The No. 6 ranked Harvard women’s hockey team boasts a 19-3-3 record and sits atop the ECAC leaderboard, but the players in Cambridge are not the only members of the team making noise.
Lyndsey Fry, Michelle Piccard and Josephine Pucci all made their Olympic debuts overseas in Sochi this week representing Team USA. Also joining them on the ice is Crimson alum Julie Chu, who recorded 284 points during her collegiate career, good for third all time on the Harvard scoring list. Furthermore, after leading the team to gold in last year’s World Championships, Crimson coach Katey Stone is handling the coaching duties once again in Sochi.
Team USA opened the preliminary round Saturday against Finland in a game that the Americans controlled from the start. Goals from Kelli Stack, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter, three players with strong ties to the Boston area, lifted the USA to a 3-1 win. Carpenter currently plays for Boston College, Knight plays for the Boston Blades in the CWHL, and Stack has played for both of these teams. The Americans outshot Finland 43-15 in the victory.
On Monday, Harvard’s skaters made their presence felt in what turned out to be a one-sided affair. Outshooting Switzerland 53-10 over the course of the game, the USA cruised to a 9-0 victory. With less than six minutes remaining in the first period and the score already 3-0, Chu picked up her first point of the tournament on an assist to Knight. Late in the third period, Pucci also got in on the action, assisting Carpenter on the game’s final goal to earn her first career Olympic point.
After winning its first two games, the Americans secured a birth in Monday’s semifinal round, but one last game in pool play against Canada remained before the semifinal round would begin. The USA struck first late in the second period with a power play goal that Knight tipped past Canadian goaltender Charline Labonte. But Canada retaliated with three goals in the final frame en route to a 3-2 win. The Americans have not beaten Team Canada in the Olympics since 1998, but with a win in its next contest, the USA might earn another shot next Thursday with a gold medal on the line.
