CAMBRIDGE, Mass. The Harvard Crimson returns to action with another pair of non-conference games this week against Hockey East programs. First, Harvard will face the Boston College Eagles for a midweek matchup on Tuesday (Nov. 22) night at Conte Forum. The Crimson will then pause for the festivities before hosting the New Hampshire Wildcats at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Saturday, November 26.
The Eagles and Crimson will face off in a matchup of the 2022 Beanpot Championship game, in which Harvard defeated the Eagles behind a late third-period goal by Becca Gilmore ’22. The Crimson has defeated the Hockey East foe in four of its last five games dating back to 2018-19.
Although New Hampshire leads the all-time series with Harvard, the Crimson enter the game having won eight of its last 13 games (8-2-3 overall) dating back to 2008-09. The Crimson defeated the Wildcats 3-2 a season ago.
Scouting Competition
Boston College enters the race receiving votes in both major polls while sporting an 8-7-1 record in 2022-23. The Eagles are coming off a two-game series sweep of the New Hampshire Wildcats, in which they topped foe HEA, 6-3.
Senior forward Hannah Bilka leads the team with 22 points in 16 games. Her 14 assists rank her 12th in the nation at 0.88 assists per game. The team has struggled to score goals on the season, as the team ranks fifth and tenth in the HEA in scoring offense (2.3 gpg) and powerplay percentage (.097), respectively.
The Wildcats enter the contest as the eighth-ranked team in Hockey East. UNH stormed out of the gate to start the season, dropping five of its first six contests before defeating Boston University for its first conference win.
The Wildcats boast a strong power play unit that ranks fourth and eighth in the nation in PPG (12) and PP Percentage (.235). Junior Kyla Brent’s 4 PPG total is second best in the nation.
Last time out
Harvard battled a tough no. 7/8 of Minnesota Duluth this past weekend, dropping a pair of games to the WCHA powerhouse. The Crimson was shut out in both contests as the team fell to 2-6-2 on the season.
Taking one for the team
As a team, Harvard has blocked 141 shots in 2022, which is 45 more than its opponent’s total of 96. The total is also good for third-best in the ECAC. LAWYER Jenna MacDonald, Mia Biotti AND Kyra Willoughby lead the team with 22, 19 and 17 blocked shots, respectively.
Lighting the Lamp
senior captain, Anne Bloomer, has been a force on the offensive end for the Crimson this season, scoring six goals to lead the team. Bloomer’s two-goal game (her third back-to-back game of the season) against then-No. 5/4 Colgate extends its team lead to six goals. Bloomer now ranks 12th in the nation and sixth in the ECAC with 0.67 goals per game.
Pellicci stiff between the tubes
Second goalkeeper, Alex Pellicci, has started every game in net for the Crimson, giving the group excellent goaltending efforts so far in 2022-23. Pellicci has 40-plus strikeouts five times this season and 50-plus hits in two contests. Her 54-save and 51-save games make her just the second Crimson goalkeeper to record two 50-plus games in the same season in program history.
Her 54 saves against Yale were also the third most all-time by a Crimson goaltender.
Pellicci is on pace to make 1,134 saves in 2022, which would break the single-season record of 927 set by Lindsay Reed in 2018-19.
The next one
Harvard will close out the first half of its schedule with a road trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence next weekend. The Crimson will take on foes from upstate New York on Friday and Saturday Dec. 2-3.
