W. Hockey Endures Difficult Season

One second. Such a seemingly short interval of time, but as that guy in the Seiko commercial will tell you (you know, the one where he misses bumping into his true love because he didn't buy a Seiko), a second can make all the difference in the world.

Sunday, December 3, one second may have caused the downfall of the Harvard women's hockey team. Leading St. Lawrence by a one with just a second to play, the Crimson surrendered a game-tying goal that sent the contest into overtime and Harvard's season into a downward spiral.

The Crimson was in good shape, coming off a second-place finish in the All-American Tournament in Minnesota and an ECAC victory over rival Yale. Good shape that is, until the closing second of the St. Lawrence game.

"The St. Lawrence game hurt us the most," freshman forward Catherine Kreindler said. "That game possibly could have put us over the top."

After playing to a discouraging tie against the weaker Saints, the Crimson fell into a rut that turned its season into a rebuilding one, plain and simple.

That season ended just over a week ago, as a young, injury-plagued squad hung up its skates after failing to make the ECAC playoffs for the first time in several years.

The Harvard women simply never got on a roll after that heart-breaking day, finishing ninth in the ECAC with a meager three league victories.

Injuries proved to be too much for the Crimson, as a battered squad ended the season eight points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.

Several tough losses coupled with an inability to beat ECAC rivals in division games denied the Crimson a berth in the show.

"There were a lot of games that were really close that we didn't win," Kreindler said. "It was frustrating."

And even when the Crimson did muster an impressive victory, it didn't matter in the standings. After losing big to Princeton at home in November, the Crimson bounced back to trounce the Tigers at Princeton a month later. In perhaps the never-ending irony that is collegiate sports, the loss counted in the league standings and the victory did not.

Even more devastating, though, was the inordinate number of injuries suffered by the Harvard squad.

Every team has its share of injuries, but at times it seemed the Crimson had theirs, and then some. Defensemen Melissa Milbert and Colleen Malek missed most of the season with knee problems, cutting the Harvard blue line nearly in half. Several key players also succumbed to sporadic ailments of varied nature throughout the season.

The most noticeable effect of the battered blue line was surprisingly not seen on the defensive end of the ice. Anchored by co-captain Holly Leitzes, the Harvard defensive core (that is to say three defensemen) battled admirably, but at the expense of the offensive punch of the team.

"Our core players were missing and we were always trying to fill in the holes," senior Stacy Kellogg said. "Our focus definitely shifted more toward defense."

Even though the season was marred by disappointments for the Crimson, there were several bright spots.

Offensive star A.J. Mleczko, who was often forced to play double shifts because of team injuries, was selected to the All-Ivy first team for the second straight year. Leitzes was also honored as a member of the first team for the second year in a row.

Mleczko set several career milestones in her third season on the ice for Harvard. The junior forward climbed atop the Harvard leader board in both goals and points, tallying 26 goals and 16 assists on the year.

But more importantly, the young Crimson team has gained experience points for the future. A promising freshman class of eight was thrust into the mix as depth problems forced Harvard head coach Katey Stone to go with a younger lineup.

"It's unusual to have such a big freshman class," first-year forward Alice DuBois said. "To have freshmen in man-up and man-down situations was...interesting."

"This was the most fun I've had since I started [playing hockey]," co-captain Ellen Frump said. "It was a little disappointing, but overall I had a great time."

And when you think about it, that's all that really matters.