“I had to get down the angles during warm-ups,” Boe said. “I also didn’t want to step out too far. I wanted to give [the team] a chance to get down and score first and put pressure on them.”

“[Boe] is the difference in a lot of these games,” Ruggiero said. “She always makes the first stop.”

Harvard 6, Maine 0

On Saturday, the Crimson got the ball rolling by overwhelming Maine (4-7-2) 6-0 to secure the best-ever start for a Harvard women’s hockey team. The shutout was the Crimson’s fifth on the young season.

Despite the pressure from the Black Bears’ offense in the final period, freshman Emily Vitt preserved the shutout.

“[Maine] came out hard and didn’t give up,” Ruggiero said. “This is the first time [Vitt] has really been tested.”

Vitt lowered her goals-against average to 0.33 and still has only been scored upon once in three games between the pipes.

“Although I haven’t seen a significant amount of shots, I think that I have had a number of crucial saves that have helped boost the team,” Vitt said. “Getting a shutout—regardless of the number of shots—is still a very rewarding feeling.”

Though the 6-0 score illustrates the Crimson’s offensive dominance, it does not reflect the scrappiness and physicality of the Black Bears’ play.

Harvard adjusted to Maine’s rough play, picking up six penalties over the three periods.

“We knew what kind of team they were,” Ruggiero said. “We tried to come out with our style of play.”

Harvard’s approach first paid off 10 minutes into the game when junior forward Nicole Corriero scored on a power play from the right faceoff circle.

Corriero also notched the Crimson’s last goal of the contest—and her 14th of the season—on a shorthanded breakaway.

Between Corriero’s two goals, junior Kat Sweet and Ruggiero each put in a pair of their own. Ruggiero also registered an assist on both Corriero and Sweet’s first goals.

Sweet’s first goal was her first tally since the second game of the season, an 11-0 rout of Union Nov. 8.

“I felt like I was overdue,” Sweet said. “I kept working hard the last couple of games and when I put in the first one, I felt myself relax.”

Harvard returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Providence at 7 p.m.