CAMBRIDGE, Mass – The 2025-26 Harvard women's ice hockey team gathered at the Harvard Club of Boston this weekend to celebrate its season at the program's annual banquet. The Crimson team that made amazing strides this season honored its seniors, handed out the annual team awards and announced its captains for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
The team award winners, that were awarded based on votes from the team and staff, are as follows.
Most Impactful Player Award – Sophomore Goaltender, Ainsley Tuffy
The most impactful player award is given out yearly to the student-athlete who left the strongest impact to the team on the ice. This season, the award was given to sophomore,
Ainsley Tuffy, who established herself as one of the best goaltenders in the nation during her second season with the Crimson.
A Duxbury native, Tuffy played 21 games for the Crimson this season and posted a 12-7-2 record between the pipes. Tuffy recorded an astounding .950 save percentage in 2025-26, which was the third-best mark in the NCAA. The sophomore allowed two or fewer goals in 15 of her 21 outings and her 1.85 GAA was good for top 15 nationally.
A pair of her best efforts came in the 2026 Dunkin' Women's Beanpot, where she made 86 saves and allowed just two goals to help Harvard lift the Beanpot for the first time since 2022. The netminder impressively made 55 saves – the most in a winning effort for a Harvard goaltender in team history – to help Harvard upset No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in the Friendship Series Tournament in Belfast.
A National Goaltender of the Year semifinalist in 2026, Tuffy will look to continue her growth in her junior season next year.
Breakthrough Player of the Year – Junior Forward, Angelica Megdanis
The 2025-26 Breakthrough Player of the Year award was awarded to
Angelica Megdanis this season after she posted new single season highs in every statistical category. Megdanis scored seven goals and logged eight assists to total 15 points during her breakthrough junior season.
A Connecticut native, Megdanis came through in big spots for the Crimson all season long. Most notably, Megdanis scored two goals in four games during Harvard's ECAC tournament run, both coming in the team's wins over St. Lawrence in the Opening Round (Feb. 21) and against Princeton in the quarterfinals (Feb. 28). A testament to her impact on the squad, the Crimson was 5-0-2 in games where Megdanis scored a goal and 9-1-3 in games where she registered a point during the 2025-26 season.
The junior was primarily featured on Harvard's second line, where she teamed up with
Ella Lucia and
Carla McSweeney for a majority of the season to form a formidable scoring threat. Megdanis will look to continue her upward trajectory when she gets back on the ice for her senior season next Fall.
John Dooley Award – Senior Defender/Forward, Kate Kasica
Given out every year to the student-athlete who best combines sportsmanship, enthusiasm and devotion to hockey in honor of former Harvard women's ice hockey head coach, John Dooley, the award was given this season to
Kate Kasica.
A leader by every definition of the word, Kasica will go down as one of the most impactful leaders in the nearly 50-year history of Harvard women's ice hockey. A Minnesota native, Kasica was the emotional leader of the team, elevating the team as a whole through her positivity, energy and compassion. A true testament to her selflessness, Kasica – a three-year defender for Harvard – was tasked with playing forward after a pair of injuries early in the season. The senior did not shy away from this task and saw it as an opportunity to help the team win by any means necessary.
Although Kasica did not lead statistically, her impact was felt in nearly every contest. The team's primary penalty killer, Kasica was almost always the first player over the boards on the PK unit and led the unit that finished top five in the ECAC in percentage. When she was not on the ice, Kasica could always be heard encouraging, mentoring and cheering on her teammates from the bench.
One of the most memorable moments from the entire 2025-26 season involved Kasica during the Friendship Series Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland. While on a penalty kill, Kasica collected a loose puck, raced down the ice and scored her first career goal. The shorthanded strike was the first goal of the game and sparked the massive upset win for Harvard over No. 5 Minnesota Duluth.
Kasica is set to graduate from the program and from Harvard College next month with a degree in neuroscience after a four-year career with the women's hockey team.
