Icewomen Win Twice After Three-Week Break

The Harvard women's ice hockey team (5-2) returned to action last weekend after a 23-day Christmas lay-off to defeat the Rochester Institute of Technology, 5-1, and Cornell, 1-0.

Cornell traveled to Bright Center on Sunday after a tough 5-3 victory over Dartmouth. The Crimson was wary of Cornell, which features two players on the women's Canadian National team (netminder Chantal Toth, and offensive stand-out Kim Ratushny).

Harvard's second line of Jen Minkus, Lauren Messamore, and Kim Landry and the Crimson's defense were more than able to shut down Ratushny's line. Crimson goalie Erin Villiotte (24 saves) made several key stops late in the second and third periods and Bev Stickles logged long minutes while shutting down Cornell's offense.

"It was one of the best women's hockey games I've seen--every one played a super game," Harvard Coach John Dooley said. "Stickles has unbelievable endurance and she lined up against Ratushny all night."

Harvard sported an impressive power play against Cornell. The Crimson moved the puck well and forced Toth to make tough saves.

Harvard scored the deciding goal on one such power play. Sophomore Joey Alissi, from a seemingly impossible angle banked a Sandra Whyte rebound off Toth's skate to give Harvard a 1-0 lead at 14:36 of the second period.

The Crimson had many other scoring chances during the contest, but failed to convert. Toth (31 saves) matched Villiotte stop for stop in the third period, turning aside several point blank shots by Whyte.

Minkus, Alissi, and Landry were also victims of Toth's quick reflexes.

"The Ivy League is a super league this year," Dooley said. "It was wonderful to watch players of Sandra's [Whyte] and Chantal's [Toth] level go at it."

"It wasn't pretty, but our defense, particularly [Francie] Walton and Stickles, really shut down Cornell's guns," senior Ginny Simonds said. "And, Erin [Villiotte] showed excellent poise for her first Ivy League game."

Promising Start

Rochester's loss to Harvard probably wasn't a shock to the team. The Tigers (0-3) were previously shellacked by Providence (10-0) and UNH (7-0), and its 5-1 defeat on Saturday was no different.

After a somewhat sluggish first period with many of its players shaking off the flu bug, the Crimson's offense exploded for five goals in the second and third periods.

"They were a small team and our depth enabled us to pretty easily overtake them," senior forward Lauren Messamore said. "Our third line has been a nice addition this season."

Co-Captain and blue-liner Stickles started the scoring for Harvard at 3:41 of the second period, by intercepting a pass, taking it end to end and firing the puck past goalie Lisa Gimlin, who recorded 27 saves on the day.

One minute later, RIT senior Erin O'Neil tied the game at 1-1 as the puck unexpectedly dribbled off Emily Buxton's stick and between Villotte's pads.

Harvard kept its composure after the fluke RIT goal, subsequently rattling off three of its own. Whyte notched two goals, including a breakaway to open the third period, and an assist on linemate Simonds' goal.

Minkus scored the most opportunistic goal of the night as she zipped out of the penalty box, caught RIT's defenders off-guard and carried a Whyte clearing pass in for Harvard's fifth and final goal.

Big Green

With an encouraging weekend under its belt, Harvard looks ahead to its next Ivy League contest against Dartmouth Wednesday night at 7:00. Although last year's Dartmouth squad defeated the Crimson by a score of 5-4, the Big Green lost a disappointing game last Saturday to Cornell, 5-3.