W. Hockey Crushes Another Pretender

In a season full of firsts, the No. 1 Harvard women's hockey team swept a weekend series against No. 2 Brown and No. 6 Providence for the first time in school history with two convincing victories over what is, behind Harvard and No. 5 Northeastern, the toughest pair of travel partners in the ECAC. BROWN  2 HARVARD  6 PROVIDENCE  2 HARVARD  5

Not even two of the best goaltenders in the country--1998 ECAC Tournament MVP Ali Brewer of Brown and former Olympian Sara DeCosta of Providence--could contain the nation's best offense. Both talented netminders held the Crimson under its usual clip of 6.57 goals a game, but Harvard managed to produce two lopsided wins, 6-2 over Brown Saturday and 5-2 against Providence Sunday.

The victories pushed the nation's longest winning streak to 19 games and allowed the Crimson to reclaim sole possession of first place in the conference. With 37 points, Harvard (22-1-0, 18-1-1 ECAC) leads second-place Brown (15-4-3, 15-4-3) by four points. Providence (16-8-2, 13-7-2) fell behind Northeastern and No. 3 New Hampshire into fifth place.

The Crimson top forward line of Shewchuk, co-captain A.J. Mleczko and freshman winger Jen Botterill will remain the three highest scorers in the country after another productive weekend in the offensive zone. Mleczko (23 goals-54 assists-77 points) led the way with six assists and a goal. Shewchuk (28-34-62) poured in three goals and two helpers while Botterill (26-35-61) had five assists and three goals, including both game-winners.

But Harvard also received offense from the makeshift forward line of sophomores Angie Francisco, Kiirsten Suurkask and Tara Dunn. Francisco (9-26-35) recorded one goal and three assists, Suurkask (8-15-23) added three assists and Dunn (17-6-23) scored three goals.

Freshman goaltender Alison Kuusisto, recorded a career-high 38 saves against Brown in her fifth start of the season.

Harvard 6, Brown 2

After 40 minutes of very even hockey, the Crimson avenged its only loss of the season with a relentless third-period attack. Harvard lit the lamp five times in the final 20 minutes to run away from Brown in front of a record crowd of 1,711 fans at the Bright Center.

"This was a huge win," Shewchuk said. "Beating Brown like this, after losing to them early in the season, gives us confidence that we can playwith anyone."

The nation's best defense could not stop Harvard's offensive attack. Led by two Kazmaier Award candidates in junior goaltender Ali Brewer and sophomore defenseman Tara Mounsey, the Bears came into the game giving up an ECAC-best 1.15 goals per contest. Harvard joined No. 8 Princeton as the teams that have managed six goals against Brown.

"We were focused the entire game because wewanted to show Brown why we're the No. 1 team inthe country," sophomore forward Tara Dunn said."Now we've beaten every team in the ECAC, but wehave to continue to play well once the playoffsstart."

With the score tied, 1-1, after two periods, itappeared that Brown might upset Harvard again. TheBears outshot the Crimson, 33-16, during the first40 minutes with a stifling interior defense thatprevented Harvard from turning quality chancesinto shots on goal.

Brown was able to pull even 14:39 into thesecond period when Bear sophomore forward KathleenKauth won a wild scramble for the puck behind theHarvard net. She skated into the post for anundefended shot and sent it past Kuusisto's stickfor the goal.

Harvard, unable to develop shots in its setoffense, struggled to create breakaways for therest of the period and had to settle for a tieheading into the second intermission.

"Brown did a good job of packing in the slotand we couldn't finish our passes," Coach KateyStone said. "But once we start moving offensively,we have the ability to score some pretty goals.The third period was just fun to watch."

Most of the offense came from the top line.Harvard took the lead for good 3:14 into the thirdperiod when Brewer deflected a scorching slapshotby MacKinnon. Brewer also stopped a second shot byMleczko, but Botterill won the rebound and sentthe puck top-shelf for the score.

A penalty against Brown junior forward AliKenney 45 seconds later gave Harvard a chance toextend its lead. Harvard passed out of thedefensive zone and Ruggiero skated across the blueline with only one Bear player defending her.

She skated to Brewer's left while Botterill,trailing on the breakaway, skated to the right.Ruggiero drew the Brown defender to her sidebefore feeding Botterill, who knocked in her fifthgame-winning goal of the season.

"We died after the third goal and let down alittle on our coverage," Brown Coach MargaretDigidio-Murphy said. "It was close but the bouncesdidn't go our way and then we just lost one periodof a hockey game."

The line of Dunn, Suurkask and Francisco hookedhooked up for a goal with 8:22 remaining to giveHarvard a commanding 4-1 lead.

Harvard 5, Providence 2

Harvard seemed to be in control in the firstperiod, outshooting Providence, 14-5. ButDeCosta's confidence between the pipes kept theCrimson offense silent by stopping Harvard's firstshots while not allowing the Crimson any secondchances.

Harvard's first rebound came 18:51 into thegame. Shewchuk, skating in from the left corner,fed Botterill in front of the net but DeCosta madea butterfly stop. She could not get up to coverthe puck, however, and Shewchuk sent home therebound from the left post.

"There was a scrum in front of the net,"Shewchuk said. "Bots took the first shot and Ijust knocked it in. We knew that DeCosta usuallymakes the first save and we tried to stayaggressive the entire game."

But Harvard had to settle for one goal andProvidence used a miracle to even the game 3:41into the second period. Junior defenseman KimMathias took a shot from the right corner thatbounced off the top of the net. Kuusisto turnedaround to look for the puck and somehow managed toknock it past the crease for the Friar goal.

That turn of events gave Providence momentumand Harvard needed a power play to regain the lead9:07 into the period. Shewchuk sent a cross-icepass to Botterill in the right face-off circle,and Botterill fed Francisco in the post for thescore.

Four late Crimson penalties gave the Friars theman advantage down the stretch.

The Providence power play unit capitalized 2:04into the final period when senior winger MyiaYates put back a rebound to tie the game at twogoals apiece.

The Crimson top line gave Harvard the lead forgood 41 seconds later when Botterill scored fromthe top of the right circle. That gave her anECAC-best six game-winning goals for the season.

HARVARD, 6-2 at Bright Hockey Center

Brown  0  1  1  --  2Harvard  0  1  5  --  6

First Period

None.

Second Period

Har--Shewchuk 1 (Mleczko, Botterill) 00:46.

Brn--Kauth 1 (unassisted) 14:49. 1 (PPG)

Third Period

Har--Botterill 1 (Mleczko, MacKinnon) 3:14.

Har--Botterill 2 (Ruggiero, Mleczko) 25:20.(PPG)

Har--Dunn 1 (Suurkask, Francisco)11:38.

Brn--Jones 1 (Jiskra, Kauth) 15:41. (PPG)

Har--Shewchuk 2 (Botterill, Mleczko) 17:36.

Har--Mleczko 1 (Botterill, Francisco) 19:04.(PPG)

Saves: Brn--Brewer 5-10-10 25;Har--Kuusisto 13-19-6 38.

Power Play: Brn--2/5; Har--2/4.

HARVARD, 5-2 at Bright Hockey Center

Providence  0  1  1  --  2Harvard  1  1  3  --  5

First Period

Har--Shewchuk 1 (Botterill, Mleczko) 18:51.

Second Period

Prv--Mathias 1 (unassisted) 3:41.

Har--Francisco 1 (Botterill, Shewchuk) 9:07.(PPG)

Third Period

Prv--Yates 1 (Bono, Tabb) 2:04. (PPG)

Har--Botterill 1 (Shewchuk, Mleczko) 2:45.

Har--Dunn 1 (Suurkask, Francisco) 10:05.

Har--Dunn 2 (Suurkask, Ruggiero) 15:55.

Saves: Prv--DeCosta 13-10-9 32;Har--Kuusisto 5-7-5 17.

Power Play: Prv--1/5; Har--1/4.CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanMESSAGE IN A BOTTERILL: Freshmanwinger JEN BOTTERILL (7) had five assist s andthree goals on the weekend.

"We were focused the entire game because wewanted to show Brown why we're the No. 1 team inthe country," sophomore forward Tara Dunn said."Now we've beaten every team in the ECAC, but wehave to continue to play well once the playoffsstart."

With the score tied, 1-1, after two periods, itappeared that Brown might upset Harvard again. TheBears outshot the Crimson, 33-16, during the first40 minutes with a stifling interior defense thatprevented Harvard from turning quality chancesinto shots on goal.

Brown was able to pull even 14:39 into thesecond period when Bear sophomore forward KathleenKauth won a wild scramble for the puck behind theHarvard net. She skated into the post for anundefended shot and sent it past Kuusisto's stickfor the goal.

Harvard, unable to develop shots in its setoffense, struggled to create breakaways for therest of the period and had to settle for a tieheading into the second intermission.

"Brown did a good job of packing in the slotand we couldn't finish our passes," Coach KateyStone said. "But once we start moving offensively,we have the ability to score some pretty goals.The third period was just fun to watch."

Most of the offense came from the top line.Harvard took the lead for good 3:14 into the thirdperiod when Brewer deflected a scorching slapshotby MacKinnon. Brewer also stopped a second shot byMleczko, but Botterill won the rebound and sentthe puck top-shelf for the score.

A penalty against Brown junior forward AliKenney 45 seconds later gave Harvard a chance toextend its lead. Harvard passed out of thedefensive zone and Ruggiero skated across the blueline with only one Bear player defending her.

She skated to Brewer's left while Botterill,trailing on the breakaway, skated to the right.Ruggiero drew the Brown defender to her sidebefore feeding Botterill, who knocked in her fifthgame-winning goal of the season.

"We died after the third goal and let down alittle on our coverage," Brown Coach MargaretDigidio-Murphy said. "It was close but the bouncesdidn't go our way and then we just lost one periodof a hockey game."

The line of Dunn, Suurkask and Francisco hookedhooked up for a goal with 8:22 remaining to giveHarvard a commanding 4-1 lead.

Harvard 5, Providence 2

Harvard seemed to be in control in the firstperiod, outshooting Providence, 14-5. ButDeCosta's confidence between the pipes kept theCrimson offense silent by stopping Harvard's firstshots while not allowing the Crimson any secondchances.

Harvard's first rebound came 18:51 into thegame. Shewchuk, skating in from the left corner,fed Botterill in front of the net but DeCosta madea butterfly stop. She could not get up to coverthe puck, however, and Shewchuk sent home therebound from the left post.

"There was a scrum in front of the net,"Shewchuk said. "Bots took the first shot and Ijust knocked it in. We knew that DeCosta usuallymakes the first save and we tried to stayaggressive the entire game."

But Harvard had to settle for one goal andProvidence used a miracle to even the game 3:41into the second period. Junior defenseman KimMathias took a shot from the right corner thatbounced off the top of the net. Kuusisto turnedaround to look for the puck and somehow managed toknock it past the crease for the Friar goal.

That turn of events gave Providence momentumand Harvard needed a power play to regain the lead9:07 into the period. Shewchuk sent a cross-icepass to Botterill in the right face-off circle,and Botterill fed Francisco in the post for thescore.

Four late Crimson penalties gave the Friars theman advantage down the stretch.

The Providence power play unit capitalized 2:04into the final period when senior winger MyiaYates put back a rebound to tie the game at twogoals apiece.

The Crimson top line gave Harvard the lead forgood 41 seconds later when Botterill scored fromthe top of the right circle. That gave her anECAC-best six game-winning goals for the season.

HARVARD, 6-2 at Bright Hockey Center

Brown  0  1  1  --  2Harvard  0  1  5  --  6

First Period

None.

Second Period

Har--Shewchuk 1 (Mleczko, Botterill) 00:46.

Brn--Kauth 1 (unassisted) 14:49. 1 (PPG)

Third Period

Har--Botterill 1 (Mleczko, MacKinnon) 3:14.

Har--Botterill 2 (Ruggiero, Mleczko) 25:20.(PPG)

Har--Dunn 1 (Suurkask, Francisco)11:38.

Brn--Jones 1 (Jiskra, Kauth) 15:41. (PPG)

Har--Shewchuk 2 (Botterill, Mleczko) 17:36.

Har--Mleczko 1 (Botterill, Francisco) 19:04.(PPG)

Saves: Brn--Brewer 5-10-10 25;Har--Kuusisto 13-19-6 38.

Power Play: Brn--2/5; Har--2/4.

HARVARD, 5-2 at Bright Hockey Center

Providence  0  1  1  --  2Harvard  1  1  3  --  5

First Period

Har--Shewchuk 1 (Botterill, Mleczko) 18:51.

Second Period

Prv--Mathias 1 (unassisted) 3:41.

Har--Francisco 1 (Botterill, Shewchuk) 9:07.(PPG)

Third Period

Prv--Yates 1 (Bono, Tabb) 2:04. (PPG)

Har--Botterill 1 (Shewchuk, Mleczko) 2:45.

Har--Dunn 1 (Suurkask, Francisco) 10:05.

Har--Dunn 2 (Suurkask, Ruggiero) 15:55.

Saves: Prv--DeCosta 13-10-9 32;Har--Kuusisto 5-7-5 17.

Power Play: Prv--1/5; Har--1/4.CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanMESSAGE IN A BOTTERILL: Freshmanwinger JEN BOTTERILL (7) had five assist s andthree goals on the weekend.