Icewomen Nip Northeastern

Five overtimes and three and three-quarters hours after the opening face-off, the Harvard women's hockey team outlasted Northeastern, 3-2, in last night's first round of the fourth annual Woman's Beanpot Tournament at B.U.

Sue Newell grabbed a loose puck inside the Harvard blue line and skated the length of the ice before flipping the puck into the upper right hand corner to give Harvard the win at 5:37 of the fifth overtime period.

Northeastern played more physically than the lighter Harvard icewomen, but what the Crimson gave up in strength, it made up for in hustle and finesse.

While Northeastern served 14 penalty minutes. Harvard played penalty-free hockey. Yet the Crimson power-play failed all seven times, as Harvard couldn't find the back of the net.

For almost half of the 100 minutes of playing time the puck remained in front of the goal creases. Harvard had difficulty clearing the bigger Terriers from in front of the net, while on offense the Crimson were able to popper the Terrier goal with shots and countering passes.

Goalie Cheryl Tate kept Harvard in the game by rejecting 57 Terrier shots on goal, most of them uncorked from within five feet of the crease. Tate's performance set a personal record for saves in one game. The netminder got steadily better as the game progressed, making her most amazing saves in the overtime periods.

The Northeastern goalie, Kathy Scanion, matched Tate save for save, stopping 57 Harvard shots.

Northeastern struck first when Toni Picarello slid a shot from the right point past a screened-out Tate and into the opposite side of the net.

Harvard came out strong in the second period and set up several scoring opportunities. Crimson perseverance found its reward when a Sue Yunick shot rebounded onto Jenny White's stick. The junior winger flipped the puck into the net and knotted the score at the 1:46 mark.

Harvard took a 2-1 lead three minutes after its first tally when Yunick converted a picture perfect three on one break.

In regulation time Harvard fell victim to the timing of the whistle. The Crimson had a goal taken away early in the second period when the referee whistled the puck dead just before Harvard captain Firkins Reed scored what she thought was the tying goal.

Twenty-seven seconds into the third stanza. Northeastern tied the game when Susan Meunier netted the puck just before the referee's whistle. Harvard protested vehemently that the whistle preceded the score, but the goal stood and the game entered a 2-2 deadlock.

The deadlock held for 62 minutes of playing time as both teams failed to convert on dozens of opportunities.