CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard Crimson returns this week with two more non-conference games against Hockey East programs. First up, Harvard will take on the Boston College Eagles on Tuesday night (November 22) at the Conte Forum. The Crimson will then pause for the holidays before hosting the New Hampshire Wildcats at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Saturday, November 26.
The Eagles and the Crimson will face off in a rematch of the 2022 Beanpot Championship game in which Harvard defeated the Eagles with a late-third third goal from Becca Gilmore ’22. The Crimson has defeated Ice Hockey East opponents in four of their last five matchups from 2018-19.
Though New Hampshire leads the all-time streak with Harvard, the Crimson come into the matchup after winning eight of their last 13 matchups (8-2-3 overall) dating back to 2008-09. The Crimson defeated the Wildcats 3-2 a season ago.
scouting the competition
Boston College is in the contest, earning votes in both major polls while posting a record of 8-7-1 in 2022-23. The Eagles are coming off a two-game streak against the New Hampshire Wildcats in which they outplayed the HEA foe 6-3.
Senior forward Hannah Bilka leads the team with 22 points from 16 games. Her 14 assists ranks 12th in the nation at .88 assists per game. The team struggled to score during the season as the team ranks fifth and tenth in the HEA on offense (2.3 gpg) and power play percentage (.097).
The Wildcats enter the competition as an eighth-ranked team in Hockey East. UNH stumbled out of the gate to start the season, dropping five of its first six contests before beating Boston University for its first conference win.
The Wildcats boast a solid powerplay unit that ranks fourth and eighth in the nation in PPG (12) and PP Percentage (.235). Junior Kyla Brent’s 4 PPG total is the second best in the nation.
out last time
Harvard battled a strong No. 7/8 Minnesota Duluth team last weekend, losing two games to WCHA power. The Crimson was eliminated in both competitions as the team fell to 2-6-2 in the season.
Take one for the team
As a team, Harvard blocked 141 shots in 2022, 45 more than their opponent’s total of 96. The total is also good for third-best spot in ECAC. defender Jenna McDonald, 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 an offensive force for the Crimson this season, scoring six goals to lead the team. Bloomer’s two-goal game (her third multi-point game of the season) against No. 5/4 Colgate increased her team lead to six goals. Bloomer now ranks 12th in the nation and sixth in the ECAC with 0.67 goals per game.
Pellicci Solid between the tubes
second goalkeeper, Alex Pellicci, has started every game for the Crimson at the net and given the group excellent goalkeeping efforts so far in 2022-23. Pellicci has held 40-plus shots five times this season and has held 50-plus shots in two competitions. Her 54 and 51 save games make her the second goaltender from Crimson to record two save games with more than 50 records in the same season in program history.
Her 54 saves against Yale were also the third-most all-time for a Crimson goaltender.
Pellicci is on track to make 1,134 saves in 2022, which would break the 927 season record set by Lindsay Reed in 2018-19.
Next
Harvard will wrap up the first half of its schedule with a road trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence next weekend. The Crimson take on opponents from upstate New York on Friday and Saturday, December 2nd and 3rd.