“Our team doesn’t have the big name superstars, so unless you are on the ice with us or in our locker room, you wouldn’t know what type of team we have,” said junior assistant captain Laura Gersten. “We knew that we could get to the ECAC finals and that’s all that really mattered.”

Backed by a career-high 48 saves from sophomore sensation goaltender Sonja van der Bliek, the Engineers took advantage of the only penalty in extra minutes to eliminate Harvard’s chances at ECAC—and NCAA—supremacy, and earned a school record-setting 18th season win.

Setting up the historic game, both teams battled out a scoreless first period. The Crimson held a 13-1 advantage in shots; however, the underdogs would be the first to draw blood. Less than two minutes apart, RPI’s leading scorer junior Whitney Naslund tallied two goals to pull the Engineers ahead 2-0 in the second period.

Naslund’s first goal of the afternoon—this one on the power play—was a deflection from a pass by linemate freshman Alisa Harrison. Skating in the lower right circle, Harrison sent the puck through the slot to Naslund, whose wrist shot beat junior Crimson goalie Christina Kessler on the glove side at 13:21. Again skating down the center of the rink, Naslund corralled a pass from junior Allison Wright and wristed the puck under the crossbar at 15:29 for her 15th goal of the season.

Distraught by the sudden change of power, Harvard quickly responded with a goal of its own less than a minute after Naslund’s second tally. Crimson senior Sarah Wilson received a pass from junior Anna McDonald and was able to beat van der Bliek as she cut to the side of the net at 16:11.

RPI would maintain its 2-1 lead to midway through the third frame before the Crimson capitalized on an Engineer penalty to even the game up at two. Wilson netted her second of the game—and 13th goal of the year—as she caught a centering pass from sophomore Leanna Coskren and skated through the slot, sending a shot over van der Bliek’s shoulder from the right circle.

Harvard nearly took the game in the final seconds of play, but smart tactics by Harrison kept the Engineers alive. The puck bounced off the skate of the referee onto a Crimson stick, and van der Bliek, out of position, left an empty net. Harrison blocked the shot, and van der Bliek was able to stop the point-blank rebound attempt as the final whistle blew.

A team effort to the finish, the Engineers came out on top as Gersten netted the game-winner at 13:20 of the overtime frame. Cycling the puck low in the Crimson zone, sophomore Kendra Dunlop passed the puck to Gersten, who had dropped to the top left circle. Gersten ripped a shot through traffic in front of the net past Kessler, toppling the once invincible Harvard team.

Despite holding a 50-17 advantage in shots, the top-seeded and No. 9 in the nation Harvard Crimson finished out their season 19-10-3 overall and 16-4-2 in the ECAC, while the Engineers moved on to play another day.

“Polls said we wouldn’t make playoffs from the start,” explained junior forward Allysen Weidner, “but as a team we had no doubt we would make it. We knew all season that was our goal. Through the series, we were all excited and it was no longer a feeling of ‘just happy to be here’—we wanted to win and expected to win.”

In Rensselaer’s previous playoff appearance two years ago, the currently No. 8 in the nation Big Green swept the Engineers in the best-of-three quarterfinal. Looking for revenge, RPI put up a good fight against a team laden with nationally-recognized stars, but ended up giving away five unanswered goals to take the consolation trophy back home to Troy with a score of 6-1.

Dartmouth took the early lead with a goal by sophomore Alyssa Boehm. Junior Sarah Parsons cut a pass from the left side of the ice to Boehm, who snuck the puck past van der Bliek’s five-hole for her fourth goal of the season 2:43 into the first period.

Midway through the second period, RPI showed a sign of life as it tied the game up at one off a goal by freshman Jill Vandegrift. Senior Nicole McDonald’s shot from the boards deflected out to Vandegrift in the right circle, who placed the puck through an opening in the left side of the net past senior goaltender Carli Clemis at 7:27. The remainder of the contest would see no additional RPI goals, as the Big Green held commanding control of the puck throughout the entire game.

The Big Green dominated the final 12 minutes of play in the second, and placed two more markers on the board before the end of the period. Senior Shannon Bowman tallied her ninth of the season off a feed from Parsons at 8:37, and later won a face-off in the Engineers’ zone which resulted in a goal by classmate Maggie Kennedy at 12:44. With a minute remaining in the period, Naslund had the best chance of the afternoon to cut Dartmouth’s lead, as her breakaway attempt was turned aside by Clemis.

Three more goals in the third period by junior Jenna Cunningham, sophomore Amanda Trunzo, and Parsons—all within an 11-minute span—pulled Dartmouth to a 6-1 lead. Unable to overcome the deficit, the Engineers skated away with second place, heads still held high as a testament to their strong will and resilience throughout the game and playoffs.

“I think the way we fought and continued to battle the whole game showed what kind of team we are,” said Gersten about the loss. “I think we may have been a bit tired from the game against Harvard and just didn’t have the gas we needed to play against them the whole 60 minutes.”

Finishing the season 20-9-4 overall and 13-5-4 in the league, Dartmouth earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament but fell this past weekend to the University of Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 7-0, knocking the Big Green out of the postseason. RPI finishes the year 19-14-4 overall and 11-8-3 in the ECAC, its best finish since introduction to the league in 2006.

“We shocked a lot of people and other teams in the league this year,” explained Harrison. “It’s helped us earn respect and recognition in the league and the women’s hockey community, which is great. It’s a big step for us and we will be able to build on it in the upcoming years.”

The Engineers did leave with several honors, including three selections to the all-tournament team. Naslund, Gersten, and van der Bliek joined Parsons, Bowman, and Dartmouth senior Julia Bronson to the all-tournament selection. In addition, earlier in the week, Harrison and fellow freshman Sierra Vadner were named to the ECAC All-Rookie team, more firsts in the program’s history.

“I’m glad the whole team was there to accept the award with me because without them it wouldn’t have been possible,” said Harrison. “I just hope it makes people in this league realize there are talented players on our team and I think some of my teammates were overlooked for end of the season league awards simply because we are a young program. But, I’m sure after the season we had this year they will be paying more attention to us next season.”

The finished year, with several moments etched in RPI women’s hockey history, will not be a season soon forgotten. Gersten said, “All three wins against Princeton, the win against Harvard in overtime, winning for our seniors on their night in front of all the alumni … it was all amazing. Without the help of the girls before us, none of what we accomplished this season would have been possible. The wins were great, but being in the locker room after seeing the faces on all the girls was even better.”

With a stellar end to a successful season, the Engineers can look to continued triumph in the upcoming year, as many of their top players will be returning for the 2009–2010 season. “The team will have to have the same effort and will to win next season. We know how hard it is to win games,” said Weidner. “The ECAC is so tight top to bottom every game comes down to which team comes to play. Next season we will have to come ready to play every night and be willing to give it our all.”