You could say it was written in the stars.

I awoke the morning of the women’s hockey NCAA championship to find the Sunday edition of the Providence Journal outside my hotel door.

Skimming the headlines, one caught my attention. Six planets in our solar system—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn—had aligned in the heavens. Including Earth, all but Saturn would be visible.

It was a sign. The hockey gods had orchestrated a cosmic ballet as a prelude to something special on the ice.

After following the Crimson all season, it seemed the fitting storybook end to the season. Doubted by many for most of the way, Harvard took on the role of unheralded No. 1 of the east.

The final battle pitting No. 1 Minnesota and the No. 2 Crimson would put any remaining doubts to rest.

It’s an old line now, but last year’s team was tapped to win it all early on. According to Harvard coach Katey Stone, it was the best team she’d ever coached. The team certainly put forth the numbers on paper. But it fell short when it counted most, falling to Minnesota-Duluth 4-3 in double overtime in the finals.

This season was different, and you could feel it. True, the Crimson had lost five talented seniors. But Angela Ruggiero and Lauren McAuliffe were steering the helm and they had a personal stake in returning to the championship game. Last season, the Bulldogs’ game-winner was shot past a sliding Ruggiero and a lunging McAuliffe, the puck flew over the first and past the latter before finding the back of the net on an impossible angle.

They never forgot. And this was their chance to win what had slipped away last season. Destiny brought them and Harvard back to the championship game.

Less than an hour before game-time, the Harvard team jogged around the lower level of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The inner workings of my mind requested the Rocky theme from my brain’s jukebox.

Moments later, Minnesota began stretching. Soon, the team paired off and mock-sparred with one another, throwing but never landing any punches. Regardless, the imagery was clear. This was setting up to be a classic championship bout.

As the six heavenly bodies aligned in the heavens, six bodies from each team skated on the ice and lined up during the starting line-up announcements, then remained after the national anthems for the opening face-off.

The ballet on ice was about to begin.

Early on, everything went according to the Crimson’s plans.

McAuliffe found a rebound off a shot from junior Nicole Corriero and fired it while being pulled down by Minnesota’s Alli Sanchez. Her shot hit the right post and set off the red light, but ultimately missed. But the bounce went Harvard’s way: her shot drew a penalty on Sanchez, leading to a Kat Sweet power play goal over a minute later.