Pictured: Kaitlin Spurling notched the game-winning goal
with 1:22 remaining in the second period.
Photo courtesy: Kevin Burns Photography
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Four different Crimson players
found the back of the net, as the sixth-ranked Harvard
women’s hockey team extended its win streak to four games by
topping Brown, 4-1, Friday evening at Bright Hockey Center.
Josephine Pucci, Kaitlin Spurling, Kate Buesser and Randi Griffin
each lit the lamp, while Laura Bellamy continued her stellar play
in net, making 22 saves.
With 1:02 remaining in the first period, Harvard (14-5-4, 10-5-2
ECAC Hockey, 5-2-2 Ivy League) notched the game’s first goal,
coming on a slap shot by Pucci from the left faceoff circle.
Buesser battled two Brown defenders in the corner, before passing
the puck in front. Jillian Dempsey got her stick on the puck, but
it bounced past her directly to Pucci. The Crimson freshman
defender wound up and fired the puck into the top left of the
net.
After Brown (2-16-4, 0-14-3, 0-6-0) got on the scoreboard with a
shot from the point by Victoria Smith at 16:50, Harvard scored
another goal late in the second to give the Crimson a 2-1 lead.
Kathryn Farni slid a pass to Spurling in the Crimson zone, and
Spurling skated hard down the right side. Spurling moved in on
goaltender Katie Jamieson and rifled a shot over Jamieson’s
right shoulder at 18:38.
Early on in the third, Buesser received a long outlet pass from
Cori Bassett and fired a shot on net. The puck bounced off
Jamieson’s shoulder and went several feet in the air before
hitting Jamieson’s head and rolling behind the goal line, as
Harvard increased its advantage to 3-1 at 2:26. Midway through the
period, Harvard received back-to-back penalties, giving Brown a
5-on-3 chance for 53 seconds, but the Crimson defense stood tall,
allowing only three shots on goal during the two-skater advantage.
With 32 ticks left in the frame, Harvard capped the scoring as
Griffin netted a power-play goal after receiving a pass from Leanna
Coskren.
Harvard, which outshot the Bears, 43-23, will remain on home ice to
host Yale on Senior Day Saturday at 4 p.m.