Freshman forward Lyndsey Fry, shown above in earlier play, scored in the second period against Yale, right before tri-captain Liza Ryabkina scored her second goal of the weekend. Ryabkina also tallied a goal against Brown on Friday to open the scoring for the Crimson. Harvard went on to shut out the Bears, 4-0. and won a high-scoring matchup with the Bulldogs, 5-3.

The Harvard women’s hockey team is hitting its stride at the right time. After struggling at the beginning of the season, the Crimson (12-7-2, 11-3-2 ECAC) has turned things around just as the ECAC playoff race heats up, winning seven of its last eight contests. Harvard’s two wins at Brown and Yale this weekend showed just how far the Crimson has come since it first took the ice.

“I think we’re a completely different team,” tri-captain Kate Buesser said. “I think we’ve come together. We’ve had a lot of lowerclassmen step up and play a lot harder than they thought they could.”

Harvard’s new versatility shined during the weekend, as seven different players found the back of the net.

“We’ve evolved,” Buesser said. “Our system’s better. We’ve stepped it up in our team chemistry. We’re able to settle into our game and how we want to play...We’ve changed for the better.”

HARVARD 5, YALE 3

In its season opener, the Crimson was surprised by a Bulldog squad led by its former assistant coach, Jaokim Flygh.

“We barely tied them [the first time],” tri-captain Liza Ryabkina said.

But while Flygh and Yale (5-14-2, 4-9-1) continued to provide a challenge on the ice, Harvard was ready on Saturday.

“We knew we were going to have to fight,” Ryabkina said.

The Crimson drew first blood four and a half minutes into the game when sophomore Jillian Dempsey scored off an intercepted pass.

But less than six minutes later, rookie Jenna Ciotti evened the score.

The back and forth nature of the game continued throughout all three periods with the team’s going goal-for-goal and nearly shot for shot. The contest finished with Harvard barely outshooting the Bulldogs, 30-24.

“I was really impressed with how efficient and hard working they were,” Ryabkina said. “It’s partly a testament to our ex-coach, Joakim. You could definitely see that they were sticking to their game plan. They kept coming back.”

But while Yale was able to keep the game competitive, it was never able to take the lead.

“I think the [difference] was being able to respond,” Buesser said. “Every time they were able to score a goal or have a shot, we were able to counter really well.”