W. Hockey Looking to Eliminate Specter of Big Green Monster this Weekend

The banner commemorating the Harvard women's hockey team's national championship was up, the fans were ready and the players geared up for what would prove to be an emotional game against Dartmouth.

Unfortunately, the Big Green rained on the parade. Pulling off a 5-4 overtime victory, Dartmouth crushed Harvard's spirits and ended a 32-game winning streak. On Sunday, the No. 2 Crimson (14-3-3, 11-3-3 ECAC) will travel to Hanover to avenge the loss, saying that nobody should expect a similar result.

"We're a 100 percent different team," said co-captain Kim McManama.

While Harvard beat up on poor Boston University, a club team, 7-0 in the Beanpot on Tuesday, the last week has been a poor offensive showing, to say the least. The Crimson scored one goal in two games, tying No. 7 Northeastern 1-1 and dropping a game to No. 8 Providence 1-0.

"That was our worst weekend in two years," McManama said. "We played great defense, but the offense just didn't get in rhythm."

On Saturday, the Crimson will travel across the Charles to take on Boston College (5-17-1, 1-16-1). The Eagles lost 7-0 to Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot on Tuesday and fell 7-2 to the Crimson back in November. But this game seems to be a mere obstacle on the way to Sunday's big matchup.

"We'll try out our new lines against BC," McManama said. "It's not really experimentation, but we want them to be ready against Dartmouth."

In that 7-2 victory, Harvard outshot BC 59-14 and junior winger Tammy Shewchuk had four goals and two assists.

The game against the No. 6 Big Green is not one the players will take lightly, and there is still some animosity and rivalry built up.

"The Dartmouth game is always a big game," said sophomore center Jen Botterill. "We are motivated and ready."

That loss was a win that got away for the Crimson. There were injuries, absences and a lot of nerves. Harvard couldn't convert on a lot of chances and played some lousy defense. The overtime goal by winger Jen Wiehn simply was a product of mounting pressure and luck for the Big Green.

"It was the most emotional game I've ever played, there was so much going on," McManama said. "If we play our best hockey, we will definitely come out with a win."

That type of confidence is apparent in the whole team, which is convinced it works better as a unit than it ever has. To do that, it will have to move the puck quickly and stay within its game.

"Dartmouth doesn't play straight-up hockey," McManama said. "They play very strategically."

The Big Green (15-7-0, 14-4-0) is looking to extend a seven-game winning streak. This past week it posted wins against Cornell and St. Lawrence with strong performances from ECAC Rookie of the Week Carly Haggard and defenseman Liz Macri, who recorded a hat trick versus Cornell on the way to picking up ECAC Player of the Week honors.

Another factor for the Crimson may be fatigue. For yet another week, Harvard will play three games in four days, including Tuesday's Beanpot final against Northeastern.

"This is what you play for," said Botterill, "so our players are in pretty good game shape."

McManama concurs, citing the fact that the circumstances don't permit the Crimson to feel tired now.

"At this point in the season, we're not worried about fatigue," she said. "We are just so psyched."

For Harvard, pretty much everybody is back and ready to play. For example, Botterill returned from a groin injury on Tuesday. Only junior center Kiirsten Suurkask, will miss this weekend's games to play for the Canadian Under-22 Team.