Icewomen Hold On, Nip Dartmouth

Only 49 seconds into overtime, sophomore Vicki Palmer winged one into the goal from about 20 feet to give the women's varsity hockey team a 2-1 victory over Dartmouth.

This was the big one. This was the one they had been waiting for. "I'm really sick of losing these games by one goal," center Alex Lightfoot said week ago. And here was Harvard soundly defeating Dartmouth by one goal, only one week later.

While Harvard was in control of the puck for most of the game, they certainly didn't have an easy time of it. While they kept the puck in front of Dartmouth's net, scrambling for one good shot, Dartmouth would wait, break and let Paula Joyce take long slapshots.

Ten minutes into the game, one of these Dartmouth breakaways put the puck in front of the net. A mad scramble ensued and the puck flew towards the inside of the left post. When it emerged, Dartmouth's Claudia Sarnoff sent it right back in for the first goal of the game.

The rest of that period, and almost the entire second one, was a scoreless melee marked by innumerable hipchecks and falling skaters, mostly in Crimson.

Harvard was having trouble just aiming the puck straight at the net. "Our shooting seemed to be a bit off," Coach Rita Harder said, "and we were missing each other on the breakaways."

Then suddenly, with only a minute left in the second period, Captain Firkins Reed broke away up the right side. She slapped it from at least 40 feet and caught Sue Yunick right in front and bounced it off Yunick's stick. Picture-perfect goal. Tie score.

It was obvious as the third period began that Harvard wasn't going to let Dartmouth score again. Once again, the puck stayed predominantly in front of the Dartmouth net, as excellent defense by freshmen Megan Berthold and Debbie Taft prevented the Puck from passing center ice again. Into overtime.

Before most fans even realized overtime had begun, Vickie Palmer was skating in front of the net. She shot. She scored. 0:49. One goal. Harvard on the winning side. It all matches. "It's good to know that we can win the close ones," Harder said. It is.