W. Hockey Looks to Keep No. 1

The No. 1 Harvard women's hockey team will travel to Cornell and St. Lawrence this weekend, looking to add to the nation's longest winning streak and to secure a home playoff game in the ECAC Tournament.

Harvard (22-1-0, 18-1-1 ECAC) has won 19 consecutive games. In the last two weeks, the Crimson has won six games and its first Beanpot championship since 1995, including victories over four of the six teams that still have a chance to overtake Harvard atop the ECAC standings.

"We've played a lot of games recently and everyone was pretty tired after the last game against Providence," said junior defenseman Christie MacKinnon. "But Coach [Katey] Stone gave us two days off after Providence so we should be rested and ready to go this weekend."

With 37 points and a four-point lead on second-place Brown, the Crimson needs seven points over its final six conference games to wrap up the ECAC regular season title.

Harvard could clinch at least fourth place by winning both games this weekend, guaranteeing a first-round playoff game at the Bright Hockey Center in March.

"We were hoping to win both games anyway, but the home ice gives us another incentive," MacKinnon said. "It would be great to have a playoff game at home because we've had so many fans at the Bright Center for the last few games."

Harvard will take a break from nationally ranked opponents in upstate New York. Cornell (12-12-0, 11-9-0) and St. Lawrence (9-16-2, 6-14-2) are in eight place and ninth place in the conference respectively. The Crimson crushed both the Big Red and the Saints at Bright the Weekend of The Game by the score of 7-2.

Cornell has not been ranked in a national poll since in lost to Harvard. The Big Red could clinch the eighth and final playoff spot this weekend by upsetting Harvard and No. 4 Northeastern. If the season were to end today, Harvard would host Cornell in the first round of the ECAC Tournament.

"Cornell will be a huge game," MacKinnon said. "We might see them again in the postseason, and we have to win this game to stay alive for the Ivy League championship."

The Big Red defense is seventh in the ECAC, giving up 2.75 goals a game, while the offense produces 3.12 goals per contest, good for 11th in the conference. Senior forward Morag McPherson (7 g, 13 a) and junior forward Colette Bredin (10, 6) lead the Cornell attack.

The Big Red alternates a pair of goaltenders in seniors Melissa Junkala and Alanna Hayes. Junkala is 6-2-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage, while Hayes is 6-10-0 with a 2.99 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Hayes started against Harvard in November, making 26 saves and giving up seven goals.

With 14 conference points, St. Lawrence needs to win its last four conference games to have a chance to sneak into the ECAC Tournament. Sophomore forward Caroline Trudeau (20, 19) and freshman forward Trisha Powers (19, 17) are both among the top 13 point scorers in the ECAC.

The Saints' offense scores 3.26 goals a game, good for ninth in the conference, while the defense is 10th in the ECAC and gives up 3.37 goals per contest. Sophomore goaltender Caryn Ungewitter has a 3.12 GAA and a .888 save percentage.

The Crimson, meanwhile, heads to New York with the ECAC's second-best defense, allowing 1.43 goals per contest. Freshman goaltender Alison Kuusisto--who made the ECAC Honor Roll last week after a career-high 38 saves against Brown--will make her eighth and ninth starts since junior netminder Crystal Springer broke her collarbone. Kuusisto has a 1.96 GAA and a .900 save percentage.

If these games resemble the first times Harvard met Cornell and St. Lawrence, however, Kuusisto will be watching her explosive teammates wreak havoc on the opposing goalies. Harvard boasts the conference's most productive offense, scoring 6.48 goals a game.

The Crimson top forward line of co-captain A.J. Mleczko (23, 54), sophomore Tammy Shewchuk (28, 34) and freshman Jen Botterill (26, 35)--all of whom joined Kuusisto on the ECAC Honor Roll--consists of the three top scorers in the nation. Freshman Angela Ruggiero (15, 27) is the highest-scoring defenseman in the country.

In addition, Harvard has a trio of sophomore forwards who are making their presence felt. Angie Francisco (9, 26) is 14th in the conference in scoring while Tara Dunn (17, 6) and Kiirsten Suurkask (8, 15) hooked up for three goals against Brown and Providence.

Although both games last weekend had lopsided final scores, Brown and Providence were tied with Harvard early in the third period. As the Crimson gets ready for the post-season, it would like to see more production in the first 40 minutes.

"We've been waiting until the third period to turn it on the last few games," MacKinnon said. "We need to come out and play hard at the first drop of the puck and put together three periods of solid hockey."