CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (1/5/08) – The No. 3-ranked Harvard University Crimson ended Colgate University’s four-game unbeaten streak in women’s hockey on Saturday, Jan. 5 at the Bright Hockey Center, taking a 4-0 game.
Harvard displayed its wheels from the opening drop of the puck and was able to start peppering the net with shots. The Crimson kept the Raider defense busy, with 17 total shots, but Colgate did a great job at breaking up passes and back checking to allow just four shots on net. Colgate started to settle into the pace of the game in the later half of the period and had four shots on net themselves.
Colgate had no trouble keeping pace with Harvard in the second and continued to attack the net. Senior
Kara Leene (Waterbury, Vt.) nearly put away a
Mallory Johnston (Chatham, Ont.) shot that popped free on the doorstep and sophomore
Marissa Dombovy (Webster, N.Y.) had the Raiders’ best opportunity of the middle frame that was scooped up by goaltender Christina Kessler.
Anna McDonald sent a cross-ice pass at the blue line to Sarah Wilson on the left side. Wilson skated the puck in and rifled a shot that went over the right shoulder of netminder
Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) at 12:10. The goal gave Harvard some confidence and they began to tilt the ice in its favor, as the Crimson ended up outshooting the Raiders 14-3 in the period.
The Crimson’s power-play, ranked second in the nation, was able to help the team take a 3-0 lead with two goals in three minutes.
Jenny Brine was positioned on the right side of the goal and was able to knock in the puck following a Kati Vaughn shot from the left side at 16:22. Wilson tallied her second goal after Plenderleith went down to stop a shot on the right side. The puck squirted free beneath a sprawled out Plenderleith and Wilson banged it in on the left side at 18:45.
Anna McDonald concluded the scoring at 2:54 of the third, when she intercepted the puck and brought it down the left flank on a short-handed run. Plenderleith came out of her net to stop the puck but McDonald dragged it out of her reach and set up a shot, as sophomore
Beth Rotenberg (Toronto, Ont.) skated to the goal but didn’t have enough stick to stop the puck.
Harvard had 27 shots in the game, while Colgate had 13. Plenderleith made 23 saves, while Kessler turned away 13 shots.
The Raiders were 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Colgate (7-9-2, 4-3-1 ECAC Hockey) hosts Union and Rensselaer next weekend, Jan. 11 and 12.
