Friday's game began tightly contested, as both teams came out playing hard to begin the playoffs. Although Dartmouth tallied 10 shots, they could not notch an opening goal. The Crimson did not fare any better, putting 13 shots on net, but goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft '14 turned them away.
"We definitely came out firing in the first period," forward Lindsey Allen '16 said. "I think we got content with our play after that, then Harvard really took over."
The second period was a different story for the squad from the Upper Valley. Harvard controlled the tempo and the style of play, never letting the Big Green establish an offensive rhythm of any kind. This disparity showed up on the stat sheet with Harvard shooting on net 17 times in the period, dwarfing the Big Green's two attempts at the goal.
"We got caught up in our own end a lot," Holdcroft said. "We had a hard time breaking out which meant we had the same lines in for a few minutes at a time. That meant every time we got the puck, we had to dump it into the zone and change lines. Good O' comes from good D' and our defensive zones were a little weak, which hurt our offense."
With seven and a half minutes to play in the second period, Harvard scored the first goal of the game. Harvard sophomore Gina McDonald received the puck off a Dartmouth turnover and dished the puck to freshman forward Miye D'Oench. D'Oench shot the puck past a diving Holdcroft to open up a 1-0 lead for the Crimson. The goal was reviewed on video but the on-ice ruling was upheld.
The third period seemed as though it would change the Big Green's fortunes. Dartmouth tallied six shots in the first six minutes, finally managing to put sustained pressure on the Harvard defense. However, a checking penalty by Catherine Berghuis '16 put Dartmouth on the penalty kill for the second time in the game. Harvard junior Kalley Armstrong snuck the puck past Holdcroft on her stick side to double Harvard's lead.
"We definitely made a few mistakes on the penalty kill," forward Laura Stacey '16 said. "We knew what they wanted, but we made some mistakes and they really took advantage. They moved the puck really well and we weren't able to match them on our own power play."
About two minutes after Armstrong's goal, Jenna Hobeika '12 was called for a checking penalty of her own. Just 20 seconds after the penalty, Harvard managed another power play goal. Senior Kaitlin Spurling shot from just outside the left circle and scored, putting the game completely out of reach. Dartmouth could not muster a goal in the final minutes, losing 3-0 and setting up an elimination game Saturday night.
"We didn't make any big adjustments before the second game, but we just focused on the little things," Stacey said. "We watched a little more video, looking for things we could improve on. We knew we had one more opportunity to get the win. We left our bags in the hotel the night of the game instead of taking them on the bus because we didn't even want to have any thoughts about heading home."
Saturday's game started off terribly for the Big Green as Harvard scored within the first 20 seconds. Junior Lyndsey Fry ended up scoring twice in the game, but her first struck quickly at the hearts of the Dartmouth faithful.
"They caught us flat at the start of the game," Holdcroft said. "She took it behind the net and locked it in the slot. She took a backhand that went crossbar down, so it was a really nice shot."
The Big Green responded well, holding Harvard scoreless until late in the second period, but proved unable to notch a tally to even the score. Over the course of the game, Harvard scored two power play goals and one even-strength goal. Dartmouth generated a number of opportunities but never managed to bury a shot to get on the scoreboard. As a result, Dartmouth fell 4-0 and was eliminated from the playoffs.
"It was an unbelievable season with a tough ending," Stacey said. "It's still just starting to sink in that today the whole season is over. The seniors really did a great job and we all had an unbelievable season. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Somebody has to win and somebody has to lose, and today the bounces just didn't go our way."
