As the Crimson netminder cradled the puck for her 43rd and final save, a half-dozen red and white-jerseyed bodies crashed to the ground around her, some trying to wrench the puck from her gloved hand, others trying to prevent that from happening.
The whistle blew loud and clear, and as the officiating crew pulled apart bodies from the pileup, at least one thing was certain.
Maschmeyer still had that puck.
RIVALRY ON ICE: BOSTON EDITION
Though Harvard had proved itself capable of the big win when it took down Boston College in the Beanpot final, which handed the Eagles their first loss of the season, it would seem that the hockey gods wanted to see a rubber match between the two programs.
“Just another great battle with a crosstown rival, but this time in Minnesota,” Stone said.
The game started with defense, with neither team scoring in the first two periods of play. Then the Crimson finally found a breakthrough, as senior Kalley Armstrong scored through the five-hole of Burt on a shot that Armstrong herself dubbed “some junk on the net.” Six minutes later, Harvard junior forward Mary Parker followed it up with a shorthanded goal as Burt fell over backwards, putting the Crimson up two.
The Eagles’ lone goal came off a perfect bounce off the boards behind the net that fell at the feet of senior Emily Field, who one-timed a shot top-shelf to cut the lead to one.
But the Harvard defense, which Maschmeyer willed on until the final whistle, held firm to seal the deal.
When asked if she could see her team making the NCAA championship game after the 10-2 loss to Boston College in November, Stone revealed she was almost glad that the Eagles gave her team such a thorough beatdown.
“[T]hose things happen, and sometimes they’re the best things that could happen to a hockey team,” Stone said. “We really had to take stock after that…. That weekend was a huge turning point for us.”
Bit by bit, piece by piece, the Harvard team that skated onto center ice on Friday night came together after an 0-2-2 stretch in November that culminated in the Boston College loss. There was the three-pronged attack of forwards Parker, D’Oench, and Samantha Reber, who each scored at least 17 goals. Then there was the stifling defense of junior Michelle Picard and senior Marissa Gedman, the two defenders that recorded plus-minus ratings of plus-21 and plus-25, respectively. And Maschmeyer, who has allowed just six goals in the past six games, held her ground in the crease.
Harvard and Minnesota may have a Sunday date for an NCAA championship, but the Crimson proved that the local crown belongs in Cambridge as a result of the instant classic that went down late Friday night.
—Crimson staff writer Caleb Y. Lee can be reached at caleb.lee@thecrimson.com.