Crimson Women's Hockey Travels to Play Rivals Yale, Brown

Pictured: Freshman Kaitling Spurling has a point in five of her first seven games.
Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography

Complete Game Notes (pdf)
Live Stats at Yale
Live Video at Yale (with subscription)
Live Stats at Brown
Live Video at Brown (with subscription)

The Particulars
The Harvard women’s hockey team hits the road to visit ECAC Hockey and Ivy League rivals Yale and Brown this weekend. The Crimson, which is coming off a stretch of five home games that saw Harvard go 2-2-1, stands sixth in the ECAC Hockey standings with six points, while Yale is in 11th place and Brown is 10th.

Series History
Entering Friday’s game, Harvard owns a sizeable 57-8-2 lead in the all-time series against Yale, which began in 1978-79. The Crimson has won the last eight games between the schools, dating back to 2006-07. Last season, Harvard swept Yale in two games, winning 1-0 in New Haven, Conn., on Jan. 10, 2009, and taking a 2-1 win at Bright Hockey Center Feb. 6. Christina Kessler earned both victories, making a total of 59 saves.

The Crimson and Bears have met 69 times on the ice, with Harvard holding the edge in the series, 34-30-5. In the last seven games, Harvard owns a 7-0 record, including earning 5-3 and 4-0 wins last season. Sarah Vaillancourt ’08-09 recorded a hat trick in the 5-3 win at Brown Jan. 9, 2009 and netted two more goals at home against the Bears Feb. 7. Kessler stopped 27 shots in the 4-0 shutout.

Last Time Out
The Crimson skated to a 1-1 tie against No. 4 New Hampshire at Bright Hockey Center Wednesday evening. Katharine Chute netted the Crimson goal, scoring unassisted in the first period at 5:21. Christina Kessler helped the Crimson hold the nation’s top-power play unit scoreless on three chances with an extra skater, and made 24 saves during the game.

On The Road
The Crimson has played two road games this season, going 1-1. Harvard defeated Colgate, 2-1, to open the season Oct. 30, and fell the next day to Cornell, 4-3.

Around the Ivy League
The Crimson is looking for its first win against an Ivy League opponent this season after dropping game to Cornell Oct. 31 and Princeton Nov. 14. Yale and Brown both stand at 0-1 in the Ancient Eight standings, while Princeton is in first with a 3-1 record.

Just Win, Christina!
Senior goaltender Christina Kessler is 58-16-4 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. Kessler is second for the NCAA career record with a .940 save percentage, as she has stopped 1,671 of 1,778 shots faced during her career. Jessie Vetter (Wisconsin 2006-09) owned a .941 save percentage.

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 18 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 seven 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 322-139-23 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 1-1 tied against No. 4 New Hampshire Nov. 18, the Crimson stands a 1-2-1 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 2-1-1 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 five games this season, Harvard owns a 2-2-1 record on home ice.

Red Lights
This season, Harvard ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense (1.71 goals allowed per game), ninth in scoring margin (+0.86), 11th in scoring offense (2.57 goals per game), 14th on the penalty kill (26 of 30, .867), 17th in combined special teams (28 of 57, .491) and 29th on the power play (2 of 27, .074).