In action for the first time since Jan. 11 because of first semester exams, Harvard (10-7-1, 7-3-2 ECACHL) struggled moving the puck from the outset of the game. The Crimson never came up with a solution for Dartmouth's heavy pressure defense.
The Big Green's aggressive forecheck and transition defense harassed the Harvard icers into numerous neutral zone turnovers, but also resulted in a number of early penalties.
In addition to having difficulty moving up the ice, the Crimson struggled to maintain control of the puck in the offensive end and had difficulty creating quality shots on goal -- especially after the early string of Dartmouth penalties
That aggressive play in the neutral zone pushed the Big Green into the lead early. Taking control of the puck near center ice, Marley McMillan '09 and Maggie Kennedy '09 bore down on the right side of the Crimson net before dropping the puck off to Shannon Bowman '09. Bowman made sure her classmates got their names in the scorers' books when her shot eluded Crimson goalie Ali Boe and gave the Big Green a 1-0 lead at 14:59.
The energy with which Dartmouth played throughout proved to be a double-edged sword in the early going. The Big Green was hit with five two-minute penalties in the first period. Harvard evened things up early in the second, with a man advantage carrying over from the first. Even with that score, Harvard's league-leading power play struggled to find its rhythm.
"Dartmouth did a really nice job defending our power play," Harvard head coach Katey Stone said.
After lauding Dartmouth's aggressive play, however, Stone offered a less pleasant assessment of her own team's play. "We just weren't there tonight," she said.
Dartmouth's power play certainly was there, however. One-for-three on the night, the power play unit strung together a few nice passes with just under three minutes remaining in the third before Meredith Batcheller '07 fed the puck from the point to Shannon Bowman '09 at the left circle.
Bowman beat the collapsing Harvard defender with a quick pass across the middle to Maggie Kennedy '09, who buried the puck in the far-side netting, putting the Big Green back in the lead for good. Kennedy has tallied the game winning goal in Dartmouth's last three games.
While the Big Green had three different goal scorers, goaltender Carli Clemis '09 and her 22 saves stood out. Solid throughout, she finished the game with a flourish.
With around seven minutes remaining, a face-off in the right circle in the Dartmouth end skittered across the ice and onto the stick of Harvard senior Jennifer Raimondi. Clemis made a spectacular stop, and Dartmouth's insurance goal was scored on the ensuing clear.
That Clemis was even between the pipes was a bit of a surprise. The Big Green alternates between Clemis and Kate Lane '06 in goal. Lane, in the top five in wins, shutouts and goals against average in Dartmouth history, figured to get the start in the Harvard game. Head coach Mark Hudak had other plans.
"Harvard's seen Lane every game for the last few years," he said. "This was an unknown for them."
While freshmen tallied all three Dartmouth goals, one rookie was noticeably absent from the scoring summary. Harvard's freshman standout Jenny Brine, who scored three goals in Harvard's 4-1 romp over the Big Green earlier this year, was kept off the board, although she did tally an assist. Hudak said Dartmouth did not key on her in the rematch.
"I think those goals had a lot to do with being on the ice in the right place at the right time," Hudak said. "We didn't do anything special to cover her or anyone else."
Hudak went on to call the victory Dartmouth's biggest of the season.
The women in green return to their home ice Friday at 7 p.m., when they take on Yale at Thompson Arena.
