiac netminder as the teams skated to a 1-1 tie after 65 minutes played.
 
Tuffy continued her stellar play, stopping all three shots she faced in the shootout and Carla McSweeney finished the job on the other side of the ice, scoring a goal on her attempt in the second round to send Harvard off with a shootout win over the No. 8 Bobcats. The result officially goes into the books as a tie, with the Crimson claiming 1.5 points in conference play.
 

Harvard Highlights

• Angelica Megdanis scored her fifth goal of the season.
• Scout Oudemool tallied the assist on the Megdanis goal.
• Ainsley Tuffy made 30 saves – not including the three shootout stops – and allowed only one goal in the draw.
• Bella Finnegan blocked three shots in the contest to lead the team.
• The Crimson blocked 15 shots as a team.
• This went down as the Crimson's first shootout win since 2023-24.
• It was Harvard's first result against Quininpiac since the 2021-22 season.

 

Up Next

The Crimson will be back on the ice tomorrow afternoon to take on the No. 7 Princeton Tigers at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. The puck is set to drop at 3:00 PM with the Ivy battle streaming live on ESPN+. Harvard women's hockey will celebrate its three-member senior class in a ceremony after the game. The contest will also serve as the team's third annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Game. Harvard is excited to host a Youth Sports Clinic, a Women in sports panel, women owned business boulevard and a post-game skate at the Bright. Tickets are still available at GoCrimson.com/tickets.