Plagued by a nagging back injury throughout last season, she feels that she’s now back at a level greater than full strength and credits a rigorous off-season training program for the improvement.

Her coach, and teammates agree.

“The summer is a great time to take your game to the next level,” says Raimondi. “It doesn’t have to be on the ice, either…I took the training program that the team gets and made it a part of my daily routine. I don’t know if [my shot] is something new, or if it’s just having a new confidence with the puck as a sophomore versus a freshman. I think it ultimately depends, though, on where the luck falls.”

Either way—luck or skill—Raimondi’s teammates are behind her with full confidence.

“Ability-wise, it’s awesome. You can definitely tell she’s in better shape, that she has gotten stronger,” says junior forward Kat Sweet. “She’ll step it up, and be a leader. She’s in for a huge year—we lost so much offensive push last year that she needs to be.”

Carrying That Weight

The offensive push to which Sweet refers comes in the form of five seniors that Harvard coach Katey Stone calls the best class she’s ever graduated, as a whole.

This season, the team knows that it’s going to have to rely heavily on underclassmen to step up and help carry a bigger part of the load—on offense, especially. Raimondi is one of those underclassmen.

“We’re definitely going to need Jen to take a bigger role with the three forwards we lost who were seniors,” Corriero says. “We lost that scoring power and need to replace that, and Jen is going to be one of the players who we turn to.”

Raimondi, though, is ready for the challenge, and eagerly awaits the opportunity to develop further and negate that void.

“We have holes to fill, I know,” says Raimondi. “I need to step up, but I don’t see it as pressure. It’s an opportunity to showcase what I have inside me, and do what I need to do for the team, to have us all working together for each other.”

Raimondi only had her name seriously called a few times last season, but in those instances she’s done exactly what she has said she will this year: step up.

Against Maine, Stone moved Raimondi up to join Harvard’s starting five—which included captain Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03, Sweet, freshman Julie Chu, and Ruggiero—and the freshman responded by netting two picturesque goals.

In last season’s 4-3 double-overtime defeat in the National Championship, Raimondi was called upon again. This time, she responded by nearly scoring twice in the overtime period.

“We had played two lines most of the game,” Sweet said. “She hadn’t gotten a chance to get in up until then, but coach suddenly decides to put her in towards the end, and she almost scored. It was amazing.”