In a game defined by defense, the Harvard women’s hockey team finally gave a record home crowd of 1,741 a reason to erupt after two scoreless periods when Crimson captain Jennifer Botterill won the game’s final faceoff and fellow captain Angela Ruggiero took the puck behind the net to run out the clock.

The effort clinched a 2-1 Harvard (19-1-0, 9-0-0 ECAC) victory over No. 4 Dartmouth (16-7-0, 8-4-0) in a heated, physical game in which 17 penalties were awarded and one first-period power-play goal proved to be the difference.

“We want to have these games to keep finding different ways to win,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone. “Tonight, it was good ‘D’ and special teams.”

Ruggiero provided the power on both ends of the ice. In addition to spearheading the defense, the Patty Kazmaier-nominated defenseman scored the Crimson’s game-winning goal on a 5-on-3 at 13:43 in the first period.

“This is why I play hockey right here—these kind of games where it’s so intense and every little play matters, especially if you’re a defenseman,” Ruggiero said. “I’m fully utilized.”

For the game-winner, Ruggiero pounced on a rebound that popped in front of the goal following a one-timer by Botterill that was blocked by the Big Green’s Canadian Olympian Cherie Piper.

“I didn’t think it’d go on to be the game-winner because of how much offense we were generating,” Ruggiero said.

While Ruggiero’s goal gave the Harvard the lead, the Crimson’s team defense preserved the win.

“Everyone played defensively, including our forwards who backchecked like crazy,” Ruggiero said. “You can’t be happier than we were tonight as far as the defensive play goes.”

Dartmouth sealed its own fate at the end of the game when Piper took an unwanted penalty, hitting McAuliffe from behind at 17:55. Big Green winger Danielle Grundy was already in the box at the time.

With the two-man advantage, Harvard kept the puck in Dartmouth’s zone for most of the final minutes and eliminated any chance of a comeback.

“We played with discipline throughout, and that was disappointing to have two kids in the box you’d love to have on the ice in the end,” said Dartmouth coach Judy Oberting. “We were in position to win the game and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Big Green lost a game it dominated for the first four minutes. Freshman Gillian Apps gave Dartmouth a 1-0 lead at 3:44 when she slapped in a goal off a setup from the right point.

Less than two minutes later, the Crimson answered. On a 2-on-1 rush, freshman Julie Chu faked a pass to junior Lauren McAuliffe, then fanned on her own shot, and finally slipped a pass to McAuliffe at the last second. McAuliffe knocked home the tying goal into a wide-open net at 5:08.

“The thing that impresses me most is that we answered right away,” Stone said.

From then on, the Crimson defense stepped up and broke up nearly every Dartmouth scoring opportunity, both at even-strength and on the penalty kill.

“I think our 5-5 and our penalty game won the game for us,” Stone said. “Our penalty kill was terrific. Unless they had an offensive zone faceoff, they didn’t get the puck in our zone at all.”

Although all of the scoring was done in the first period of the game, the fans and the Harvard band reflected the intensity and emotions that the players displayed on the ice.

The Crimson had numerous scoring opportunities on seven power plays in the final two periods, but was never able to convert. Fans sat on the edge of their seats each time a net was open for a goal, but Harvard players could not find the back of the net.

However, each save brought that much more excitement to the crowd. Harvard junior Jessica Ruddock and Dartmouth’s Amy Ferguson posted stellar performances between the pipes. Ruddock stopped 21 of 22 goals, while Ferguson made 37 saves in the loss.

The game grew more intense with each missed opportunity and became rougher as players grew hungrier.

The officials let most of the physical contact go in the first period before calling the two penalties that led to Ruggiero’s power-play goal. In the last two periods, the officials called the game tighter and awarded each team a two-man advantage.

One of the most spectacular hits of the day was provided by captain Jamie Hagerman when she cross-checked Dartmouth senior Amy Catlin—often referred to as the “evil twin” of Harvard’s Tracy Catlin—to prevent her from breaking to the net.

Both sides dealt out their fair share of punishment for the evening.

“I expected them to come out and play physical,” Chu said. “It’s all part of the game. I wouldn’t want to play hockey if it wasn’t tough.”

“When these two teams get together, it’s always physical,” Ruggiero added.