On the defensive side, the Crimson continued its strong play, with Kessler making 26 saves to build on what has been a very solid season for the senior netminder.

“Kessler, she’s unbelievable in net,” Dempsey said. “We rely on her a lot. She comes up with some amazing saves.”

HARVARD 5, YALE 0

The Bulldogs had no answer for the Crimson offense on Friday, as Harvard struck early and often in a contest that was over shortly after it began.

The rookie-veteran duo of Dempsey and Buesser led the way for the Crimson, collaborating on three of Harvard’s goals and combining for six points in the game.

“[Dempsey’s] a great player,” Buesser said. “She’s just a great hard worker. That’s all you could ask for in a linemate. She’s just easy to work with.”

Dempsey echoed Buesser’s sentiments.

“I love working with Buesser,” Dempsey said. “We kind of have, I wouldn’t say the same style of play, but we complement each other really well. I always know that she’s going to go out there as hard as she can and be in the right spots at the right time”

Dempsey was just one of several freshmen to contribute to the Harvard scoring effort this weekend. The short-staffed Crimson has been forced to rely on its rookies this season, and the young skaters have responded to the challenge.

“We’ve had to have them grow up really quickly,” Buesser said. “We say they’re not freshmen anymore because we can’t afford it. They’ve done a great job of transitioning [to the college game].”

Harvard’s weekend sweep provides it with momentum as it looks to climb up the ECAC standings, but with an unprecedented level of parity in the conference, the Crimson knows that future wins won’t come as easily.

“I think the fact that no team has gone undefeated [in ECAC play] so far this season really proves that the league is getting a lot more competitive,” Kessler said. “There’s going to be a battle to be the top spot.”

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