BOSTON — The Harvard women’s hockey team is playing its best hockey of the season at the perfect time.
Harvard entered Tuesday night’s Beanpot semifinal matchup with Boston University as winners of each of their last six games and extended the win streak with a thrilling 4-1 win over the Terriers. The game actually was tied through 40 minutes of action and the Crimson didn’t retake the lead until midway through the final period, but netted three goals in the final 11 minutes to clinch a berth in the 2022 Women’s Beanpot Championship.
During Harvard’s seven-game win streak they outscored opponents at an eye-popping rate of 30-7. Their hot streak has led to a meteoric rise in the national polls and entering Tuesday they sat at No. 6 in the country, but that could rise when the new polls are released if they’re able to take down Colgate and Cornell this weekend.
After the game Harvard head coach Katey Stone discussed what has changed in the team since Christmas and what has sparked this impressive streak.
“We made a couple adjustments before Christmas in how we were playing,” Stone said. “And I think that our kids have really bought into that. And I mean, again, you can you can float around the ice or you can play with purpose and I think our kids have really, really locked into what we’re trying to do. And it’s working for us and we’re getting great goaltending and great defense and great offense.
“And you know, I think the biggest thing is that our kids believe in themselves and their teammates and they’re playing with a lot of confidence and you’re just figuring out a way to win every night. Every night. And then once that’s over, it’s over and then we move on to what’s next. So we understand we got a lot in front of us but we’re proud of what we’ve done.”
The Crimson will take on the winner of Tuesday night’s second Beanpot semifinal between Boston College and Northeastern on Tuesday, Feb. 8 for all the marbles.
