W. Pucksters Blank Bowdoin

The Harvard women's hockey team has put together a bonafide winning streak.

The Crimson (5-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy) cruised to its fifth straight victory with an easy 6-0 win over the Bowdoin Polar Bears Saturday afternoon in Bright Center.

Freshman Lexi Shear earned her second shutout of the season by defending the net for Harvard Despite a number of scoring opportunities in the final minutes, Bowdoin (1-3) was unable to attempt more than five shots in any one period.

"The defense did an excellent job," Shear said. "We contained them very well, and I was forced to make very few saves."

Midway through the opening period, sophomore Sandra Whyte scored Harvard's first goal, beating Bowdoin netminder Erin Miller from close range. Classmates Ginny Simonds and Elizabeth Hansen earned assists on the tally.

The rest of the first period featured more penalties than scoring, with Harvard Co-Captain Char Joslin being called for holding at the 10:17 mark of the period. However, Bowdoin's man-up situation was only 15 seconds old when defender Maggie O'Sullivan joined Joslin in the box on a tripping call, evening the teams at four-on-four.

In the second period, on the Crimson's only power-play opportunity of the game, Whyte notched her second goal. Harvard went up, 2-0, when she tipped a Joslin slapshot past Miller.

"Sandra's goal was a thing of beauty," Coach John Dooley said.

Simonds recorded the second goal of the period when she knocked a Whyte centering pass into the right corner of the net. Junior defender Sue Cullinane followed suit and added the final tally of the period on a slapshot off a pass from sophomore Lauren Messmore.

Cullinane added another goal and an assist in the final period, recording her first three-point game of the season.

"Sue Cullinane played super," Dooley said. "She did an excellent job defensively and added two lovely goals."

Cullinane's assist came on a Messmore goal midway through the final period. Sophomore Ceci Clark earned her second assist of the game on the goal as well.

The penalty-killing unit got a good workout in the last period when sophomore defender Bev Stickles and Simonds each took a turn in the box for tripping penalties. This group looked strong, allowing Bowdoin to escape its own zone only a handful of times.

Harvard's third line--sophomores Courtney Hurley and Kath Ulman and junior Emily Diehl--started and skated regular shifts throughout the game. The trio played a strong game for the Crimson.

Crimson 6-0 at Bright Arena Bowdoin  0-0-0--0 HARVARD  1-3-2--6

First Period--1, H, Sandra Whyte (Ginny Simonds. Buffy Hansen) 9:12. Penalties--H, Char Joslin (holding) 10:17, B, Maggie O'Sullivan (tripping) 10:32.

Second Period--2, H, Whyte (Joslin, Bev Stickles) 7:40; 3, H, Simonds (Whyte, Ceci Clark) 11:32; Sue Cullinane (Lauren Messmore) 16:18. Penalties--B, Petra Eaton (tripping) 5:19.

Third Period--5, H, Cullinane (Hansen) 4:41; 6, H, Messmore (Clark, Cullinane) 9:24. Penalties--H, Simonds (tripping) 2:09; H, Stickles (tripping) 13:45.

Saves--B, Erin Miller 11-10-11--32; H, Lexi Snear 3-3-5--11.

Power Play Opps: B, 0-3; H, 0-2.