“I tried to make sure that our defense was active,” Chu said. “One thing we’ve wanted from our defensemen is to skate it up if the opening’s there—not to force it, but it’s a help to have that extra flow, that extra player in the offensive rush.”  

Chu created Harvard’s second goal of the period.  After poking the puck away from a Dartmouth skater while in the Crimson’s zone, Chu sliced through the Big Green’s defense on the left side, while linemate and fellow sophomore Jennifer Raimondi skated down the right side.

“The puck just squirted out and I skated up and saw Jen going hard to the post,” Chu said. “I sent [the puck] hard to the net, hoping good things would happen. She put it right in.”

The goal tied the game at two apiece and silenced a previously rowdy Dartmouth majority of the crowd of 1,555, while giving Harvard’s small cheering section reason to make noise.

While her offensive contributions show up on paper, Chu proved her true worth on the defensive end, where her own efforts complemented the absolutely smothering play of Banfield and the grit demonstrated by Cahow and Weaver.

Their defense neutralized the Big Green’s momentum from the second period and allowed the Crimson to storm back and keep the game tied until just over one minute remained.

Chu’s praise didn’t go unnoticed by her opponents, either.

“I thought she did a great job back there. She’s just such a good, well-rounded hockey player that it’s almost seamless for her to step back and play defense,” said Dartmouth coach Mark Hudak.

More than generating offense when Harvard needed it most and helping Banfield spearhead the defense in Ruggiero’s absence, Chu filling in every step of the way when and where she was needed reflected the entire team’s selfless play in the final period.

“She’s such a team player. I think she’d go in net if we had to,” McAuliffe said. “She’s just such a good athlete—she can play anywhere; she’s got the legs to do it. She just steps it up and does whatever we need to get done out there.”

For the final 1:15, down a goal and desperately trying to tie the game up, Chu raced down the ice to retrieve the puck time after time when the Big Green cleared it.

—Staff writer John R. Hein can be reached at hein@fas.harvard.edu.