By Rebecca Stone
Going into the matchup between the Quinnipiac women’s hockey team and the Harvard women’s team, many expected a close game and that’s exactly how it turned out. With a final score of 2-1 after three minutes of overtime, Harvard came out on top.
This loss was particularly upsetting to Quinnipiac fans as the Bobcats was thought to have controlled the majority of the game. In the first period both teams were fighting hard for possession of the puck and both showing off their strengths. Harvard came out quick and using their stick skills, but once Quinnipiac gained possession they did a good job of finding space.
The power play in the first period was an instance where Quinnipiac controlled the ice but could not seem to capitalize. Harvard kept a strong formation and also applied a considerable amount of pressure.
Head Coach Rick Seeley responded to how his team handled the pressure from Harvard’s zone defense.
“I thought we were awesome. [Defense is] usually Harvard’s strength and they were tonight. Where we were outworking them I think was just below the goal line. We created some good opportunities from there, which we haven’t in the past… I was happy with how we responded,” said Seeley.
Moving into the second period, Quinnipiac came out with the possession and momentum and scored a quick goal. Junior forward Nicole Kosta capitalized on a quick rebound off Harvard player Briana Mastel. The assist was given to seniors Shiann Darkangelo and Erica Uden Johansson.
Later in the period, Harvard’s Sydney Daniels grabbed the puck out of the corner and sent it over to her teammate, Kalley Armstrong, right in front of the goal. Armstrong went top right and got the puck past Quinnipiac goaltender Chelsea Laden to tie it up.
Despite the tie score, Quinnipiac controlled most of the period, out shooting Harvard 18 to 11. Quinnipiac showed good defense as well as a consistent forecheck that kept the puck in the Harvard zone.
The third period was similar to the second. Quinnipiac maintained possession of the puck for the majority of the time with several close scoring opportunities by seniors Morgan Fritz-Ward and Uden Johansson but could not finish.
But in overtime a switch flipped and Harvard came out stronger than then they had all game. Three minutes into the overtime period, Harvard’s Sarah Edney ended the game with a goal assisted by Lyndsey Fry.
Quinnipiac is forced to walk away without a win despite their strong efforts and control of the game. Despite the loss, Seeley was still pleased with his team’s performance and acknowledges a lot of the positive performances given.
“Well I thought it was a great college hockey game. It’s just a little deflating to come off on the losing end when I thought we controlled most of the game,” said Seeley. “We we’re a little flustered in our zone at overtime and it caught up with us but other than that I thought the first 60 minutes I think we held them to about 15 shots and played great in all three zones…”.
This marks the Bobcats third consecutive loss and their second loss this season to the Crimson.
