Boe’s travails early on, however, allowed Mercyhurst to build a quick lead, heading into the first intermission with a 3-1 advantage. A lucky break for the Lakers got them on the scoreboard first, when Samantha Shirley’s pass deflected off a defender’s skate past Boe for the unassisted goal. The lead doubled less than three minutes later when the puck trickled over the line after a scrum at the left post.
Harvard was bailed out, as it continued to be throughout regulation, by Corriero and the top power-play unit.
“Their power play is tremendous,” Mercyhurst coach Michael Sisti said. “And they gained some key momentum off their power-play goals.”
Afforded a 5-on-3 advantage with five minutes left in the initial period, the Crimson cashed in the opportunity. Chu picked out Corriero at the left post to bring Harvard within one.
The deficit soon surged back to two when a turnover in the zone ignited a Mercyhurst 2-on-1. Stefanie Bourbeau gave it up to CHA Player of the Year Teresa Marchese, who beat Boe glove side.
Down two goals with its entire season on the line, Harvard was not discouraged, and instead drew inspiration from a season-long string of peaks and valleys, knowing it had the strength to recover.
“This game was like our season has been,” Stone said. “We started off shaky and dug ourselves a hole and then we climbed out of it. We were very consistent and then we became attacking.”
In that frame of mind, the Crimson stormed out of the gates in the second period, with Corriero jamming home another rebound.
A similar play unfolded minutes later, when Corriero nailed down the hat trick on assists from Chu and sophomore Caitlin Cahow.
The deadlock was short-lived, with Mercyhurst earning its last lead at 4-3 with 4:40 left in the middle frame—erased early in the third by Corriero’s last tally.
Corriero finished with five points and four goals in all, both single-game tournament records. Chu had a goal and three assists on the afternoon, and Vaillancourt also contributed a trio of helpers.
In the end, the bruising, interminable encounter exposed the heart and determination of all the athletes involved, who pushed themselves through 112:28 of do-or-die hockey.
“It’s playoff time, it’s do-or-die, and anything can happen,” Corriero said. “I was facing potentially the last game of my hockey career and you find that inner strength to go that extra bit because you don’t want it end.”
Harvard will now travel to Durham, N.H., to tackle conference rival St. Lawrence in the Frozen Four at 5 p.m. on Friday.
—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.