Icewomen Drop a Pair Against Northern Foes

Although the Harvard women's ice hockey team (6-4, 2-4 ECAC) stayed close with the undefeated University of New Hampshire, an inability to finish proved to be Harvard's undoing in a 6-3 loss yesterday.

The Wildcats extended the Crimson's losing streak to two games after Harvard had won three straight.

"UNH has a pretty experienced team," said junior forward Claudia Asano. "We played hard, but we didn't put the puck home. We had our opportunities; we just didn't finish."

Three power-play goals made the difference for the Wildcats, who grabbed the lead for good in the third period.

"It was a back-and-forth game," Asano said. "We didn't play well in the first, but we played really hard in the second and third periods. We worked hard and hustled; we just came out on the bottom. We gave them a game they fought for."

Freshman forward Angie Francisco led the Crimson with a goal and an assist, pushing her point total on the season to a team-high 19.

Senior netminder Jen Bowdoin, a co-captain, made 32 saves for Harvard.

While the power play hurt the Crimson against UNH, the breakaway proved equally fatal in a 7-5 loss to Colby on Saturday.

Colby scored two goals on breakaways in the third period.

"Those two breakaways were brutal," Asano said.

Despite the two scores, Harvard dominated the third period. However, the Crimson failed to finish its rally.

"We didn't play well in the first and second periods," Asano said. "We let them score. We dug a hole and had to come back in the third."

Defensive letups also hurt the Crimson.

"Jen had to take a lot of breakaways," Asano said. "It's not fair to her."

Harvard will have a chance to revitalize its defense when it faces Northeastern on Saturday. UNH  6 HARVARD  3

COLBY  7 HARVARD  5

COLBY  7 HARVARD  5