Friday night, Yale made sure that Harvard’s marathon winning streak over the Bulldogs wouldn’t see its 20th birthday, beating the No. 3 Crimson for the first time since Nov. 18, 1984.
Saturday, though, No. 8 Brown came into the Bulldogs’ Ingalls Rink and brought its winning streak against Yale one game closer to age 17. The Bears bounced back from a 3-2 loss to No. 8 Princeton on Friday night to win 4-1 over the Bulldogs. Junior Keaton Zucker had two goals for the Bears while freshman goaltender O’Hara Shipe made 24 saves, and the Bears improved to 4-2-0 (3-1-0 ECACHL).
“I think in the Princeton game, we were kind of getting our bearings straight,” said Brown coach Digit Murphy, whose team was missing leading scorer Jessica Link and juniors Margaret Ramsay and Ashlee Drover due to injury. “We lost two of our top players last weekend, so we’re kind of getting reacquainted with each other.
“We did not want to take Yale lightly. They beat Harvard. You’ve got to respect them for that. You’ve got to respect their goaltending. Yale’s a better team [than in the past]. They work harder. Previously, you go into Yale, and you’re like ‘Oh, let’s get this over with.’ Now you’re in a game, and it’s fun, and women’s ice hockey in the Ivy League is alive and well.”
“I think that certain kids that we need to step up and play well didn’t play well today,” said Yale coach Hillary Witt, whose team fell to 3-3-0 (2-2-0 ECACHL) with the loss. “We made some little mistakes, like getting sticks up, so things like that hurt us. I don’t think we played terrible. I think we played all right. They got the bounces, and we have to bounce back.”
Like Harvard the night before, Brown dominated the tone of play in the first period, outshooting the Bulldogs 14-7 on the strength of several power-play opportunities. But unlike the Crimson, Brown found early success against Love. Junior defenseman Myria Heinhuis drew first blood during one of the aforementioned power plays, redirecting a shot from the point and sending it through Love’s legs for an early 1-0 lead.
Just over seven minutes later, Brown’s lead doubled, as the Bears created a breakaway opportunity for freshman forward Heather Lane, who took the puck to Love’s left before unleashing a backhand that made it 2-0 Bears, a score that stood for the remainder of the period.
In the second, the Bulldogs further asserted themselves by recording eight shots on goal to the Bears’ six, and that earned them a place on the scoreboard courtesy of sophomore forward Sheila Zingler. However, with less than two minutes remaining in the period, Brown extended its lead to a comfortable 3-1 margin on a power play goal from junior Keaton Zucker.
The Brown lead grew to 4-1 less than a minute into the final frame, as Zucker struck again with assists from Krissy McManus and Heinhuis.
“I had just come from the penalty box,” Zucker said. “I saw Myria about to shoot, so I just skated toward the far post, and she put it right on my stick. Very nice pass.”
That was all the breathing room Shipe needed in net, as she made six saves in the third period. The rookie from Anchorage, Alaska, withstood a 5-on-3 penalty kill and nearly three minutes with an extra attacker on the ice, giving the Bears a much-needed win and a split on the weekend.
“It was intense,” Shipe said, “but I always felt really comfortable, because my defensive corps is just so strong. It never felt like we were in peril, because I knew that they could help me out.”
Brown will now return home to Meehan Auditorium to begin a crucial five-game homestand, beginning Tuesday when Harvard comes to town. No. 7 St. Lawrence and No. 10 Providence are not far behind. Yale, meanwhile, will head to Union on Friday for a weekend series with the Dutchwomen.
Elliot Olshansky is an assistant editor for CollegeSports.com.
