Brown Slaps Icewomen With OT Loss

It was payback time for Brown Tuesday night at Meehan Arena in Providence, R.I.

The Harvard women's hockey team had taken a 3-2 double-over-time decision earlier this season in the All American Women's Intercollegiate Ice Hockey Tournament, and the Bears were primed for revenge.

Once again the two teams played to a 2-2 deadlock through 60 minutes of regulation hockey.

This time though, Brown, not Harvard, scored the game-winning overtime goal, giving the Bears a 3-2 victory.

"The puck bounced the right way for them," Coach John Dooley said. "We beat them in a super game earlier, and now they beat us in a super game."

The game-winning goal came on a defensive breakdown which resulted in a two-on-none break.

Brown's standout freshman forward Katie King took advantage of the defensive miscue and fired a high shot past Crimson junior goalie Erin Villiotte, who turned in a superior 37-save performance.

"We were trying to play really aggressively in the overtime," Villiotte said. "We just got caught, though."

The Crimson (2-4-1 overall, 1-3-1 ECAC) got off to a slow start, but came away from the first period unscathed as Villiotte stopped all 15 of Brown's shots in the opening stanza, keeping the Crimson in the game.

"Erin played super in goal," Dooley said.

On the other end of the ice the Crimson offense took only five shots--none finding its way past Brown's senior netminder Kate Presbrey.

The scoreless tie was broken one minute into the second period on an even-strength goal by co-captain Joey Alissi.

Following up a shot by junior leftwing Stacy Kellogg that hit the post, Alissi pushed the puck across the goal crease for her fourth goal of the season.

Kellogg and co-captain Francie Walton received assists on Alissi's goal. The Bears didn't let up the offensive pressure on Villiotte and with three minutes left in the second period Brown's junior left-wing Joy Woog scored the equalizer.

The Bears notched the go-ahead goal just 35 seconds into the third period as senior defender Cassie Whittet scored her first tally of the season. At 14:16 of the third freshman right-wing A.J. Mleczko fed Alissi on a two-on-one break and Alissi slipped her second goal of the day past the Brown goalie and sent the game into overtime.

"We played a good game," Villiotte said. "We were as intense, as strong as the last time. It just ended differently."

The Crimson will have its chance to avenge Brown's revenge in the teams' final regular season meeting February 20 at home.

But for now, the Crimson has to regroup for this weekend's home games against Bowdoin and Colby. BROWN, 3-2 at Providence Harvard  0  1  1  0  --  2 Brown  0  1  1  1  --  3

First Period

No Scoring.

Second Period

Har--Alissi (Kellogg, Walton) 1:06.

Bro--Woog (Solari, Kellar) 17:04.

Third Period

Bro--Whittet (Solari, Bryant) 9:43.

Har--Alissi (A. Mleczko) 14:16.

OT

Bro--King (Nokonechny) 3:27.

Saves: Har--Villiotte 37; Bro--Preshey 18.