The No. 5 Harvard women’s ice hockey team entered Saturday afternoon’s game against Quinnipiac having killed 92-of-95 penalties, first in the country. The last time the two teams played on Oct. 25, the Crimson held Quinnipiac without a goal on all four power-play opportunities and won 4-2.
With 3:32 left in the third period and the game tied 2-2, Briana Mastel and Dylanne Crugnale were each hit with two-minute penalties, forcing Harvard to kill off a 5-on-3 at a crucial time.
The Crimson did just that, forcing overtime and ultimately a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac at TD Bank Sports Center.
“I thought we stood around a little too much on the power play when there were loose pucks in the slot,” Quinnipiac head coach Rick Seeley said. “We have to be quicker on the loose pucks.”
With the tie, Quinnipiac ended Harvard’s five-game winning streak, though the Crimson came back from a one-goal deficit twice throughout the game.
Shiann Darkangelo scored first for Quinnipiac 5:33 into the second period, as she cleaned up a Kelly Babstock shot and put it home to make it 1-0. It was Darkangelo’s 16th goal of the season.
“She’s been great,” Seeley said of Darkangelo. “This weekend I thought she was far and away our best player. Her intensity has been great, she’s making smart plays, and she’s producing offensively so you can’t ask for much more.”
Harvard responded later in the period, however, when Miye D’Oench found the back of the net to even things up with 8:20 left. Marissa Gedman and Hillary Crowe were each credited with an assist.
Then, with 1:05 left in the second frame, Darkangelo skated down the near side and passed to teammate Emma Woods. Woods wristed in a one-timer from out in front of the goal, breaking the tie and giving the Bobcats a 2-1 lead.
“Coach always preaches net drives,” Woods said. “We had an odd-man rush, so I gave it to Shy. I drove the net with my stick down, and good things happen. “
Harvard’s Mary Parker would score with just 7:48 left, though, finding the back of the net on a broken play and evening the score 2-2.
“It gave us the confidence we needed to keep the game tight,” Harvard head coach Maura Crowell said. “Obviously we were chasing them the whole time. It was great to get that goal late, and made things pretty exciting down the stretch.”
“We made a couple of cardinal sins, as far as our team is concerned,” Seeley said. “We left a couple of people out in front of the net with a chance to score. So it’s frustrating.”
Quinnipiac outshot Harvard 32-26. Chelsea Laden made 24 saves for the Bobcats, who are back in action next Friday at Clarkson.
