Crimson goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, shown here in earlier action, kept the Bears off the board in her fifth shutout of the season.

Just three days after escaping with a win over the Connecticut, the Harvard women’s ice hockey team knew it needed to adjust its mentality. Against the Huskies, the Crimson trailed almost the entire game before scoring two goals in third period to take the victory.

No. 4/5 Harvard (12-1-2, 8-1-1 ECAC) rose to the challenge on Friday night against Brown (1-12-3, 0-8-1 ECAC). The Crimson came out ready to play on its way to blanking the Bears, scoring two of its three goals in the first period as it skated to a 3-0 win in its first Ivy League matchup of the new year.

“We’re back to where we want to be,” Harvard coach Maura Crowell said. “Obviously we want to continue to improve, but it was definitely a refreshing game for us to play more of our style: speed and crisp passes, going hard to the net, and obviously getting rewarded for that.”

It was Crimson goalkeeper Emerance Maschmeyer’s fifth shutout of the season and the first time Brown has been shut out this year.

The Bears appeared outmatched from the start, missing passes and showcasing a hesitant style of play. Harvard, which hadn’t lost a game since Nov. 1, was up against a Brown squad that hadn’t won a game in nearly as long.

“The exciting part for us today was that it was an Ivy League matchup,” Crowell said. “The team is just so motivated. We don’t talk a whole lot about stats and numbers because I think Brown played really well tonight, and they gave us a run for our money. If you get bogged down in, ‘well, they only have one win,’ you don’t end up with wins.”

Senior Gina McDonald netted two points in the win, notching both an assist in the first period and the game-winning goal in the third. After a shot by Natasha Rachlin was blocked by Brown defender Ariana Rucker, the rebound landed directly in McDonald’s path as she came in off the bench. The forward slapped the shot from just below the blue line and tipped it past Brown goalkeeper Aubree Moore to give the Crimson the 3-0 victory.