No. 10 Dartmouth Drops Conference Game at No. 2 Harvard

Sunday, January 27

Cambridge, Mass.

2:15 p.m.

Dartmouth College

Harvard

No. 10 Dartmouth Drops Conference Game at No. 2 Harvard

1/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ? Sophomore Mariel Lacina (London, Ont.) pushed aside a career-high 39 shots, but second-ranked Harvard pulled away with two goals in the final period to defeat the Big Green, 4-0, in Ivy League action on Sunday afternoon.

Lacina got her fourth start this season between the pipes for the Big Green and got tested early with a couple of stops in the first minute of play. Dartmouth's first opportunity came with 18:07 on the clock as freshman Amanda Trunzo stole the puck at the red line and fired a shot on net that was stop by Harvard goaltender Christina Kessler.

The Crimson (17-1-0, 14-0-0 ECAC, 5-0-0 Ivy) earned the first power play of the game at the 16:51 mark. Lacina came up big again with a save to stone Jenny Brine at the far post and followed that three additional saves to keep Harvard off the board on its first man advantage.

Harvard continued to control the tempo and looked to take the lead as Kate Buesser fired a dribbling puck that got through Lacina but trickled wide of the cage. Dartmouth turned around and had a 2-on-1 advantage with senior Carrie Thompson (Shorewood, Minn.) getting a shot on net, but Kessler turned it away.

With 10:25 left, the Crimson started its second power play opportunity and this time it was a group effort as Harvard on managed one shot on net.

The Crimson's pressure finally paid off at the 6:52 mark of the first period as Sarah Wilson fed Liza Ryabkina at the top of the crease and she chipped it over Lacina's glove side to give Harvard the 1-0 advantage.

Dartmouth (11-7-3, 8-5-1 ECAC, 4-2-0 Ivy) could not mount any offense pressure in the opening period as the Big Green was outshot by the Crimson 17-5. Harvard was 0-for-2 on the man advantage to open the game. Lacina, who was getting her first start since her shutout win over Cornell on Jan. 5, made 16 saves in net, including five impressive stops. Kessler was tested five times and kept the Big Green scoreless.

The Big Green continued its first power play of the contest into the second period and got one shot on net from the point that was stopped by Kessler.

Early in the second period, Harvard recorded its first scoring chance. Sarah Vaillancourt forced a turnover in Dartmouth's zone and took a wrist shot from the left circle that was stopped by Lacina.

The Crimson increased its lead to 2-0 with 12:52 left in the second period on a goal by Cori Bassett. Ryabkina skated to the slot and shoveled a pass to Bassett, who took a slap shot from the point which clanged off the post and deflected back into the net for the score.

Dartmouth went on its second power play of the afternoon with 7:00 remaining in the second period and once again the Harvard defense allowed only one shot on net and blocked three from the point.

Sophomore Sarah Parsons had an opportunity to get Dartmouth on the board with 30 seconds left as junior Shannon Bowman's shot was blocked and the rebound came to Parsons who took a shot that Kessler made with her shoulder. After the save, Kessler could not find the puck, but a Harvard defenseman pushed it wide of the net to keep it a two-goal game.

Harvard's dominance continued in the second period as the Crimson outshot the Big Green 11-6 and Lacina had to make at least 10 saves in the second consecutive period. Kessler was challenged in the final minute of play and made all six saves in the stanza.

The Crimson went back on the man advantage for the fourth time just one minute into the final period and Harvard was able to get multiple shots on net. Fortunately for Dartmouth, Lacina once again kept the Crimson off the board with four saves, including two during a scrum in front of the net.

With 12:25 remaining in the game, junior Katie Gray (Calgary, Alta.) slapped a shot from the point that made it through traffic in front, but it slid just wide. Following Gray's shot, the Big Green had a few chances in the Harvard zone, unfortunately no shots found the back of the net.

Harvard capitalized on its fifth power play of the game as Caitlin Cahow added her team-leading eighth goal on the man advantage. Brine fired the initial shot on net, which Lacina stopped, but could not cover the puck and Cahow gathered the loose puck and beat Lacina to give Harvard a commanding 3-0 lead.

Sarah Wilson gave the Crimson a 4-0 advantage with 3:40 remaining in the contest. She camped out at the far post and received a pass from Kate Buesser and jammed home the puck for her ninth of the season.

Harvard earned the 4-0 win thanks to earning a 43-18 advantage over the Big Green in shots. Lacina was impressive in net with a career-high 39 saves, while Kessler broke the Harvard school record for shutouts in a season with eight. The Crimson went 1-for-5 on the power play and the Big Green got three chances on the man advantage, but could not find the net.

Dartmouth will be back at Thompson Arena this coming Friday as the Big Green open its final Ivy League weekend of the season as Yale and Brown come to Hanover with the Bulldogs starting the weekend on Friday night at 7 p.m.