Crimson Welcomes No. 4 New Hampshire to Bright for Midweek Contest

Pictured: Alisa Baumgartner and the Crimson are 2-2 at Bright Hockey Center this season.
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography

Live Statistics
Live Video (with subscription)
Complete Game Notes (pdf)
Buesser, Dempsey Earn Weekly ECAC Hockey Honors

The Particulars
The Harvard women’s hockey team concludes a stretch of five straight home games by hosting No. 4 New Hampshire in a midweek matchup at Bright Hockey Center. The Crimson stands at 3-3 overall and has the same record ECAC Hockey action, while New Hampshire boasts a 8-1-3 overall mark.

Follow From Home
GoCrimson.com will provide live statistics for this weekend’s games, all home games and most road contests this season. Live audio and video will be available for Wednesday’s game. Glenn Conway and Matt Sawyer will once again have the call on GoCrimson.com.

Series History
Entering Wednesday’s game, Harvard and New Hampshire have met 42 times on the ice, with the Wildcats owning a 27-12-3 lead in the series, which began in 1982-83. UNH has won six of the last eight games between the schools. Last season, the Crimson and Wildcats skated to a 1-1 tie at UNH on Dec. 5. Sarah Wilson ’09 tallied the lone Crimson goal. Later in the season, the Wildcats escaped with a 3-2 overtime victory at Bright Hockey Center. Harvard goaltender Christina Kessler stopped 28 shots in that contest.

Last Time Out
Harvard fell to ninth-ranked Princeton, 2-1, in overtime Saturday. With 1:26 remaining in the game and Harvard trailing, 1-0, Josephine Pucci tied the contest with a slapshot from the point for her first collegiate goal. Christina Kessler recorded a season-high 37 saves.

On Sunday afternoon, Harvard defeated Quinnipiac, 7-2, marking the most goals for the program since the opening round of the 2009 Beanpot when the Crimson scored eight times against Boston University. Jillian Dempsey scored two goals and added an assist, while Kate Buesser set a new career-high with four points on a goal and three assists. Leanna Coskren notched one tally and handed out two assists as well.

Just Win, Christina!
Senior goaltender Christina Kessler is 58-16-3 in her career in net, placing her second on Harvard’s all-time goalie wins list. Ali Boe ’06 is Harvard’s all-time winningest goaltender with 63 victories.

A Balanced Attack
The Crimson has had nine different players score at least one goal this year, as the team has netted a total of 17 goals. Fourteen players have at least one point to their credit and Harvard had 15 different players light the lamp last season, scoring a total of 95 goals.

Welcome To The Show
Freshman Kaitlin Spurling has recorded a point in five of her first six games of her career (2-3-5). Classmate Jillian Dempsey has also had the scoring touch, notching three goals to tie her for the team lead.

Harvard Coach Katey Stone
Katey Stone is in her 16th season as the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey, and she brings a 322-139-22 record into Friday’s game. Stone, who ranks second all-time in Division I victories, has led Harvard to all seven of its NCAA tournament appearances. Stone is also the active leader in victories among Division I women’s hockey coaches.

Stone is currently 15 wins shy of tying the all-time Division I record, held by Laura Halldorson (337 victories).

It’s All Over
Harvard is 97-1-4 since the start of the 2004-05 season when leading after two periods.

Storied Program
With its 3-0 victory over St. Lawrence Nov. 7, Harvard earned the 500th victory in program history. The Crimson owns a 501-290-38 record over its storied 31-year history.

To Be The Best ...
Harvard was 2-6-1 against top 10 opponents last season. With its 3-0 victory against St. Lawrence Nov. 7, the Crimson stands a 1-2 against ranked foes this year.

First Things First
The Crimson was 18-0-2 when scoring first and 1-10-1 when the opponent lit the lamp first last season. So far in 2009-10, Harvard is 2-1 when netting the game’s first goal and 1-2 when the opposition scores first.

Bright Spot
The Crimson was 9-4-2 record at Bright Hockey Center last season, while posting a 9-5-1 mark on the road. In four games this season, Harvard owns a 2-2 record on home ice.

Red Lights
This season, Harvard ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense (1.83 goals allowed per game), eighth in scoring margin (+1.00), 11th in combined special teams (25 of 49, .510), 11th in scoring offense (2.83 goals scored per game) and 27th on the power play (2 of 22, .091).

Rank And File
Harvard is receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls.

Scoring Burst
Harvard netted three goals in the first and second periods in the Crimson’s 7-2 win over Quinnipiac Nov. 15. The team notched three goals in just one minute, 55 seconds of action in the second period, and the squad’s seven tallies marked the most for the program since Harvard defeated Boston University, 8-0, in the opening round of the Beanpot.

Crimson Among The Nation’s Best
With 0.83 points per game, Kaitlin Spurling is tied for fifth among the nation’s rookies in scoring. Kate Buesser stands 12th among all players with 1.33 points per game. Buesser is also tied for 14th with 0.83 assists per contest. Defender Leanna Coskren is eighth among blue liners with 0.67 points per game.

Stopping The Puck
Christina Kessler ranks 10th in the nation with a 1.87 goals-against average and a save percentage of .925 (135 of 146). Kessler stands a 3-3 overall for a .500 winning percentage.

License to Kill
The Crimson boasts the nation’s 19th-best penalty kill unit, stopping 23 of 27 opponent power plays (.852). Harvard successfully killed 7 of 9 power plays last weekend.

Clean Sheets
Harvard, which earned its first shutout of the season against St. Lawrence Nov. 7, registered six clean sheets last season, after establishing a new program record with 14 shutouts during the 2007-08 season. Christina Kessler has recorded 22 shutouts through her first three seasons at Harvard, a program record.

Welcome Home
Harvard will play 18 regular-season games at Bright Hockey Center this season. In addition to its annual 11 ECAC Hockey contests at home, Harvard will also host the 2010 Women’s Beanpot, and play non-conference games against Minnesota, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Providence.