No. 1 W. Hockey Takes On No. 2 UNH

The No. 1 Harvard women's hockey team enters the weekend coming off of an emotionally draining overtime victory at No. 6 Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot. But the Crimson will have to gear up for what could be its most difficult home game of the regular season Saturday against No. 2 New Hampshire (UNH) in what is turning into the most competitive rivalry in women's college hockey.

"There is definitely a rivalry between us and UNH, especially after we came from behind to beat them on their ice earlier this year [Dec. 6]," co-captain Claudia Asano said. "This game is so big because it will be a battle for the No. 1 ranking and we know that either team could win. The game should be very physical and the refs will probably let us play rather than call a lot of penalties."

Asano helped anchor the Crimson defense in the Dec. 6 meeting--the day she turned 22--until she fell victim to the highly physical nature of the contest when a Wildcat player sent her sprawling into the boards, which resulted in a sprained ankle. But her teammates gave her the birthday present she wanted by overcoming a 2-1 deficit with less than seven minutes left in regulation to hand UNH its only ECAC loss of the season.

After a defensive stalemate held the two best offenses in the nation to one goal each for the first 50 minutes, the last 10 minutes saw a flurry of offensive action. The late scoring began with a well-executed two-on-one breakaway for the Wildcats that culminated in a goal by UNH junior forward Melissa McKenzie to give the Wildcats their second lead of the game with 7:39 left in regulation.

Then Harvard sophomore winger Tammy Shewchuk and freshman winger Jen Botterill dominated the final seven minutes of the game. Sixty-six seconds after the Wildcats took the lead, Shewchuk stole a puck in the neutral zone and stickhandled alone into the UNH zone before firing a wristshot top-shelf into the back of the net.

Botterill scored the game-winner 52 seconds later when she accepted a pass from Shewchuk in the left corner, skated into the post to set up co-captain A.J. Mleczko in the crease and put back Mleczko's rebound.

"That game just happened to be on my birthday but it was a huge game because we had never beaten UNH before and, after losing to Brown, we weren't sure if we were one of the best teams in the country," Asano said. "But the UNH game was a dream come true because we finally beat them and we won the No. 1 ranking."

One of the key players who stepped up during Asano's absence along the blue line was junior defenseman Courtney Smith, who transferred to Harvard from UNH before the 1997-98 school year after spending her freshman year as a Wildcat. Smith is recuperating from the flu and said she did not suit up for the Northeastern game so she would be ready to face her old teammates Saturday.

Smith--who said she transferred to Harvard mostly for academic reasons--has demonstrated her versatility this season by switching from forward to defenseman in place of the injured Melissa Milbert. Her strong forechecking and ability to handle the puck from the point has earned her a spot on the first defensive line alongside freshman standout Angela Ruggiero. She said her experience as a forward has helped her become a better defenseman because she can anticipate what the offense will do.

"It's strange playing against my old teammates," Smith said. "On defense I know what they're going to do as they come down the ice, but that isn't always helpful. I know they are great skating forwards and it can be intimidating going against them, but if I can step up and stop them, that makes it more fun."

Smith and her Harvard teammates were not intimidated last season when they took on first seed UNH in Durham, N.H., in the ECAC quarterfinals last season. The eighth-seeded Crimson surprised the Wildcats and the rest of the women's college hockey world by containing the vaunted UNH offense and sending the game into overtime before losing, 2-1.

"The last few games against UNH have been very intense," Smith said. "The overtime loss in the ECACs last year was a great game and when we came back to beat them on their home ice, it was a great feeling."

Smith is not the only one on the Harvard team who went to school in Durham. Harvard Coach Katey Stone graduated from UNH in 1989 after leading the Wildcats to two ECAC championships as an All-ECAC player and a captain of the 1987-88 team.

"It's fun playing at UNH and I always want to stick it to them," Stone said. "But UNH has a different hockey program now with a new coach [Karen Kay] and my loyalty is with Harvard."

With the No. 1 ranking and first place in the ECAC on the line Saturday, the next round of Harvard-UNH should be as competitive as the last two games. Although this is the last time the two teams will meet in the regular season, they could face each other in the ECAC Tournament and/or the American Women's Hockey Association Final Four, both of which will take place at the end of March.

"We will be prepared for UNH and now they know that we're going to be in their faces the entire game," Smith said. "It is definitely possible that we will see them at least once in the postseason."