By Madeline Sattler, News Staff
The women’s ice hockey team was on the losing end of a top-10 matchup as they lost to the Harvard University Crimson, 3-1, Tuesday night at Matthews Arena.
The Huskies are currently ranked ninth by the United States College Hockey Online. However, they have lost three straight games and have not won since a 4-1 victory over University of Vermont on Nov. 10.
In Tuesday’s game against Harvard, junior forward Katie MacSoreley was the lone Husky to get on the board as the Crimson held Northeastern to a season-low 16 shots on goal.
“[Harvard] is very good defensively,” head coach Dave Flint said. “They take away a lot of time and space and our forwards are used to having a little bit of time and space.”
Both teams came out fast in the first period. Sophomore forward Kendall Coyne took a shot that sailed wide left, but she managed to retrieve her rebound and get a second shot off. Harvard freshman goalie Emerance Maschmeyer came up with the save.
“We couldn’t really generate much, and I think we were getting a little frustrated,” Flint said.
Just over nine minutes into the period, junior forward Brittany Esposito turned the puck over in the defensive zone. Freshman Harvard forward Miye D’Oench took advantage of the mistake putting the Crimson on the board.
Harvard’s second goal came in the middle frame off the stick of junior forward Kalley Armstrong.
Later in the period, the Huskies had a power play opportunity on a holding minor. Junior defender Maggie Brennolt sent the puck to Esposito, who launched a shot on goal that bounced off Maschmeyer’s legs. MacSoreley was there to push the puck past the goalie and cut Harvard’s lead in half.
“I knew we had something going then, and I wanted to get the team going up off their feet on the bench,” MacSoreley said. “I saw we cracked the goalie, let’s just keep getting shots.”
The Huskies have now scored a power play goal in four straight games. The goal also marked only the second time this season Harvard has allowed a goal while playing a man-down.
The Huskies had a few more scoring chances in the second period including a cross by Brennolt that sailed in front of the net, but no one was there to finish the play.
The final frame was all Harvard as it recorded 15 of its 35 shots on goal in the period.
The Crimson regained their two-goal lead when senior forward Jillian Dempsey shot the puck under sophomore goalie Chloe Desjardins.
“Everything was not on our side,” Desjardins said. “It’s hard and it’s a tough loss.”
Coyne and senior forward Casey Pickett had the best opportunity to cut Harvard’s lead. Coyne took the puck down the ice and sent a shot that bounced off Maschmeyer. The puck shot straight out to Pickett whose shot sailed just right of the net in the third.
“The thing I do like is that they keep competing even when we’re down, so I’m pleased with that,” Flint said.
As time wound down, Desjardins did her part to keep Northeastern in the game. Crimson freshman forward Mary Parker had a breakaway and sent a shot to the top left corner of the goal, but Desjardins snatched the puck out of the air for one of her 32 saves.
A late tripping minor sent Pickett to the box for the final minutes of the game. But Northeastern successfully killed Harvard’s fourth power play and the score remained the same as the game ended.
“It has been hard the past few games and we just need to come up altogether and try to be stronger for the next game,” Desjardins said.
The Huskies will look to get back to winning hockey as they open up a home-and-home series this weekend against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. Saturday afternoon’s contest will be played at the Whittemore Center and the two teams will face-off again Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. both days.
“We’ve got to work on the little things, we’ve got to work on our break out,” Flint said. “Keep it simple, but do those little things right.”
