W. Hockey Upsets No. 1 Brown

Sophomore center Jen Botterill collected a pair of goals off rebounds to lead the Harvard women's hockey team to a 2-1 upset victory over No.1 Brown on Saturday in Providence, R.I.

The No.3 Crimson (16-4-3, 13-4-3 ECAC) handed Brown (17-3-3, 15-2-3) its first defeat at home this season and only its second conference loss.

What a difference a week makes.

Just last weekend, Harvard

had its spirits sunk following a frustrating 5-3 loss to Dartmouth.

The defeat was particularly agonizing for the Crimson who struggled getting at many of the rebounds surrendered by Big Green goalie Amy Ferguson.

"We didn't have any bounces go our way," sophomore winger Tammy Shewchuk had said.

Against Brown, however, Lady Luck dealt the Crimson a significantly better hand. On a number of occasions, the puck bounced precisely Harvard's way, and two of those times, Botterill made sure the Crimson capitalized.

"We were very happy with how the game went," said Botterill. "It was a solid group effort. We are really starting to peak now."

The victory provided a stellar end to a perfect week for the Crimson.

Just four days earlier, Harvard captured this year's Beanpot Championship with an exhilarating 4-3 overtime triumph over Northeastern.

Botterill was the hero for the Crimson in that game as well, providing the game-winning score and being named Tournament MVP.

On Saturday, however, Harvard did not need extra time to pull out the win.

With the match nodded at one goal apiece entering the final minutes,

the Bears went down a man following an interference call on defenseman Cara Gardner at 12:50.

Thirty seconds into the man-advantage, Shewchuk fired a shot on net that was stopped by Bears goalie Ali Brewer.

The rebound, however, caromed right to Botterill, who found the back of

the net, putting the Crimson ahead for good.

"Tammy took a great shot," Botterill said. "Brewer made the pad save, and the rebound came right onto my stick."

Earlier in the contest, the Brown defense, which allows an average of just 1.25 goals per game, was dealt a painful blow when junior blue-liner Tara Mounsey was forced to exit the game with a knee injury.

Prior in the week, Mounsey, together with Botterill and Harvard sophomore defenseman Angela Ruggiero, was named a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which honors the most distinguished performer in women's hockey.

Before Botterill's goal snapped a 1-1 tie, the two teams had failed to take advantage of a combined seven power plays. Both teams committed three penalties in the first period alone, yet the opening twenty minutes saw no scoring.

It was not until 10:24 in the second period that the Crimson finally drew first blood.

Ruggiero initiated the scoring play, unleashing one of her blistering trademark slapshots from the top of the right circle. The puck bounced off the pad of Brewer and found a perfectly positioned Botterill in front of the net who flicked it into the goal.

"[The second goal] was very similar to the first," Botterill said. "Ruggiero rushed it down and took an incredibly powerful slapshot and Brewer again made a pad save. It was a really hard rebound, but I was in the right place at the right time."

The Bears failed to answer that period, but with just 1:23 expired

in the third, Brown pounced on a rebound of its own, as junior forward Kathleen Kauth knocked home the puck off a shot by junior forward Patricia Long.

That score, however, would be the lone tally for Brown on the afternoon, as Harvard netminder Crystal Springer went on to finish with 24 saves in the game.

The fact that Harvard held the Brown offense, which entered the game

averaging over four goals per game, to just one score was the difference in the game.

Unlike the last time Harvard played Brown, when the Crimson let a 4-1 third period lead evaporate and had to settle for a 4-4 tie, the Harvard defense

did a fair job of staving off the Bears in the late-going.

Even though Shewchuk, who had three penalties in the game, went to the box twice in the third period, Brown managed just six shots on net in the final twenty minutes.

"The team played really solid defense," said Botterill. "Overall, everyone played a smart game of hockey."

Despite the loss, Brown still occupies first place in the ECAC, leading the fourth-place Crimson in the standings by four points. With just four

league games remaining on the schedule for both squads, Harvard will need to compile a string of victories and hope that Brown losses at least two of its remaining games to have a chance at the conference title.

"All we can do is play one game at a time and control the things we can," Botterill said. "We'll definitely be ready for the all the remaining games and then for the playoffs."