"They have great skaters and great passers," Co-captain Sandra Whyte said. "While in front of the net, they could make the really small pass in tight or open up and send it to the point."

Providence added two more goals by Wendy Cofran and Beth Beagan, both assisted by Granato, in the second period to increase its lead to 5-0. By that point, the Crimson had begun to adjust to the game's pace and rattled off seven shots of their own.

In the third period, Harvard's offense made its presence felt, outshooting the Friars, 9-4. Whyte killed any hopes of a shutout by racing down ice with the puck, beating the sole defender in her path, and flicking it into the net.

Despite the loss, Harvard found some reasons for optimism. Freshman goalie Erin Villotte was tested, but after shaking some early-game nervousness, she made several impressive saves. The third line also turned in a solid performance, showing promise against a tough Providence defense.

"We were able to play with three lines consistently against a top team, and that is really promising this early in the season," Whyte said.

"We need to work on moving the puck quicker and reacting faster, but that will all come," Minkus said. "We usually show considerable improvement over the course of a season."

Harvard has two contests this weekend, against Bowdoin Saturday and Colby on Sunday. The two teams in Maine are a level or so below Providence, but should still be good tests.

"We would have had to play perfect to beat Providence, and we could have played very poorly and still beaten Yale," Minkus said. "This weekend will give us an opportunity to see what we can do."