Their increased time playing together on special teams has only increased their overall production.

“There are certain plays we just do an assignment that are kind of unspoken—things off the face-offs and breakouts,” Corriero says. “We’ve just come to the point where we know each other so well that things just kind of pan out in the end.”

THE FINAL FRAME

Four years later, both Banfield and Corriero feel their decision to attend Harvard has paid off in more ways than one, even if they’ve had to overcome their share of adversity.

This season, Banfield quietly emerged as one of the strongest on-ice presences the Crimson possesses while continuing to battle knee injuries that have plagued her throughout her career.

Corriero has seen her share of bumps and bruises as well, but sometimes the biggest blacks and blues appear in print.

Take Wally Kozak’s comments in a March 11 Toronto Star article, “Not Good Enough, Eh?” by Ken Campbell. Kozak, Team Canada’s head scout, criticizes Corriero’s skating abilities, saying, “she would have to literally learn to skate” in order to be considered by the team.

Having played with her for over 10 years, Banfield doesn’t buy that argument.

“People talk about her skating all the time but if you’re going up against her, you can’t get the puck from her,” she says. “Whether she’s moving 100 miles per hour or 50 miles per hour, it’s impossible to take the puck from her.”

On the bright side, Corriero has only received the criticism because of the outstanding season she and the team have had, after what can only be described as a dismal November.

“To be honest, we didn’t really know how to deal,” Corriero says. “We had never lost so much in so little period of time. There have been teams that lost six games in a span of three years, [but] one month?”

After starting the season with a shaky 6-1-1 record, the Crimson lost four in a row to the biggest guns out west—Wisconsin and Minnesota once, and twice to Minnesota-Duluth. The team finished 2004 7-6-1, leaving critics skeptical at best at their chances to make a repeat appearance in the Frozen Four.

But Harvard only grew stronger.

“It was so good to have Christmas break and go and have our time off,” Corriero says. “When we got back Coach worked us so hard. That alone brought us together as a team.”

The work paid off. The Crimson boasts the longest unbeaten streak in the nation at 20 games, going undefeated in 2005 with an 18-0-2 record.