“[She] went down in the first period and we didn’t get her back for precautionary reasons,” Stone said. “So then we become one junior, two sophomores, and a freshman and they did great.”

That group—Jennifer Skinner, Caitlin Cahow, Lindsay Weaver, and Jessica Mackenzie—held the Saints to just 17 shots and off the scoreboard for nearly the entire final two periods.

Banfield, however, the only senior and the unquestioned leader of the bunch, is invaluable to the team’s prospects against No. 1 Minnesota and its explosive top line in the final on Sunday.

And as of Friday night, Stone was still unsure whether or not Banfield would be available for that game.

But after testing negative in X-rays and having a healthy skate in practice Saturday, Stone and the trainers cleared Banfield for her final collegiate game.

“We weren’t sure until she had some pictures taken last night,” Stone said. “But she’ll be fine.”

Banfield ranks second in the nation (behind Minnesota’s Lyndsay Wall) in scoring by defensemen with 1.17 points per game.

BOX AND WON

In an unsurprising development, Friday’s meeting between the Crimson and St. Lawrence was an intensely physical affair. Given the familiarity of the conference rivals and the tense playoff atmosphere, the hard hitting dished out on both sides was expected.

The high number of resulting penalty calls, however, was not.

The referees handed out 44 penalty minutes in all, with 12 fouls called on Harvard and 10 on the Saints.

The resulting emphasis on special teams play put St. Lawrence—way down the national list at 18th in combined special teams—at a serious disadvantage.

“Last week [vs. Duluth], they let us play. Then we get here on this stage on the big ice surface and it’s completely different,” said St. Lawrence coach Paul Flanagan. “So I think the kids were a little confused with this dramatic change. You get to the point where you’re not sure how to play defense.”

The Saints looked absolutely unsure how to contain the second-ranked Crimson power play and were burned for three extra-skater tallies.