She had no idea she was about to score the biggest goal of her life.
This is what Becca Gilmore did know: She was exhausted. When she jumped over the boards for her shift in triple overtime, the Harvard University star tried to forget her physical state.
She may have been skating on empty but she wasn’t too tired to celebrate after she took a pass from Kat Hughes and stuffed a shot into the Yale net to lift Harvard to a dramatic 4-3 victory on March 1, 2020.
Harvard eliminated Yale in the third and deciding game of an epic playoff series and advanced to the ECAC semifinals for the first time since 2015.
“Honestly, just elation. I definitely was exhausted,” the Wayland, Mass., native said. “I don’t normally ‘celly’ like that. It was definitely a relief.”
After scoring 2:39 into the third OT, ending the longest ECAC women’s playoff game since 2010, Gilmore skated along the boards and pumped her right hand in celebration before being mobbed by her teammates in Cambridge.
“I don’t think that we ever had a doubt we were going to win. You have to think that way,” she said. “I think I could have played a fourth (overtime), but we were happy it could get decided in a third.”
There was another reason for her to be spent: She put a game-high 10 shots on net, the last one finally solving the Yale netminder.
Gilmore had no way of knowing that the following week when Harvard fell in the semifinals to powerful Cornell, would be her last game for 19 months. Less than three weeks after her clutch goal, the 32nd of her Harvard career, the world came to a near standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harvard, joining the majority of ECAC programs, announced it would not play games during the 2020-21 season.
“It’s been over 17 months to get back with the team again,” the 5-foot-6 senior forward said. “I’ve never taken a month off (from hockey), never mind 17-18 months. I think it definitely makes you appreciate the amount of time you have on the ice. Don’t take it for granted. I love the game and I’m excited to get back out there. I think I appreciate it more.”
Harvard’s opener, Oct. 22 at Dartmouth, the first of 29 scheduled games, has been circled on her calendar for months.
Gilmore has a knack for scoring key goals. She had seven game-winning tallies in her first three seasons. In the three-game playoff series against Yale, Gilmore netted four goals and two assists.
Gilmore has 80 career points, 35 coming during a magical freshman campaign which saw her lead the Crimson in scoring. She was named an All-Ivy Second Team performer and a member of the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.
“She’s got a way of getting where she needs to go to get the job done,” head coach Katey Stone said. “Skilled. Explosive. Responsible. If she makes a mistake, she’ll be the first kid to come back to the bench and say, ‘I blew it.’ But then she doesn’t dwell on the mistake.”
Gilmore isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas in front of the opposing net. That’s what happened on her triple-overtime winner. She skated in front, accepted a backhand pass from Hughes, twirled around to face the net and sent a low shot from the doorstep into the Yale cage. All in the blink of an eye and with defenders closing in on her.
Gilmore said she felt relaxed in the third overtime because the team kept the mood light in the locker room after the second overtime. Yes, she was tired, but she took comfort in the fact that all her teammates knew their roles, knew what they had to do to advance to the semifinals.
“She’s a talented player who seems to find the right opening at the right time,” Stone said.
Gilmore caught Harvard’s attention during a celebrated career at Noble and Greenough. Gilmore was a six-year varsity forward at the Dedham school. In 168 career games, Gilmore collected 128 goals and 234 points. She was named the MVP of the Independent School League (ISL) as a senior.
She also was named the 2017 John Carlton Memorial Award winner. Each year the Boston Bruins recognize the top male and female hockey players in Eastern Mass. Gilmore’s reputation grew far beyond the Boston area thanks to her strong showings in international tournaments.
She was a member of the U.S. Women’s U-18 teams from 2014-16. She helped the U.S. win gold in 2014 and 2016 and a silver medal in 2015, the year she led all tournament players with seven assists.
When it came time to pick a college, Gilmore didn’t hesitate. Harvard was the choice.
Stone knew she was getting a good player. She didn’t know that player was going to play center off the bat and score 16 goals as a freshman.
Gilmore’s rookie season surprised Stone “maybe a little bit.”
“We asked so much of her. She had a ton of responsibility defensively,” Stone added. “I was afraid she would wear down, but she did a great job.”
Gilmore made an immediate impact as a rookie, notching four-point games against Holy Cross and RPI. She earned a third four-point game as a junior, handing out a career-best four assists against seventh-ranked Princeton.
Only four of the ECAC’s 12 teams played last season: Colgate, St. Lawrence, Clarkson and Quinnipiac. Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, RPI, Union and Yale could only look on jealousy from afar.
Taking an entire season off was mentally challenging for Gilmore. It was winter. She’s a hockey player. Why wasn’t she in uniform, wearing No. 15 and flying up and down the Bright-Landry Hockey Center ice?
When the team took the ice for its first practice of the 2021-22 season, there were smiles all around. Gilmore was surprised by the intensity of the opening practice. Players were buzzing around the ice like they were shot out of a cannon. Gilmore couldn’t help but sport an ear-to-ear grin. She wasn’t the only player who missed wearing a Harvard jersey.
Gilmore is one of six former Noble and Greenough players on Harvard’s roster, joining sophomore forward Courtney Hyland, sophomore defenseman Nicki Lutschaunig, junior forward Katie Tresca, freshman forward Ellie Bayard and freshman defenseman Rose O’Connor.
Gilmore says the “ultimate” goal this season is to capture the national championship, something the Crimson accomplished under Stone in 1999. Along the way, with six wins, Harvard can hand Stone the 500th victory of her illustrious career.
“I’m very excited. There’s so much talent out on the ice and I’m excited to see it come together,” Gilmore said.
The Crimson finished seventh in the ECAC her freshman and sophomore campaigns before winning 18 games and finishing fourth in the league in the 2019-20 season. With loads of depth and talented forwards like Dominique Petrie and Kristin Della Rovere back, Harvard hopes to return to national prominence.
Petrie, Rovere and Gilmore combined to net 41 goals and 93 points two seasons ago.
Gilmore has an affinity for numbers. An economics major, Gilmore already knows what she’ll be doing after graduation next spring. She’s been offered a position at a growth equity firm in Boston, a place she interned at.
Gilmore wanted to play hockey from an early age after watching her older brother, Ben, who later played at St. Mark’s. Her older sister, Sarah, skated at the Rivers School. Her father, Daniel, and mother, Debra, rarely miss a game.
Gilmore is following in the footsteps of her mother, who was one of the pioneer members of the Bowdoin College women’s hockey program.
“It’s a story I’m definitely proud of,” Gilmore said. “I skated with my mom in the backyard. She’s been a huge supporter every step of the way.”
ECAC coaches say this season is difficult to predict. China will host the Winter Olympics in 2022, meaning many of the nation’s top college players will miss huge chunks of the season to prepare with their respective national teams.
Due to the pandemic, the NCAA has granted fifth years to players. That will also change the dynamic of the 2021-22 season.
There are some certainties, though. Becca Gilmore is hungry to send more pucks into opposing nets.
Even if she’s exhausted. Even if she’s skating on empty. Even if it’s the third overtime.
