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UPDATED: March 14, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Playing in front of a raucous home crowd and a trip to Minnesota on the line, the third-seeded Harvard women’s ice hockey team (26-5-3, 16-4-2 ECAC) defeated Quinnipiac (26-9-3, 15-5-2), 5-0, on Saturday to book its sixth Frozen Four appearance in the history of the program and its first since 2008. 

Saturday marked the fourth time that the rivals have faced each other this season, with the Crimson having taken home the first three matchups—two of which were decided in overtime—by the same score each time, 2-1.

This time, Harvard made sure to beat the Bobcats by a more convincing margin, avoiding the possibility of any late game drama en route to its quarterfinals victory.

“All three of those games were pretty similar games,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “We made a few adjustments this week that opened things up through the middle…. I think we had a few different attack options [but] out kids just made plays and they were ready to go.”

Harvard demonstrated its depth early on, as the third line made an early impact, helping the Crimson jump out to a two-goal lead in the first period while keeping Bobcat goaltender Chelsea Laden busy in goal.

Sophomore Abbey Frazer opened up the scoring for Harvard with a close shot on goal, the third goal for the defenseman this season, after classmate Briana Mastel found the forward inside one of the faceoff circles.

Freshman Haley Mullens doubled the Crimson advantage at the 9:05 mark, gaining control of the puck inside the attacking faceoff circle before turning around and shooting it past Laden. Third-line forward Karly Heffernan provided the assist on the play after also winning the initial faceoff.

“Our depth is what [has] gotten us so far,” co-captain Samantha Reber said. “We can throw anyone out against anyone’s top line and they will matchup if not put them on their toes and heels…It says a lot about our team, and it’s going to really help us move on in Minnesota.”

Laden had her hands full early on, as Harvard launched 10 shots on goal compared to the seven which Quinnipiac sent towards junior goalkeeper Emerance Maschmeyer (20 saves).

The second period saw the Bobcat attack come to life, as Quinnipiac attempted 23 shots—nine on target—forcing Maschmeyer to stay on her toes.

“As a goalie you love when the other team gets shots, [but] at the same time you don’t want too many,” Maschmeyer said. “My mentality was just one shot, one save at a time and not getting too far ahead of myself.”

While Harvard struggled to keep up the pace from the first period, tallying only four shots on target, the Crimson was able to do what the Bobcats couldn’t—convert one of its shots into a score.

Reber would break through at the 3:37 mark of the second to extend the Crimson lead, scoring her seventh goal of the season from just outside the crease off an assist by second-line sophomore defenseman Marissa Gedman. 

This would cause Quinnipiac coach Rick Seeley to pull Laden, placing sophomore Sydney Rossman in goal instead. The Excelsior, Minn. native had seen the ice in only three games this season before being substituted on. 

Quinnipiac obtained a power play in its favor later on in the period after Gedman was penalized for tripping but was unable to capitalize despite attempting four shots over the two allotted minutes. Missed opportunities were the story of the night for the Bobcats, who were unable to convert on any of their three power plays.

With a three-goal advantage already under its belt at the beginning of the third stanza, Harvard added extra assurance when sophomore Sydney Daniels provided her 19th goal of the season on a Crimson power play to extend the advantage to four.

The final touches were added by freshman Karly Heffernan, who placed Harvard’s fifth puck into the Bobcat net off an assist by Lexie Laing,

The team now travels to Minnesota, where it will face local rival No. 2/2 Boston College in a rematch of the Beanpot final, a match in which Harvard came out on top against the then-No. 1 Eagles, 3-2.

This time, the stakes will be larger as the rivals square off with more than just bragging rights on the line, as the winner will punch a ticket to the national championship game next Sunday.

“We love the challenge.” Maschmeyer said. “You want to play against teams that want to beat you. It’s so much more fun when they’re fired up too. They’re going to come out strong and we’re going to come out stronger, so it will be an awesome matchup.”

—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com.