Harvard forward Kate Buesser scored a hat trick and teammate Jillian Dempsey added two goals as the Crimson defeated St. Lawrence 8-3 in game two of the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal series in Cambridge, MA.  The Saints, who clawed back to within a goal after falling behind 4-0, finish the 2010-11 season with a 16-18-2 record.

Harvard improves to 17-10-4 on the year and will compete in the ECAC Hockey semifinals at the Bright Hockey Center on Thursday of next week thanks to a 3-for-8 mark on the power play.

"Harvard played some great hockey the last two days," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells.  "I was proud of the way we battled back in the second period and we gave ourselves a chance to come away with a win in the third."

For the second straight day, St. Lawrence found itself in a 4-0 hole in the first period, as the Crimson scored four times in a 14:00 minute span.  Buesser opened the scoring at 5:03 when she re-directed a shot past Maxie Weisz, and then Ashley Wheeler followed with a power play goal at 7:10 for a 2-0 lead.

Harvard capitalized on some good fortune later in the period, when junior Josee Belanger blocked a shot to the left of Weisz.  However, the puck bounced directly to Gina McDonald, who scored with the goalie out of position for a 3-0 lead.  Buesser then made it 4-0 when her long shot from just inside the blue line went off a St. Lawrence skate and behind Weisz at the 19:00 minute mark.

The Crimson, which finished with a 17-6 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, continued to put the heat on the second but Weisz kept her team within four with some key saves.  Her play allowed the Saints to put together a three-goal run to pull to within one at 4-3 heading into the third period.

Belanger got St. Lawrence on the scoreboard at 12:02 of the second period, as she one-timed a shot through Harvard goalie Laura Bellamy's legs for her second goal of the year.  Senior assistant captain Karell Emard floated a perfect backhand pass to set up the team's first goal.

The momentum swung in the Saints favor when rookie Rylee Smith converted a breakaway try while skating 4-on-4 at 15:30.  The Hagersville, ON native slid the puck through Bellamy's pads for her seventh goal of the year.  Then, in the final minute of the second period, junior Alley Bero crossed a centering pass for junior Vanessa Emond, who fired a wrist shot past Bellamy to get St. Lawrence back to within a single goal at 4-3 entering the final stanza.

However, Harvard would put together another four-goal period to put the game in the win column and close out the series.  Buesser completed the hat trick a mere 15 seconds into the frame to make it 5-3 before Dempsey made it 6-3 only 45 seconds later when she sniped a wrist shot past Weisz's glove.

The goals took all of the momentum away from the Scarlet and Brown, who would give up another goal to Dempsey at 10:28 and an empty netter by Marissa Gedman to close out the scoring at 8-3.

Harvard closed with a 37-28 advantage in shots on goal and St. Lawrence was 1-for-6 with the extra skater.