Women's Hockey Finally Overcomes No. 1 Dartmouth

From the moment the Harvard women's hockey team raised its 1999 National Championship banner, No. 1 Dartmouth had been there to deny the Crimson any return to glory. But on Saturday afternoon, in front of an electrified crowd of over 1,000 at the Bright Center, No. 6 Harvard finally overcame the Big Green nemesis.

For the second time in as many games, Crimson senior winger Kiirsten Suurkask scored to eliminate a third-period deficit and junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill delivered the heroic finish.

With 2:26 left in regulation, Botterill rocketed the puck over the left shoulder of Dartmouth goaltender Amy Ferguson to propel Harvard (17-7-0, 16-3-0 ECAC) to a 3-2 victory over the Big Green (19-2-1, 16-2-1).

"It was a great college hockey game today," said Harvard Coach Katey Stone. "It was up and down and there was great goaltending. We believed in ourselves. We know whatever the situation is, we're going to scratch and claw our way back, and we did it again today."

On the game-winning goal, Botterill and senior Tammy Shewchuk passed the puck cleanly back and forth to split the Big Green defense. When Botterill crossed the blue line and found a clear look at the net, she fired the puck without hesitation past Ferguson, whose stellar effort had stymied Harvard all afternoon.

"Our team has great moves, but I think sometimes we just need to shoot the puck and get a quick shot off," Botterill said. "That's what I tried to do on that one--just take her by surprise."

The goal was Botterill's nation-best sixth game-winner of the season. Dartmouth nearly succeeded in keeping the clear-cut Patty Kazmaier favorite off the scoreboard for a full 60 minutes, but came up just short.

"I think that, particularly in the third period, we were on Botterill pretty tight, but she got loose," said Dartmouth Coach Judy Parish Oberting. "And when she's got a great look at the net, she's more than likely going to hit the back of it."

Suurkask's game-tying goal at the 10:57 mark of the third period was not as dazzling as her clutch breakaway goal in the Beanpot final on Tuesday, but it was equally as effective.

The scoring play began behind the Dartmouth net as sophomore winger Tracy Catlin sent the puck out front where Suurkask and senior center Tara Dunn were stationed. Suurkask received a short pass from Dunn and backhanded a soft shot through traffic in front of the net. Ferguson never saw the puck as it found its way through the five hole.

Suurkask has now scored key goals in back-to-back games. She had been held scoreless for 17 games prior to this week.

"I haven't changed my play or anything," Suurkask said. "The bounces are just going my way right now."

Crimson freshman goaltender Jessica Ruddock was not tested to the extent that Ferguson was, but she played well enough to earn the win. Most importantly, she came through in the clutch when Dartmouth pulled its goaltender and crashed the net in the final minutes.

Ruddock could not have won without her defensemen, among them sophomore Jaime Hagerman and seniors Jaime Notman and Julie Rando, who cleared the front of the net every time Ruddock gave up a dangerous rebound. Sophomore Pam Van Reesema also came up huge, coming to Ruddock's aid in the second period when she came out of the net and lost sight of the puck.

Harvard's first goal came just under eight minutes into the first period when Botterill received a pass from sophomore linemate Kalen Ingram at the end line and fired the puck across where it deflected off Shewchuk into the net.

"It was a bit of a fluke goal I guess," Botterill said. "I don't know if it went of the goalie's stick or what. I think Kalen passed it to me, and Tammy created some traffic in front, so it was definitely a team effort on that one."

Dartmouth would tie the game just over eight minutes later, when Dartmouth winger Jennifer Wiehn blocked a shot from the point and had a clean breakaway from center ice. Wiehn was stopped initially as she pressed for the low right corner but somehow found a way to light the lamp. The Crimson argued with the referees over the goal, but to no avail.

The game would remain tied until the 9:21 mark of the third, when Dartmouth forward Carly Haggard--llast year's ECAC freshman of the year--put the Big Green ahead.

Taking the puck from the blue line, she darted straight through two defenders on the right side before circling in front of the net and backhanding the puck over a sprawling Ruddock.

As in Tuesday's Beanpot final, the Crimson played with a deeper sense of urgency once it fell behind. The Dartmouth lead lasted just 1:36 before Suurkask's goal, which led to the Crimson's fourth third-period comeback of the season.

"Once again I think we're really well conditioned, and that's been the difference in all these tight games," Stone said. "Our legs were flying at the end of the game."

With the win, Harvard took another step towards realizing its NCAA Tournament aspirations. Tomorrow at 7 p.m., the Crimson will host No. 4 Brown, who lost to Dartmouth on Sunday. Harvard will need another victory to maintain full control of its destiny.