Photo Courtesy of Quinnipiac Athletics
Out of all of their opponents, no team has given the Quinnipiac women’s hockey team more trouble this season than the Harvard Crimson. And Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals was no different as the Bobcats team fell to the Crimson 5-0 at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass., ending Quinnipiac’s season.
The first period was all Harvard. At 4:42, sophomore defenseman Abbey Frazer scored the Crimson’s first goal after a rebound from senior goaltender Chelsea Laden. Sophomore defenseman Briana Mastel tallied her 3rd assist of the season and freshman forward Lexie Laing tacked on her 14th assist.
Almost five minutes later, freshman forward Haley Mullins added a goal of her own. Mullins received the puck from Karly Heffernan and sent the puck crossbar and in making the score became 2-0 in favor of the Crimson.
It took the Bobcats ten minutes to record their first shot on goal.
Harvard head coach Katey Stone reflected on her team’s strong defense against the Bobcats.
“We put a lot of pressure on them,” Stone said. “In the first period they didn’t have a lot of options. They were dumping pucks as their only option to get the puck in the offensive zone.”
The Crimson’s offensive pressure did not stop in the second period. Almost four minutes in, senior captain Samantha Reber gave Harvard its 3rd goal off a Marissa Gedman shot from the point.
This would be the last goal the nation’s shutout leader Chelsea Laden would see this season and for her college career as Quinnipiac head coach Rick Seeley called for a goaltending change putting sophomore goaltender Sydney Rossman in net for the remainder of the game.
But the goaltending change did not slow down Harvard’s offense. In the final period, sophomore forward Sydney Daniels scored her 19th goal of the season on the power play following a holding penalty on Quinnipiac’s captain Erica Uden Johansson.
Although the Bobcats have the nation’s leading defensive core, they could not find an answer for Harvard’s offensive attack.
“[Harvard] came with a different energy than they did the first three games that’s for sure,” said Seeley.
Harvard would add on one more goal before the final buzzer. Karly Heffernan squeaked the puck through Quinnipiac’s defensemen for a 5-0 final.
The Harvard Crimson will take on the Boston College Eagles in the 2015 Women’s Frozen Four in Minnesota.
