If you walk into Bright Hockey Arena on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon game to see the Harvard women’s hockey team in action, you’d never guess the team was off to its best start in program history. That’s because despite a talented team that has posted an undefeated record (12-0-1) and earned the ranking of No. 2 in the nation, few have caught on to women’s hockey this season, and game attendance shows it.

“We played a lot of away games at the beginning of the season and we haven’t had that opportunity to gain momentum at home,” says Harvard coach Katey Stone. “Some of those home games have been against weaker teams, so that’s contributed to some of the lack of enthusiasm surrounding a big rivalry.”

If students need incentive to cross from JFK Street and over Lars Anderson Bridge, the Crimson has a solution. Coaches, players and the die-hards hope that this Sunday’s match-up with No. 3 Dartmouth will have a similar and lasting effect like last year’s game to build both the team’s and fans’ momentum for the rest of the season.

Though attendance was drastically higher throughout last season, a record 1,741 fans swarmed into Bright to see Harvard post a thrilling 2-1 victory over Dartmouth. The very next day, the team drew its second-largest crowd of the season in a 9-1 blow-out of Vermont.

The Best Show in Town

Last February, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan wrote a feature that ran on the front of the Sports section entitled, “See Here, Ruggiero a Talent.” In addition to lauding the play of co-captain Angela Ruggiero, the anchor of Harvard’s defense and an equally potent threat on the offensive end, Ryan referred to the upcoming Harvard-Dartmouth game as “the absolute Best Show In Town.”

Although Ryan could not make it to the best the Boston area had to offer that weekend (business called him to Florida instead), fans flocked to Bright arena, including about 400 students, in spite of a snowstorm.

Members of Radcliffe crew, sporting painted stomachs in support of the Crimson, lined against the glass behind the far-end goal. The band came in full force to egg on Dartmouth goalie Amy Ferguson and cheer on the home team.

After a tremendous on-ice effort, the victorious Harvard coaches and players acknowledged the effort of the fans.

“There’s no question in my mind that band and students helped us win that game,” Stone said after the game. “We thank them a lot and we hope they come back.”

“It was a great crowd—tons of support, tons of energy,” said then co-captain Jennifer Botterill ’02-‘03. “We were thrilled.”

This type of energy and fan turn-out has been notably lacking at games this season. Aside from the student body’s loss of watching arguably Harvard’s best sports program in action, this is a team that truly values it.

“I don’t think women athletes, particularly at Harvard, take [home crowds] for granted,” Stone says. “They see the band there, they see people come in—they truly appreciate that, so it’s not lost on our athletes.”

“It’s something I wish they had the opportunity to experience more.”

Following last year’s Dartmouth game, Stone’s comments reflected the appreciative attitude of the hockey team towards the fans. She said her only regret that game was that Harvard was unable to extend its one-goal lead so that the crowd could erupt.