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As the old mantra goes, offense wins games, but defense wins championships.

Forget the 17 goals that Harvard and Boston College had scored in their first two meetings this season—it had been over a month since the two squads last faced off, and a lot of hockey happened in that time. These were two different teams that showed up at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Friday night, and defense ruled the day in a bruiser that saw the Crimson rack up four penalties—including an ejection of Harvard junior forward Miye D’Oench just 15 minutes into the contest for a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Both teams—especially the Eagles—got their fair share of scoring looks and open lanes. But in a game that saw two of the top-three point leaders in all of Division I women’s hockey—Boston College junior forwards Alex Carpenter (81) and Haley Skarupa (71)—it was the gloves, the pads, the stick, and the body of Harvard junior goalie Emerance Maschmeyer that stole the show in the Crimson’s thrilling 2-1 triumph.

REDEMPTION, PART TWO

Only a little more than a period and a half into the Nov. 28 game against Boston College, Harvard junior goalie Emerance Maschmeyer found herself skating towards the Crimson bench and off the ice. It wasn’t the end of a period or the result of an injury—Harvard coach Katey Stone thought it was time for a change.

After a goal by the Skarupa midway through the second frame, the Boston College lead had swelled to 5-2, and Stone motioned for the next Crimson goalie on the bench, sophomore Brianna Laing, to relieve Maschmeyer.

The Bruderheim, Alberta, native could only watch as the Eagles continued to find hole after hole in the Harvard defense. By the 8:23 mark of the final period, the score was now a 10-2 disaster. Having seen enough, Stone put Maschmeyer back into the game for the last 11-plus minutes of the contest.

The game might have been far out of reach, but something clicked. Maschmeyer saved the seven shots that came her direction in her third-frame return—not a triumphant one to say the least, but certainly something to work with.

“That 10-2 loss was not a great feeling, so of course there [was] a lot of extra motivation on that end,” Maschmeyer said after the NCAA semifinal game.

Flash forward to Feb. 10, when the Crimson and Boston College faced off for a second time in the Beanpot final. In what proved to be her 10th win of the year, Maschmeyer stopped 30 of the 32 shots that came her way, weathering seven Eagles power plays to ensure that the skaters from Harvard would be the ice hockey queens of Boston, at least for the year.

“It doesn’t matter who I’m going up against,” said Maschmeyer after the win, which clinched the Crimson’s first Beanpot title since 2010. “For me, I look across the ice and say I’m going to win this battle, and I just have to outplay the other goalie to win.”

And in the third matchup between Maschmeyer and Boston College freshman goalie Katie Burt on college hockey’s biggest stage, outplay the other goalie she did. Harvard’s net-minder was everywhere on Friday night, sprawling this way and that, doing everything in her power to keep the puck out of the net.

Even after the Eagles broke through the brick wall with a top-shelf shot off a rebound off the boards with 4:23 to go in the game, Maschmeyer didn’t let Boston College cash in on its newfound offensive momentum.

A minute-plus remaining, empty net for the Eagles. Shot from Boston College forward Kenzie Kent—save Maschmeyer. Carpenter shot—save Maschmeyer. Carpenter again—save Maschmeyer.