The No. 10 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team didn't quite have the start it had Friday night against No. 8 Harvard University, and unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it directly affected the game's result.

UMD's sluggish start allowed the Crimson two, first period goals that the Bulldogs struggled to recover from in their 4-1 loss Saturday afternoon in AMSOIL Arena in front of over 2,200 fans.  With the setback, UMD settles for a series split from the ranked Crimson and falls to 6-10-0 overall while Harvard improves to 8-2-1.

"We certainly didn't have the start that we had yesterday, and we gave Harvard a lot of energy because of that," said UMD head coach Maura Crowell.  "I give Harvard a lot of credit, they had a much better game today.  I think if we would have played more like we did in the third period all the way through, it would have been a much better game.  We have to play a complete 60 minutes, that's never going to change, and if we do that, I think we are in every game."

Harvard struck in the middle of the first period on a goal from Audrey Warner before doubling its lead with just 17 seconds remaining until the first intermission.  That lead over the Bulldogs went to 3-0 at the 4:04 mark of the second period when Grace Zarzecki found the twine for the Crimson.

It wasn't until 5:29 of the third period that UMD appeared to find some wind under its sails after Lara Stalder beat Emerance Maschmeyer between her pads to break the Crimson's shutout.  Stalder's team-high eighth goal of the season was assisted by junior winger Ashleigh Brykaliuk, who threw the puck on the doorstep for Stalder to swipe home.  Harvard extended its lead a little over 10 minutes later when Sydney Daniels beat freshman UMD netminder Maddie Rooney over her shoulder to put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs, who out shot the Crimson 14-8 in the final period and 31-26 in the game.

Rooney compiled 22 saves on 26 shots, while Maschmeyer made 30 saves on 31 shots.  The Crimson held UMD scoreless in four power play attempts, while the Bulldogs returned the favor, holding Harvard scoreless in two extra skater opportunities.

UMD will do something next weekend it has not yet done this season -- play another series at home on back-to-back weekends.  The Bulldogs will jump back into Western Collegiate Hockey Association play when they host St. Cloud State University at AMSOIL Friday and Saturday afternoon at 3:07 p.m.