Icewomen, NU Will Meet in ECACs

The Harvard women's ice hockey team will play undefeated Northeastern at Matthews Arena tonight for a berth in the ECAC Championship game. The winner will face the winner of the New Hampshire-Providence game.

In the Beanpot final this year, Northeastern defeated Harvard, 5-1.

The Huskies have one of the best first units in women's ice hockey, and it will take all of Harvard's guile and experience to slow that unit down.

But the real test of strength will be in how Harvard's second unit will fare against the Huskie bench.

Nina Simonds: The junior has come into her own this year. She has the size on defense to slow anybody down, and has improved greatly on her moves in the defensive zone. Simonds scored crucial goals against Brown and Princeton.

Amy Hartung: Hartung has had a good couple of past outings and has not allowed anybody free reign inside of the Harvard crease. Hartung possesses a good low slapshot which can be easily tipped. Witness her assist on Julia Trotman's goal a week ago against Dartmouth.

Martina Albright: She scored what is now the difference in the entire season for the Crimson--a late third-period goal against Dartmouth in early January. Albright filled in admirably on the second line in last weekend's victories over Dartmouth and Princeton.

Christine Burns: The closest thing the Crimson has to an enforcer, she has 22 penalty minutes this season, many of them coming from hard digging in the corners. Burns is the fastest skater on the second line. She often gets called on to play a late special-teams role. She will pair up with Char Joslin on defense if the other team pulls its goaltender.

Karen Carney: If you want hustle, look no further than this Somerville native. She goes for the puck wherever it is and fits well into the Crimson's possession-type strategy. Carney hasn't gotten the offensive breaks this season, but the season hasn't ended yet.

Johanna Neilson: Definitely the heart and soul of the Crimson. She can be knocked down three times on a single shift, limp to the bench and come back on the next shift. Scored two critical special-teams goals (one power-play, one shorthanded) last weekend and set up another.

It will take all the speed and skill of the Crimson along with a lot of intangibles and luck for Harvard to knock off the Huskies and spoil their perfect season. But if the Crimson isn't favored by talent, then it is favored by sentiment: it is the underdog of the tournament.