Women Icers Tie Brown on Penalty Shot

Things are looking up for the women's ice hockey team. After Providence domilished (17-0) and Yale edged (2-1) them, the Crimson pulled out a 4-4 overtime tie against Brown Saturday afternoon in Providence when center Tania Huber converted a penalty shot with 18 seconds left in the game.

With the score knotted after three periods, both coaches agreed to play a five-minutes sudden-death overtime. Brown threatened repeatedly in the extra session, but senior goaltender Nelia Worsley preserved the stickwomern's first point of the season with four clutch saves.

Ten seconds after the Bruins smacked in a rebound to pull ahead, officials ruled that the Crimson had not scored during a goalmouth scramble, but awarded ? penalty shot to them because a Brown defender had fallen on the puck in the crease.

Coach Joe Bertagna designated Huber to attempt the tying effort, and she put the puck past Brown goalie Catherine Hazard. "It was really a lousy shot," Huber said later.

The puck went "low, right at the goalie and just dribbled through--I guess the goalie choked worse than I did," she added.

Harvard opened the scoring five minutes into the contest when right winger Meg Streeter netted a loose puck, but Brown replied with a power-play goal to end the first period at 1-1.

After sophomore winger Lauren Norton streaked down the right side and fired a low bullet past Hazard's stick side to give the Crimson a 2-1 edge, Brown produced two quick goals on a screened shot and a successful three-on-one break.

But the Crimson came back in the third period, as Sara Fischer took Huber's across-goalmouth pass and deposited it behind Hazard to set the stage for the last-second heroics.

Harvard outshot Brown in the third period, 14-8, and 30-25 on the afternoon.

THE NOTEBOOK: Why is the team playing better? Coach Bertagna credited "good positional hockey" and the resurgence of netminder Worsley. Huber said the team was showing "a lot more communication and organization, and our passes are starting to connect now." A rematch with Providence is next on the schedule (face-off Tuesday, 5 p.m., at Walter Brown Arena).