Junior Kate Buesser, shown here in earlier action, notched a goal in each of the Crimson’s games this weekend. Buesser leads the team with 32 points on 13 goals and 19 assists, making her the fourth-leading scorer in the ECAC. She leads the conference with a +23 rating on the season. Harvard looks to clinch home ice for the playoffs this weekend after splitting against Union and RPI.
A two-win weekend would have given Harvard coach Katey Stone a share of the NCAA Division I career wins record for women’s hockey. But a weekend journey to splitsville means that Stone and the No. 5 Crimson will have to keep looking for the victory while the ECAC regular-season title hangs in the balance.
Rensselaer (14-11-6, 11-5-4 ECAC), which stands tied with Harvard (17-6-4, 12-6-2) for third in the ECAC standings, made a push for playoff home ice with a home 3-2 overtime victory Friday night. But the Crimson kept pace with the Engineers by responding with a 2-1 victory at Union (5-26-1, 1-18-1) on Saturday.
HARVARD 2, UNION 1
There’s nothing like a match-up against a league bottom-dweller to cure a hangover from a heartbreaking loss.
But try as it might, the Crimson couldn’t quite put Friday night’s loss out of its head by the time of its Saturday matchup against the Dutchwomen.
Maybe lingering dissatisfaction isn’t such a bad thing.
“Everyone was a little upset about the score on Friday,” junior forward Kate Buesser said. “We came out a little stronger. We played with a little more intensity.”
The increased intensity proved necessary against a Union team that played better than its record might have suggested.
“Union was pretty tough—they hung in there with us,” freshman goaltender Laura Bellamy said. “We kind of just got through it. We just struggled as a whole...they contained us really well.”
Certainly the game had a different feel than Harvard’s 4-0 victory over Union at home on Jan. 22.
“They definitely came to play,” junior forward Katharine Chute said. “They put out their best effort.”
And the Dutchwomen held the Crimson scoreless for the entire first period.
Finally, Buesser found the back of the net off a rebound for Harvard’s first goal since the beginning of Friday’s third period.
“Hard work got her that goal,” Bellamy said.
Less than seven minutes later, it was Randi Griffin’s turn. The senior scored a power-play goal off assists from defensemen junior Leanna Coskren and co-captain Kathryn Farni.
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