Harvard goalkeeper Christina Kessler turned in two strong performances in two easy Crimson victories over the weekend. The sophomore picked up her fifth shutout of the season in Saturday afternoon’s 4-0 victory over Colgate. Harvard retained its second-pl

The No. 3 Harvard women’s hockey team ended 2007 on a sour note, dropping its first game of the season at top-five rival New Hampshire, and it wanted nothing more than to erase that memory as the new year began.

This weekend at Bright Hockey Center, it did just that, opening 2008 with two dominant victories.

The Crimson (13-1-0, 11-0-0 ECAC) recorded a win over Ivy rival Cornell (7-6-1, 4-3-1 ECAC), 4-1, on Friday night before shutting out Colgate (7-9-2, 4-3-1), 4-0, on Saturday afternoon.

Junior forwards Sarah Wilson and Jenny Brine led the way with two goals apiece and sophomore goaltender Christina Kessler recorded her fifth shutout of the season.

HARVARD 4, COLGATE 0

Harvard exploded for three goals in the second frame after a slow first period en route to a 4-0 shutout of ECAC rival Colgate.

“I think we got better as the game went on,” coach Katey Stone said. “We settled down and used our players well.”

Neither the Crimson nor the Raiders could mount a serious offensive threat in the first 20 minutes of play. Each team mustered only four shots on goal, and the game was still scoreless as the second period opened.

But Harvard got steadily stronger as the second period went on, and with just under eight minutes to play in the period, Wilson took a pass from sophomore linemate Anna McDonald and put it past Colgate goalie Lisa Plenderleith for the afternoon’s first score.

The recently constituted line of Wilson, McDonald, and freshman Liza Ryabkina had the most offensive success, coming up with 10 of the Crimson’s 27 shots and three of Harvard’s goals.

Though Wilson’s goal was all that Kessler and the Harvard defense needed, the Crimson turned up the offensive pressure and drew two late-period penalties. With 3:38 to play in the period, Brine found the back of the net for her ninth goal of the year.

Junior Kati Vaughn and sophomore Kathryn Farni assisted on the goal. It was Farni’s first point on the season.

“I think we handled the puck really well as a team,” junior forward Sarah Vaillancourt said.

Just over two minutes later, the Crimson earned another power play, and this time it was Wilson who connected for her second goal of the night.

Early in the third period, freshman Katharine Chute was called for tripping. But it was Harvard who would capitalize on the penalty, as McDonald picked up a loose puck and skated in for the Crimson’s first shorthanded goal of the season.

Vaillancourt almost made it 5-0 a few minutes later, but her breakaway shot was saved by Plenderleith.

“We’re trying to do what we do well and put it in the hands of the kids,” Stone said.

HARVARD 4, CORNELL 1

The last time that Harvard saw 4-1 on the scoreboard, it was on the losing side and had just relinquished the No.1 ranking to New Hampshire. Friday night, the Crimson won by that same score over ECAC foe Cornell.

“It was great for us to come back and string 60 pretty good minutes together,” tri-captain Caitlin Cahow said. “I think it’s a good team effort coming off the break.”

Harvard used all four of its forward lines, which were adjusted after the loss against the Wildcats.

“We’re seeing better play from all the lines as a result [of the changes] and more balance and better chemistry so I think we are better in that sense,” Stone said. “I think they supported each other better than they had before Christmas.”

A different player scored each of the Crimson’s four goals, with two coming on the power play. By converting two of its four extra-skater chances, Harvard moved into the national lead in power play conversion rate.

Kessler, supported by a solid defensive effort, made a total of 19 saves in the win.

“I think our D are playing pretty tough,” Cahow said. “Kessler, as always, is playing well, keeping the pucks out of the net for us.”

Cornell goalie Jenny Niesluchowski did not have the same success. Harvard freshman Kate Buesser scored at 10:53 in the first period after stripping the puck from a Big Red skater and sprinting half the length of the rink.

From that point on, the Crimson controlled the flow of the game by constantly pressing forward into Cornell’s half. Vaillancourt scored just 2:37 into the second period and combined with Brine to set up Cahow’s close-range power-play strike later in the period.

“That’s one of the more fun parts of my night,” Cahow said. “Defensemen always love to score goals now and then because it doesn’t happen too often for us.”

The trio of Brine, Vaillancourt and Cahow teamed up to score again on a power play in the third, this time with Brine scoring with 3:23 left in regulation. Vaillancourt received a pass from Cahow on the left side of goal and quickly sent the puck across the face of the goal to a waiting Brine.

Earlier in the third period, the Big Red scored its lone goal of the game, also on a power play. Cornell was playing without freshman Rebecca Johnston, the top-scoring freshman in the nation, who was on national duty playing for Canada’s Under-22 team.

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Lucy D. Chen can be reached at lucychen@fas.harvard.edu.