Icewomen Tame Terriers

The Harvard women's ice hockey team avenged its only loss of the season last night, edging B.U. by a score of 3-2 for their third win in a row.

With leading scorer Tania Huber nursing a knee injury and watching the game from the stands, the Crimson looked for some new faces to put the puck in the net. The icewomen were not disappointed, as three players each scored their first goals of the season.

Playing before an enthusiastic crowd of about 60, the Crimson came out flying. The icewomen swarmed around the Terrier's goalmouth, shooting from all angles and digging for rebounds.

Nothing got by BU's netminder, Lisa Whitcomb, though, as memories of her 40-save shutout two weeks ago seemed fresh in both teams' minds. At one point midway through the first period, Crimson co-captain Firkins Reed won four face-offs in a row, each time getting the puck back to winger Dianne Hurley, but Whitcomb was ready all four times.

Hop, Skip, Jump

A minute later, BU got off its first shot on goal, and somehow, the puck hopped, skipped and jumped from the point into the net. Harvard's screened goalie, Cheryl Tate, never saw the puck as it bounced over the sticks of several Crimson players and past her stick side.

Keeping the pressure on, the icewomen's strong forechecking finally paid off when Sue Yunick picked up the rebound of Julie Starr's blast from the point and stuffed it under a sprawling Whitcomb. Harvard had broken the jinx, ending their 68-minute scoring drought against BU.

The Crimson forged ahead in the second period when it got a lucky bounce of its own. Sophomore Meghan Berthold let go a slapshot which popped off a Terrier defenseman's stick into the air, flew over the goalie's head, and landed in the net.

The third period started with BU pressing hard for the tying goal, but Tate frustrated their efforts, coming up with a number of key saves. "It's hard to keep warm when you only get a couple shots a period, but we knew they'd come out flying in the third, and I quickly warmed up," Tate said.

Tate got some help from her teammates when Liz Ward tipped in Debbie Taft's shot to put the Crimson up by two with five minutes left in the game.

The Terriers refused to give up, and they finally slipped another one by Tate with only 24 seconds to go, but it was too little too late.

The Crimson have been improving every game of the season. "They're getting hungry around the net, and they're also learning to take advantage of their opportunities." Harvard coach John Dooley said after the game.

"Firkins Reed is the toughest forechecker and played a super game, as did Cathy Carroll. who took filled in for Huber." Dooley added. "By February, we're going to be a great team."