Athlete of the Week: Kiirsten Suurkask '01

Her name rarely runs in the headlines and she is often over shadowed by her olympic medal-winning teammates.

Last week, however, the No. 3 Harvard women's hockey team had no bigger hero than senior winger Kiirsten Suurkask.

It was not a dominating performance. It was not even spectacular. But there have been few bigger goals scored for Harvard in the past two years.

With 9:03 remaining in regulation and the Crimson trailing 2-1 to No. 1 Dartmouth last Saturday, Suurkask scored the game-tying marker to put Harvard back in the game.

Suurkask's goal set up the eventually game-winner by co-captain Jennifer Botterill just minutes later, but more importantly, it turned the game around.

Dartmouth's Carly Haggard had just scored the go-ahead goal 1:36 earlier to take the momentum away from the Crimson.

Sitting in the stands, it was if someone had popped a balloon and all the energy in the arena had just gone out with it. Harvard was going to lose another one-goal game to Dartmouth and the drought against the nation's top-team would be extended to five games.

Then she scored that goal and everything changed.

Protecting an one-goal lead lead late in the game, Dartmouth was not going to allow Harvard's highly touted top-line play the open style of hockey it thrives under. The Big Green never expected Suurkask and the Crimson's second-line to deliver the fatal blow. Surprise killed Dartmouth.

It doomed No. 9 Northeastern a week ago Tuesday in the Beanpot Final as well.

Suurkask scored the eqaulizer in the third against Northeastern to send the game to overtime. Then in overtime, she fed Botterill on a long breakaway pass to win the Crimson's third consectuive Beanpot title, 4-3.

Suurkask had not scored in 17 straight games heading into the Beanpot final last week.

It was impressive timing and it could not have come at a better time.

Harvard had just lost to its first unranked opponent in three years and slipped to No. 6 in the national rankings, its lowest positioning since 1998.

Suurkask's pair of goals changed all that. Botterill scored the game-winning goals in both games and the entire team played exceptionally well all week. Botterill's perfomance was expected, however, and Suurkask's was not.

It was a pleasant surprise that changed the fortunes of one of the nation's top teams. The Crimson have beaten every team in the ECAC at least once this year and are one of only two teams to have beaten Dartmouth all season.

Harvard could have easily lost three in a row last week and been in its worst tail-spin since the 1997-98 season.

Instead, the Crimson emerged from the week as a team to beat and Suurkask might have been the difference.