Icewomen Conquer Colby, 4-3

If the adage "stubborn as a mule" has any truth to it, then the Harvard women's ice hockey team beat Colby at its own game.

The Crimson played with gritty, never-say-die style in outlasting the Mules, 4-3, last night at Bright Center. The victory was the Crimson's first ever against Colby, and was sweet revenge after the Mules' victory a year ago denied Harvard a clear playoff berth.

With the teams knotted at three with just over six minutes left to play. Co-Captain Diane Hurley took a centering pass from linemate Kathy Carroll, just over the red line.

Hurley deked a Colby defender and had goalie Mary White all to herself. The left wing flicked the puck past the helpless netminder of give herself the goal--and the Crimson the game.

"It just seemed right that Diane should score that goal," Harvard Coach John Dooley said later. "She played one hell of a game.

Hurley was everywhere. Defensively, she foiled Colby's attack countless times, while at the other end she stickhandled and passed brilliantly in what Dooley termed "the best game of her life."

Right wing Kelly Landry also continued to amaze. Playing despite a severe stomach ailment, the junior notched two tallies to up her team-leading total to 12.

After 13 minutes of tough up-and-down play, Landry stole the puck at her own blueline, skated down the ice, and split White's legs to light the lamp for the first time, opening the game's scoring.

The Mules bounced back with 16 seconds left in the period as a net-bound Anne Whittemore slapshot bounced off a Harvard stick and onto the blade of linemate Susan McNiven, who pushed it past the outstretched arms of goalie Cheryl Tate.

Whittemore got a goal seven minutes into the second stanza when she scooped up the puck on her third try as it lay in front of Tate and flipped it over the senior netminder. The Crimson battled back with a Sue Newell stuff shot that retied the score at two and evened the count of they're-not-pretty-but-they-count tallies to one apiece.

Landry put the Crimson ahead at 11.48, poking in a beautiful behind-the-net feed from Caroll on a power play. A blistering drive by visitor Mary Coach retied the game halfway through the third period, but even a late Harvard penalty didn't give Colby the chance it needed.

The Crimson held on and completed the Mules' 54-minute lesson in stubbornness.

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson upped its record to 5-3, Colby is 1-1. The team travelled to Aspen, Colo over vacation and played three games. During one contest, defenseman Deb Taft was cut by a skate blade just over her eye and took 22 stitches. The Crimson next faces off Saturday at Dartmouth. At Bright Center Harvard  1  2  1  4 Colby  1  1  1  3

H. Kelly Landry 13:40; C, Susan McNiven (Anne Whittemore) 17:44; C, Whittemore (Alicia Curtin) 6:53; H, Sue Newell 9:29; H, Landry (Kathy Carroll, Newell) 11:48; C, Molly Couch (Curtin) 8:48; H, Diane Hurley (Carroll, Landry) 11:58.

Att--78 and one dog.

H. Kelly Landry 13:40; C, Susan McNiven (Anne Whittemore) 17:44; C, Whittemore (Alicia Curtin) 6:53; H, Sue Newell 9:29; H, Landry (Kathy Carroll, Newell) 11:48; C, Molly Couch (Curtin) 8:48; H, Diane Hurley (Carroll, Landry) 11:58.

Att--78 and one dog.