UMD Sweeps Harvard

It may be the season to be jolly, but it wasn't so for the Crimson in Duluth, Minn.

The Harvard women's hockey team was swept this weekend by the Bulldogs, losing, 4-3, on Saturday, and 5-2, yesterday, at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

The No. 5 UMD (13-4-1) sweep concluded a dismal regular season for the No. 2 Crimson (8-5-0) against non-conference opponents. Harvard played four games against teams from the WCHA and lost all of them. The Crimson's other loss this year came at the hands of ECAC-rival, No. 1 Dartmouth.

UMD 5, Harvard 2

The Crimson looked to split the weekend series yesterday against the Bulldogs, but was overwhelmed by the potent UMD offense.

The Bulldogs jumped on Harvard early, tallying three times before the halfway mark of the first period.

Sophomore forward Erika Holst scored the game-winning goal for UMD with 9:05 left in the first. Holst received a pass from forward Hanne Sikio and rifled it past Crimson junior goaltender Alison Kuusisto to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore forward Maria Rooth opened the scoring in the game for UMD, beating Kuusisto early for the 1-0 early lead. Holst lit the lamp for the Bulldogs two minutes later, finding the back of net to give UMD a 2-0 advantage.

After the Bulldogs' third goal, Kuusisto was pulled in favor of freshman goaltender Jessica Ruddock. Harvard then closed the gap to 3-1 when sophomore forward Kalen Ingram tallied with 1:50 left in the first.

Ruddock did not fare much better than Kuusisto, however, allowing a goal from UMD sophomore defenseman Nevada Russell 45 seconds into the second period that made the game 4-1.

The Crimson once again cut into the lead when sophomore defenseman Jamie Hagerman scored on the power play, beating Bulldog goaltender Tuula Puputti to make the score 4-2.

Harvard would get no closer, as Rooth netted her second goal of the game late in the second period for the 5-2 UMD lead.

UMD 4, Harvard 3

Saturday marked the first ever meeting between the two teams and the Bulldogs fought back to claim the first victory in the series.

UMD claimed the game in exciting fashion, scoring the game-winning goal with 28 seconds left in the final period.

Sophomore forward Joanne Eustace, who had already netted the game-tying goal, received a pass from Sikio and shot it past Ruddock to give the Bulldogs the 4-3 victory.

UMD marked the first goal of the game with 10:48 left in the first period, a shot from sophomore forward Jennifer Hempel that eluded Ruddock.

Harvard then jumped to the attack, tying the game on the power play five minutes later.

Co-captain Jennifer Botterill beat Puputti off assists from senior forward Tammy Shewchuk and Hagerman to tie the score at 1-1.

The Crimson then continued on the offensive, netting the only goal of the second period at the 17:14 mark.

Sophmore forward Tracy Catlin received a pass from senior forward Tara Dunn and slid it past Puputti to give Harvard the 2-1 lead.

The Crimson scored its third goal in a row early in the third. Hagerman was assisted by Botterill and shot a rocket past Puputti to make the score 3-1.

UMD began its comeback when Rooth beat Ruddock with 12 minutes left in the third to cut the lead to 3-2. Five minutes later, Eustace fired a shot that eluded Ruddock and tied the game at 3-3.

It was a rough homecoming for the two Duluth natives on the Crimson roster. Co-captain Angie Francisco and Kuusisto left their hometown to play for Harvard. Francisco was held without a point in both games, and Kuusisto was pulled from the second game after allowing three goals in ten minutes.

The Crimson does not play again until the January 6th, when it faces No. 4 St. Lawrence at Bright Hockey Center.