W.Hockey Will Try to Forget Tie

The Harvard women's hockey team will host Niagara twice this weekend, looking to shake off the demons of Wednesday's horrific ending against Brown.

The No. 2 Crimson (8-2-1, 6-2-1 ECAC) blew a three-goal lead against the Bears in the final 10 minutes, leaving the team with a 4-4 tie.

The tie spoiled the return of junior Tammy Shewchuk and sophomore Jennifer Botterill from a two-week stint with the Canadian national team at the Three Nations Cup. The Crimson was 3-1 in their absence.

Since the series with Niagara makes up the remainder of Harvard's non-exhibition schedule before winter break, the Crimson will need a strong showing against the Purple Eagles (9-3-1, 5-3-0) to prove that Wednesday's collapse against Brown was a one-time fluke.

"Niagara is a tough team," Harvard Coach Katey Stone said. "They played New Hampshire close twice, so they can't be taken lightly. These games are important."

Niagara has had a stellar season thus far, in only the program's second year of existence. Presently the only blemishes on its record are a 1-0 loss to Cornell and two close losses to No. 3 New Hampshire last weekend--4-3 and 5-3.

The Purples Eagles' roster is made up almost entirely of freshman and sophomores. With such young team having success so early, the team is bound to a future ECAC title contender.

Niagara is led on offense by sophomore forward Brooke Bradburn, who stands third in the ECAC in scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 11 games. Sophomore Stephanie Romain and freshman Valerie Hall have also come up big for the Purple Eagle offense this year.

Niagara and sophomore goalie Tania Pinelli have been especially effective in stopping their opponents early on. For the first 11 games, not a single team managed to crack Pinelli in the first period until UNH finally managed to break through last weekend. For the season, Pinelli's goals-against average is 1.61 and her save percentage is .935.

If Harvard expects to regain its championship form, it will need to play much better than it did against Brown.

The Harvard defense proved to be in need of serious fine-tuning after giving up four goals in the final period against Brown. Goalie Crystal Springer could use a little bit of a confidence boost too, having had two rough third periods in her three games since returning from a collarbone injury. Springer also gave up three goals in the third to Yale in a 4-3 win on Dec. 4.

Now back in Cambridge, Shewchuk and Botterill join junior winger Angie Francisco on the top line for the Crimson. Though the line was successful in scoring four goals against Brown, the three are certainly capable of a lot more.

Noticeably missing from the scoring line on Wednesday was Harvard's second line of freshman winger Kalen Ingram, junior center Kiirsten Suurkask, and junior winger Tara Dunn.

The trio really picked up the slack for the Crimson, scoring seven goals in four games in the absence of Shewchuk and Botterill. Suurkask even managed to garner ECAC Player of the Week honors last week.

But with Shewchuk and Botterill back in the lineup against Brown, the second line barely managed a serious scoring opportunity for the whole night, albeit in less playing time than before. If the second line can be anywhere near as productive as it was in Shewchuk and Botterill's absence, the Purple Eagles could be in for two long afternoons against the Crimson.