Clarkson could not find the key to scoring against Harvard this weekend.

Junior goaltender Ali Boe made sure that, despite some defensive and mental lapses by the Crimson, the Golden Knights looked frustrated and helpless in their offensive zone.

On Friday night, Boe stopped a total of 16 shots for her sixth shutout of the season and 13th of her career. The next highest goaltender in Harvard history boasts only nine.

As her counterpart across the ice, Kira McDonald, registered a whopping 82 saves over the course of the weekend, Boe managed to reject Clarkson in some intense moments.

About one minute into the second period, the Golden Knights stepped up the pressure and managed to get the puck into the Crimson’s crease with a number of people crowding around. While Boe could not quite get a hold of it at first, after a dangerous half-minute in which it seemed no one on the ice was sure where the puck was, Boe knocked it aside to squelch the chance.

Clarkson’s best chance to score on Friday ended up being a lucky break for Boe and Harvard, as the Golden Knights could not convert. Just a few minutes after the scramble in the crease, a Clarkson pass found its way through the middle of the Crimson defense and right past the right edge of the net. Had Melissa Marshall—who was right there—been able to connect with her stick, Boe probably would have not been able to recover.

“[We got] selfish,” Stone said. “We stopped skating, stopped moving the puck and stayed on the ice too long.”

In the second game, Boe did give up a goal, but she also stopped another 16 shots and prevented Clarkson from ever getting back into the game.

“I felt sorry for [Boe] on that one,” Stone said. “But it’s not about a shutout. Its about a win.”

Early in the second period of the second game—with the score just 1-0 in Harvard’s favor—the puck was sent into the crease with sophomore defender Caitlin Cahow and a Golden Knights forward in on the play. The puck bounced up into the air, and Boe showed great agility and quickness by popping forward and grabbing it, all while knocking into the two players.

CRUNCH TIME

In playoff action around the country, the matchups went according to plan—for the most part.

Brown—the No. 6 seed in the ECAC—took the first game in its series against the third-seeded St. Lawrence squad in convincing fashion, with a 3-0 blanking—but the Saints rallied to take the next two games and the series.

St. Lawrence will next face Dartmouth in the semifinals next weekend, after the Big Green dispatched Colgate in two games.

The series between Yale and Princeton—teams ranked fourth and five in the Ivies, respectively—was one of the most anticipated first-round matchups in the East. It did not disappoint as the Tigers took the Bulldogs into overtime before Deena Caplette scored to give Yale the victory.