Co-captain Cori Bassett did her best to snap Harvard out of its slow start, notching an unassisted goal fresh off the bench late in the opening period. But the Crimson could not capitalize on enough offensive opportunities, and the two goals it gave up in the game’s first nine minutes proved costly. Bassett also added a key defensive save in the losing effort.
The last time the Harvard women’s hockey team saw Rensselaer on the ice, the Engineers were celebrating the overtime victory that sent them to their first-ever ECAC championship game.
Back then, the Crimson was stunned as its season ended unexpectedly. But when Rennselaer picked up its second-ever win at Bright Hockey Center on Saturday, Harvard wasn’t quite as surprised.
The Engineers (10-10-5, 7-4-3 ECAC) scored two early goals and never looked back, handing the No. 6 Crimson (10-5-4, 8-5-2) a 4-2 defeat.
“[It’s] very disappointing,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “I was really hoping that our kids were going to come out with a lot of urgency and fire, and we were flat early on and played catch-up all game.”
Rensselaer controlled the first 10 minutes of play, getting on the scoreboard less than two minutes after the opening whistle.
From a scrum in front of the net, Engineer Laura Guillemette picked up an Allysen Weidner rebound and buried it for her first collegiate goal.
Rensselaer’s Laura Gersten was credited with the secondary assist, the first of her three points on the afternoon.
The Crimson took two consecutive penalties in the opening minutes, and at 8:06, Rensselaer broke through again.
Gersten, high in the offensive zone, took a pass from Allison Wright and beat Harvard rookie netminder Laura Bellamy for the 2-0 lead.
The Engineers had 10 shots on goal before junior Kate Buesser got the puck on net nine minutes into the game.
“We were back on our heels, and we’re not that kind of team,” Stone said. “We’ve got to get on our toes and get after it and stay aggressive.”
Harvard came back in the second half of the period, ripping 12 shots before the first intermission. And with just over a minute to play in the opening frame, co-captain Cori Bassett cut the deficit in half.
Fresh off the bench, Bassett scooped up a loose puck and let a slapshot fly from just inside the blue line that sizzled over Engineer netminder Shannon Ramelot.
“That’s a big goal,” Buesser said. “As a defensive team, you never want to give up a goal like that, and it gives us a lot of momentum going into the second period.”
The Crimson picked up its play in the second frame, outshooting Rensselaer, 20-8. Harvard’s defense also came together, tightening up after its early-game lapses with a number of blocked shots—the most impressive from Bassett, who dove across the crease to redirect a puck away from the net.
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