“We needed to find different ways to score,” Stone said. “We did that in the third period. We adjusted our special teams just to get different looks at the net because straight-on rebounds weren’t happening right away.”

Niagara’s lone goal of the series came on a Harvard slip-up in the first period. Sophomore defenseman Jennifer Skinner missed a Ruggiero pass, and Niagara’s Katie Gray picked up the loose puck. Skinner couldn’t catch up to prevent a shot, and Gray ended nearly 250 straight minutes of shutout hockey by Harvard. Gray beat freshman goaltender Emily Vitt on her left side, finding the angle past Vitt’s glove.

Though the goal broke Harvard’s shutout streak, it does not diminish the Crimson’s dominance in its first five games. Harvard has posted 34 goals while holding its opponents to just one.

“That’s a reflection of how much we are emphasizing defense this year,” Ruggiero said. “Last year, obviously we played good defense, but I think it’s going to be more of a priority this year just because the games are going to be a lot closer.”

Vitt posted a solid 16 saves on 17 shots. Rutledge, in her return from a one-game suspension, made an impressive 50 saves in the loss.

“We gave Vitt a heart attack a couple times, but she was right there for us,” Stone said.

Harvard 4, Niagara 0

Harvard celebrated its first home game of the season—and Stone’s 175th career win—in style, extending its shutout win streak to four games with a 4-0 victory over the Purple Eagles Saturday afternoon.

The win also marked the first game of the season in which the Crimson lineup was at full force, with Ruggiero and Chu returning from national team play in Sweden and senior winger Mina Pell and Johnston joining the team after the field hockey and soccer seasons, respectively.

Leading the way for the Crimson was Chu, who wasted no time in making her return known to the Bright Hockey Center. The forward scored twice and assisted once in the first period.

Chu knocked in both of her goals from just outside the crease. For her second tally, Chu streaked diagonally across the ice and through Niagara’s zone, where Ruggiero fed her a perfectly timed pass. Without so much as slowing her stride, Chu flicked the puck past Niagara goalie Jennifer Mascaro’s left leg and sent the Crimson into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead.

From the initial drop of the puck, the Harvard women held the upper hand. In just the first two minutes, the Crimson commenced firing an arsenal of shots at Mascaro, and it took less than five minutes for Johnston to tally the team’s first goal of the game and the first goal of her collegiate career.

Harvard played an aggressive game but failed to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities, while Niagara’s anemic offense never fully responded to the smothering Crimson defense.

The Purple Eagles answered Harvard’s continued domination with five penalties in the second period, one of which led to a McAuliffe goal 13 seconds later. Ruggiero passed from the point to the right circle, where McAuliffe scored past an overextended Mascaro.

“We actually planned that [play] between periods,” Ruggiero said.