BOX SCORE
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Despite a hard-fought battle against No. 8 Harvard on Saturday, the Union College women's ice hockey team fell 1-0 at Messa Rink. The Dutchwomen move to 4-24-4 with an ECAC record of 2-16-2, while the Crimson now sits at 18-8-1 and 15-4-1.
Harvard's Lyndsey Fry earned the game-winning goal with only 35.5 seconds left to play in the first period. The sophomore received a pass from leading point scorer, Jillian Dempsey, at the top left corner. Firing a shot towards Union's Kate Gallagher, the puck bounced off the post and into the net to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead.
A close contest overall, Harvard began the game with several scoring chances to swing momentum in their favor. In the opening minutes, the Dutchwomen were outshot 7-0. However, Union recovered to cut the gap to 13-9 in the first period.
Sophomore Stefanie Thomson, who was a force for the Dutchwomen throughout the game, gave Union their first opportunity to get on the board when she whipped around netminder Laura Bellamy to fire a shot. The puck missed the net by inches and the Crimson gained possession.
Continuing her gritty style of offense, freshman Bryanne Panchuk blocked a shot at the 15:10 mark, and then drove the puck down into Harvard's defensive zone. Sophomore Mac Purvis took the ice soon after, firing a wrist shot towards Bellamy for Union's first shot of the game. The junior goaltender made a high glove save, just as the Dutchwomen were called for a penalty.
Union's penalty kill once again excelled, with Gallagher denying sophomore Marissa Gedman with a sliding save. After junior Rhianna Kurio helped take time away from Harvard's advantage by skating the puck around the Crimson's defensive zone, Gallagher soon had to face another offensive attack. The senior made a quick save on freshman Sarah Edney from the point, sending the rebound to her right. Junior Josephine Pucci was there waiting, forcing Gallagher to make a diving save to keep the game tied at zero.
It was Harvard's turn to lose a skater to the penalty box at the 10:05 mark, after being called for interference. Senior Chelsey Heinhuis fed to Kurio from the blue line, but Bellamy used her blocker to deflect the junior's shot. Sophomore Maddy Norton's shot was then blocked by sophomore Kalley Armstrong, sending the puck out of the zone.
Back at even strength, one of Union's best chances came from senior Lauren Hoffman and Thomson. Hoffman nearly caught Bellamy off guard, taking a shot off of the faceoff. After the initial save, Thomson moved in to gain possession of the rebound, firing a shot of her own at the goaltender. However, Bellamy's reflexes were impeccable, stopping not only Thomson's advances but a follow up shot from Hoffman, as well.
Fry's goal closed out the first period, sending the Dutchwomen to the locker room down by one.
Right of the bat, junior Jeannie Sabourin gave Union back their energy, flying down the ice to fire off a wrist shot at Bellamy. Freshman Christine Valente kept up the offensive surge when she rushed into Harvard's zone after intercepting the puck. The rookie's shot rebounded in front of Thomson, but the sophomore was unable to get her stick down in time.
The contest was a balancing act, with a massive amount of time spent battling in the neutral zone. The Dutchwomen stepped up by taking on multiple roles on the ice to keep themselves in the game.
With help from Kurio in front of the net, Gallagher was able to fend off back-to-back shots from freshman Hillary Crowe and junior Margaret Chute. Soon after, Sabourin was able to gain back possession for Union.
Freshman Camille Corbin nearly put the Dutchwomen on the board, sending a backhand shot towards Bellamy directly in front of the net. After making the save, the junior saw Lauren Cromartie speeding towards her. The senior sent the puck just wide at the 8:35 mark with a wrist shot.
Purvis and Hoffman continued to grind the Crimson down, working hard in the corners and along the blue line to keep control of the puck. Hoffman was able to pass to Thomson with five minutes left in the middle frame, and the sophomore quickly fed to Valente directly in front of Bellamy. The netminder slid to block the slap shot, however.
The period ended with back-to-back stops from Gallagher. Making a split save at the last second, the senior was able to stuff Dempsey as she attempted to fire at the bottom corner of the net. She then made a sliding save as Dempsey passed to Crowe in the closing seconds, keeping the score at 1-0.
The final frame began with a 5-on-4 advantage for the Dutchwomen as Harvard was again called for interference. Norton, Heinhuis and senior Molly Kate Devin were each able to fire shots off, but were all denied by Bellamy.
The line of Hoffman, Valente and Thomson continued to play incredibly smart in front of the net, protecting Gallagher from the Crimson offensemen. Senior Dania Simmonds blocked her 55th shot of the season to send the puck to Kurio, regaining possession for the Dutchwomen.
With 9:16 left to play, Kurio dangled in past the Crimson to fire a shot just wide of the net. Corbin then fed through several bodies to Sabourin, who took a hard slap shot a Bellamy. The netminder, however, remained perfect between the pipes.
After Gallagher made a nearly impossible glove save on Fry, Union called a time out with 1:23 left to play.
The Dutchwomen pulled Gallagher at the 1:05 mark in favor of the extra attacker, giving Union a solid opportunity while in Harvard's defensive zone. With less than 40 seconds to play, Hoffman fired a commanding shot at Bellamy, forcing her to send the rebound from the save wide. Devin was waiting to the left of the goal, immediately sending the puck back at the netminder. The two seniors each fired one more shot before the Crimson regained possession.
Time ran out as Union defended the empty net, giving Harvard a 1-0 win.
Bellamy earned her sixth shutout of the season, making a total of 24 saves. Gallagher was excellent in the defeat, stopping 34 shots.
After the match concluded, Emilie Arseneault, Lauren Cromartie, Molly Kate Devin, Kate Gallagher, Chelsey Heinhuis, Lauren Hoffman, Kayleigh Melia and Dania Simmonds were all honored for the 2012 Senior Night.
The Dutchwomen play their final regular season games on the road next weekend, facing Quinnipiac and Princeton.
