In the No. 3 Harvard women’s hockey team’s 7-0 blowout of Boston College last night, the Eagles’ defensive gameplan was simple: stop junior forward Sarah Vaillancourt from scoring.

“Sarah Vaillancourt, they were faceguarding her tonight. There’s not a lot you can do against that,” senior tri-captain Caitlin Cahow said.

But by tightening up on Vaillancourt, BC created opportunities for the Crimson’s other scoring threats, and it was Cahow—a defenseman—who answered the call.

“Where one door closes, another door opens,” Cahow said.

The Olympian paced the Harvard scoring barrage with her first career hat trick, showing off the versatility that landed her a spot as a forward on the US National Team.

Cahow bookended her historic night with two power play goals off of textbook passes across the crease from junior forward Jenny Brine.

In between, Cahow showed off some power, slamming the puck home from the blueline off of yet another Brine assist.

“She’s got very quick hands and she does a lot of things very well for us,” said Crimson assistant coach Joakim Flygh. “We’re lucky to have her and this is her senior year so I’m sure she wants to make it happen.”

The three scores bumped Cahow’s goals per game average to 1.13, which places her at third in the nation among defensemen.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

Harvard’s rout of the Eagles was due in large part to its special teams play. Both the Crimson’s power play and penalty kill units dominated, overwhelming BC at both ends of the ice.

The Eagles played a physical game from the beginning, and the contest took a rougher turn as BC showed its frustration as Harvard piled on goals.

The Eagles committed seven penalties, giving the Crimson six power play opportunites. Harvard capitalized with four goals with a man advantage.

Cahow was responsible for two of the power play scores. Freshman Katharine Chute added one in the third period after picking up a loose puck when Vaillancourt collided with a BC player, and junior Sarah Wilson scored unassisted after stealing the puck off of a faceoff.

The Crimson was also impressive on the penalty kill.

The Eagles had three power play chances, including a 5-on-3 advantage in the third period, but could not get through the Harvard penalty kill unit. BC was only able to muster nine power play shots, all of which were stopped by sophomore goalie Christina Kessler.

“The penalty kill for us is something that we are really proud of and we work really hard for it,” Cahow said.

ICE COLD SERVING

The Crimson came into last night’s game with a little added incentive, looking for revenge after the Eagles beat Harvard in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 triple-overtime win in the first round of last year’s Beanpot on a goal by Anna McDonald—now a Crimson sophomore.

“Our kids wanted to set a statement,” Flygh said. “They came out flying and never stopped.”

In last season’s meeting, BC goalie Molly Schaus put on a clinic in front of the net, making 73 saves. This time around, Schaus had no answer for the Crimson, and a combination of aggressive play and some fortunate bounces allowed Harvard to tag Schaus for seven goals.

“Molly Schaus is an excellent goaltender,” Cahow said. “She puts that team in position to win huge games all the time. Tonight was no exception but the puck just bounced onto our stick.”

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.