For the No. 2 Harvard’s women’s hockey team (12-0-1), the key to staying unbeaten may lie in two Olympians not named Angela Ruggiero and Julie Chu.

Sophomore forwards Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps will lead the No. 3 Dartmouth (10-1-1) attack as they return to somewhat familiar grounds at the Bright Center on Sunday afternoon.

It was there last February that the Ontario-born duo drew first blood against the Crimson, combining to notch the Big Green’s first and only goal to open the contest. Piper assisted Apps a mere 3:44 into the game, a thriller that ended 2-1 in Harvard’s favor.

In the process, Piper also became the first non-Harvard gold medalist to ever play on the Bright Center ice.

“It’s a great rivalry, and these are always such exciting games,” says Dartmouth head coach Mark Hudak, looking forward to the matchup. “It’s fun for the kids to play in that type of game which is always elevated for both schools.”

Hudak also looks forward to his two stars rising to the occasion on Sunday in what will in all likelihood be a prelude to a late-round ECAC tournament clash between the two teams.

“A lot is going to be on the line,” Hudak says. “It’s time for those individuals who you think of as always being the best to step up.”

And a year older, a year wiser—and arguably, that much more dangerous—Apps and Piper will be looking to do more than just score: they’ll be aiming to deal the Crimson its very first loss of the year.

But if last year’s nail-biter of a game is any indication, stopping the two members of Team Canada may be easier said than done.

Testing Their Medal

Hudak duly recognizes the effect of having two Olympians on the ice. As is the case with the vast majority of Olympians on the collegiate level, both Apps and Piper are years older than their fellow classmates, having played on the national and international levels for years before donning the green and white in Hanover, N.H.

“They’re both very strong players with tons of experience at different levels,” Hudak says. “I certainly think they bring a certain competitiveness, and how hard they go and how hard they compete sets the bar a little bit higher for others to try to reach. It pushes everybody in practice, going against kids like that day in and day out.”

“There’s a sense of confidence to the team,” Hudak continues, “and everyone looks to them to see how they are reacting because they’ve played against the best players in the world. They bring a maturity, a calmness and confidence contagious to the team.”

Harvard head coach Katey Stone is intimately familiar with that impact herself, with two medal winners currently at her behest in co-captain defenseman Ruggiero and sophomore forward Chu.

“It’s invaluable,” Stone says. “It raises the play of everyone around them. For me, it enhanced the caliber of our program, elevated our play.”