Entering Thursday night’s contest, the Crimson had struggled to find the back of the net early in games. But the Harvard women’s hockey team (7-4, 6-2 ECAC) wasted no time getting on the board at Providence College (8-10-3, 6-4-1 Hockey East), as three unanswered first period goals propelled the Crimson to a 5-1 non-conference win.

“I thought it was a great team effort,” junior goaltender Laura Bellamy said. “We got off to a strong start. Our forwards did a nice job getting to the net, and we got a few goals [early on]. It was good for us to be able to get a lead right away.”

Junior forward Jillian Dempsey led the way for Harvard, netting the first two goals of the game and putting the Friars in a deficit from which they could not recover.

Her first tally came 6:16 into the first period, after a pass from freshman forward Sami Reber sent the junior on a break down the middle. Dempsey found sophomore forward Lyndsey Fry and eventually popped the rebound of a Fry shot on goal into the back of the net.

“Dempsey had an unbelievable game,” Bellamy said. “She’s definitely one of our leaders up front, and she’s such a hard worker.”

Less than two minutes later, Dempsey played another puck past Providence goaltender Genevieve Lacasse, this time when the Crimson was playing shorthanded, to increase the Crimson lead to two. After blocking a Providence shot, Dempsey went the length of the ice to convert the unassisted tally.

“[Dempsey] coming up with a short handed goal was huge for us,” Bellamy said. “To score a goal of our own was great and gave us more breathing room going into the rest of the game.”

Sophomore forward Elizabeth Parker followed suit with under a minute to play in the opening frame, netting a pass from freshman forward Hillary Crowe to give the Crimson a commanding lead going into the break. Junior forward Margaret Chute was also credited with an assist on the play.

“We obviously wanted to get going right off the bat,” Dempsey said. “We said, ‘Early and often,’ so it was huge that we got going right away. Once you get one, the others are a little bit easier to get.”

Although Harvard dominated in the first period, the Crimson only just edged the Friars, 9-8, in shots on goal in the initial frame, and Harvard won 10 faceoffs to Providence’s eight in the game’s opening period. But the Friars were not without opportunities of their own, earning two power plays and forcing Bellamy to make eight saves in the first 20 minutes of play.

“We wanted to finish up the [calendar] year strong,” Dempsey said. “It was great for us to get five goals. Our offense was on fire, and our penalty kill was phenomenal.”

Providence cut the Crimson lead to two just 18 seconds into the second frame, as Ashley Cottrell tipped in a shot from teammate Laura Veharanta. But Harvard would not allow a comeback, netting a goal in each of the final two frames of its penultimate contest of 2011.

“We had wanted to strike early [in the second] and drive the stake in,” Dempsey said. “Their goal gave them a little bit of momentum, but we responded well and closed them out, which was huge.”

Sophomore forward Kalley Armstrong earned Harvard’s fourth goal of the night, unassisted, after a strong offensive stretch for the Crimson developed after the Friars’ only score.

In the final frame, Fry became the fourth Crimson player to tally a goal Thursday night with just over 19 minutes to play in the game. Freshman defender Sarah Edney slotted a pass to Dempsey on a Harvard power play opportunity. And after a failed attempt on goal from the junior forward, Fry put it away.

“It was great to see that many kids get on the score sheet,” Bellamy said. “I think it says a lot about how we’re playing together. ... If someone has a tough night, we work together and another player will step up for us.”

The win against Providence is Harvard’s second straight victory after its longest losing streak of the season. The Crimson also earned its first regular-season, non-conference win of the year, falling twice to No. 2 Minnesota earlier in the year.

“After the Minnesota series, we knew we had three games left in 2011,” Bellamy said. “We said we wanted to go 3-0, and so far we’ve done well. We’re going into UNH tomorrow hoping to finish the year with a win that will lead us into 2012. So far, we’ve been playing great hockey.”

—Staff writer Catherine E. Coppinger can be reached at ccoppinger@college.harvard.edu.