Playoffs or Not, Women's Hockey Win

Three weeks ago in Ithaca, the No. 1 Harvard women's hockey team took a convincing 3-0 lead into the third period and survived a late Cornell comeback for a 4-2 victory.

The same thing happened Saturday at Bright Hockey Center in the first round of the ECAC Tournament, only this time it was a little closer.

Top- seeded Harvard (29-1-0, 24-1-1 ECAC) used aggressive stickhandling throughout and timely defense in the final five minutes to outlast eighth-seeded Cornell (15-16-0, 14-12-0), 3-2. The win was the first playoff victory in school history and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 26 games.

"The kids were very hungry to win their first playoff game and we pinned them back right off the bat," said Coach Katey Stone. "When you get to the playoffs there aren't going to be a lot of blowouts. Records don't matter and you have to play hard or go home."

Sophomore winger Tammy Shewchuk's shorthanded goal gave Harvard a comfortable 3-0 lead 10:42 into the second period and turned out to be the eventual game-winner.

After clearing from deep in the defensive zone on the penalty kill, Shewchuk followed the action and won the puck at the offensive blue line. She skated down the right wing untouched before sending the puck top-shelf for her second goal of the day.

"[Cornell senior goaltender] Alanna Hayes tried to clear the zone herself and I don't think that was the smartest move," said Shewchuk, who leads the nation with 46 goals. "She put the puck right on my stick and I just shot for the open corner. She gave me a breakaway."

Harvard's offense could not dominate down the stretch as it did in the first period, when it outshot Cornell, 20-5. Although the Big Red did not get many great scoring chances, it outshot the Crimson, 33-26, after the first and managed to light the lamp twice in the final eight minutes.

Sophomore defenseman Patricia Kemp struck first for the Big Red with 7:52 left in regulation on a wrist shot immediately after a faceoff in the Harvard zone. Cornell's leading scorer, junior winger Colette Bredin, pulled her team to within one goal 1:53 later when she skated around the Harvard defense and into the right doorstep for the easy score.

The puck spent most of the final five minutes in the neutral zone, although Harvard did set up its offense for several unsuccessful attempts at an insurance goal. Cornell coach Carol Mullins pulled Hayes with 56 seconds left in the game, but a swarming Crimson defense thwarted the six-on-five advantage and Harvard junior goaltender Crystal Springer covered up all loose pucks to secure the victory.

Springer continued to approach midseason form in her third game between the pipes after recovering from a broken collarbone. She made 36 saves in her first game at Bright since Jan. 10.

This was also the last game for Harvard before freshman standouts Jen Botterill and Angela Ruggiero return from the World Championships in Finland. Stone responded by using her deep bench and adjusting her lines accordingly. Sophomore winger Tara Dunn and senior winger Jen Gerometta both filled in for Botterill and kept the highest-scoring offense in the nation clicking for the first 20 minutes of the game.

Cornell committed four penalties in a very physical first period that saw several near-injuries and near-fights. But Harvard countered with expert passing and aggressive skating that churned out 20 shots. Only an impressive performance by Hayes kept the Big Red in the game long enough for tempers to settle down and prevented a Crimson rout.

"Cornell changed their game plan after the first period and hung with us for the rest of the game," Stone said. "In the first period they came out whacking us, but it backfired because our kids have discipline and can deal with that. It's good for us to play in chippy games because a lot of teams will play like that in the playoffs."

The Crimson wasted no time grabbing the lead as co-captain A.J. Mleczko scored 15 seconds after she won the opening faceoff. Battling a crowd of Big Red defenders in front of the net, the nation's leading scorer hauled in a Shewchuk pass from the right corner and deftly backhanded the puck past Hayes to open the scoring.

The Mleczko-Shewchuk show continued for most of the first period as the tandem continued to pressure Hayes and the Big Red defense. After an elbowing penalty against Cornell senior center Morag McPherson, Hayes stopped a hard slapshot from Mleczko at the point 5:08 into the game, but Shewchuk was waiting at the right post for the rebound, which she buried on the inside corner.

Harvard will advance to the ECAC semifinals at Brown's Meehan Auditorium Saturday against sixth-seeded Dartmouth (16-8-5, 14-7-5), who upset third-seeded Brown. The Harvard-Dartmouth winner will face either fourth-seeded Northeastern or second-seeded UNH.