“I’ve really enjoyed every single game, every single practice,” Kessler said. “I hope the fun continues.”

Recently, the good times have been rolling for Kessler, who has twice been named the ECAC Goaltender of the Week.

“I don’t really care too much about the stats,” she said. “It’s a goalie’s job to keep the pucks from going in the net. I just focus on one shot at a time. As long as the team is winning, that’s all I’m concerned about.”

Before this weekend, the Crimson’s only victory against a ranked opponent had come on Nov. 7 against then-No. 7 St. Lawrence. And the rest of the top ten had given Harvard a ton of difficulty—the Crimson tied New Hampshire, but lost to both Clarkson and Princeton.

So the Gophers looked like they would be trouble. Like the Crimson, Minnesota boasts a talented goaltender in Noora Raty, a member of the Finnish National team.

“Us and Harvard are very similar, in that we both have fast teams, work extremely hard and both teams have outstanding goaltending,” Frost wrote in an email.

Raty lived up to the billing, making 39 saves against the Crimson on Saturday, and only letting the puck past her on one shot all weekend, with the lone score coming from Harvard junior Liza Ryabkina.

“Generally when you only give up one goal on the weekend, you would expect to come out with a win or two,” Frost wrote.

But this weekend, one goal wasn’t going to cut it. Not with Kessler in the opposing net.

“[It’s a] huge testament to Kessler’s focus and intensity,” Stone said. “That’s exactly what we needed her to do.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.