W. Hockey Smokes B.C. in 'Pot, 6-4

The Beatles claimed they got by with a little help from their friends. The Harvard women's hockey team seems to do better when it is missing a friend.

Already playing without suspended junior forward Jen Gerometta, the Crimson (10-9, 5-9 ECAC) scored three shorthanded goals and added an empty-netter last night en route to a 6-4 victory over Boston College (3-17-1, 1-10-1) in the opening round of the 20th annual Beanpot Tournament at Bright Hockey Center.

Harvard was led by the freshman tandem of Kiirsten Suurkask and Angie Francisco, playing on the same line for the first time in over a month.

The pair celebrated their reunion in grand fashion; Suurkask recorded two goals and two assists while Francisco added one goal and three assists of her own. HARVARD  6 BOSTON COLLEGE  4

"Our kids read the play very well and they're able to pick off some passes," said Harvard Coach Katey Stone. "Today we capitalized on three goals, which is a little unusual."

The other half of Harvard's special teams unit wasn't too shabby either. The Crimson scored two power play goals by junior Claudia Asano on a pair of cannon blasts from the point.

After a scoreless first period, Asano began the scoring when she rifled a shot at Eagles' goalie Christy Nentwig just 29 seconds into the second stanza. Nentwig stopped the shot initially but could not hold onto the puck, and the rebound ricocheted into the goal off of a B.C. skate to put Harvard up 1-0.

It took only 1:14 for Harvard to double its lead as Suurkask and Francisco worked their magic. With the Crimson down a man, Suurkask fed the puck up the left side of the ice to a streaking Francisco who slowed in front of Nentwig before slipping the puck between her pads.

"[Francisco and Suurkask] play off of each other so well, "said Stone. "They just find each other somehow. They're a bonus to our team."

Harvard continued to apply pressure to the B.C. defense with some crisp passes and near misses at its third goal. But just when it looked like the Crimson was going to blow the game open, the Eagles struck back.

Freshman Kathleen Savino and junior Erin Magee netted goals for B.C. within 4:26 of each other to knot the score at 2-2 midway through the second period. Harvard's trio of leading scorers then decided to rebut.

With the Crimson shorthanded once again, Asano slapped the puck out to mid-ice where Francisco chased it down and started a 2-on-1 break. From the right face-off circle, Francisco dropped the puck off to Suurkask who one-timed it home.

"It's a big lift when one of your players is in the box and you can still score without them," Asano said. "Our mandown unit saw the gaps, and they took them."

The prettiest goal of the evening, however, belonged to another freshman--center Tara Dunn. Dunn, who twice had appeared to rifle shots into the top of the net, which did not result in goals, refused to be shut out for the night.

With 7:32 remaining in the second period, Dunn brought the puck into the B.C. zone while literally skating circles around her defender. She left the mystified Eagle lying face down on the ice as the crowd cheered its approval.

Dunn dumped the puck to sophomore Courtney Smith who kicked it over to junior Kate Schutt who, in turn, gave it back to Dunn as she came across the middle of the zone. As she spun to her left, Dunn fired a wrist shot that beat Nentwig high stickside and gave the Crimson a two-goal advantage once again.

"We turned it up a couple of notches in the second period," Stone said. "We started to make some things happen, made some better plays, and had a little bit more jump in our step than we did in the first period."

Harvard carried its 4-2 lead into the third period, but B.C.'s Carroll McCaffrey brought the Eagles to within one when she blasted a shot past Harvard netminder Crystal Springer just 2:39 into the third.

Asano answered McCaffrey three minutes later with another slap shot from the point for her second powerplay goal and the eventual game-winner.

B.C. scored on its own power play with 5:18 remaining in the game to make it a one-goal contest again. The Eagles then pulled Nentwig for an extra defender with 1:34 showing on the clock to set up some late-game drama.

Skating 6-on-5, B.C. fought furiously to tie the score and send the game into overtime. But Harvard's defense, led by sophomore Christie MacKinnon and co-captain Kyle Walsh, stiffened when it had to and prevented any heroics by the Eagles.

"In the third period, everything looked pretty good, and then we sort of hung on for dear life," said Stone. "It was a little too tense for my liking, but by the same token it's a win in the Beanpot, and we'll take it any way we can get it."

Suurkask added the empty-netter with two seconds showing on the clock after Dunn pushed the puck up ice and Francisco laced a pass to the top of the crease.

Springer was disappointed by her performance in net. Still, the sophomore stopped the shots she needed to and finished with 22 saves.

"[Springer looked] a little shaky, Stone said. "But we also put her in some compromising situations...however, she made the saves she needed to make."

Harvard will face Northeastern in the Beanpot final next Tuesday at Bright at 7:30 in a rematch of last year's final, which the Huskies won 8-1. The Crimson's last Beanpot title came in 1995 when Harvard hosted the tournament and defeated Northeastern, 3-2, in the final. HARVARD, 4-3 at Bright Hockey Center Harvard  0  4  2  -  6 Boston College  0  4  2  -  4

First Period

None

Second Period

Har--Asano (Francisco) 0:29 PPG

Har--Francisco (Suurkask) 1:43 SHG

BC--Savino (Missirlian, Buckley) 4:26 PPG

BC--Magee (Missirlian) 8:52

Har--Suurkask (Francisco, Asano)

Har--Dunn (Smith, Schutt) 12:28 SHG

Third Period

BC--McCaffrey (Missirlian, Savino) 3:39 PPG

Har--Asano (Suurkask, Dunn) 5:32 PPG

BC--Missirlian (Magee, McCaffrey) 14:42 PPG

Har--Suurkask (Francisco, Dunn) 19:58

Saves: BC-Nentwig 13-6-8 27; Har--Springer 6-8-8 22.

Power Play: BC-3/6; Har--2/4