W. Hockey Advances to Beanpot Final with 8-1 B.C. Blowout

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.--It's Harvard and Northeastern once again in the women's Beanpot final.

The Crimson dispatched B.C. 8-1 last night at Kelley Rink, and the Huskies took care of BU 9-0 to set up another installment of one of the best rivalries in women's college hockey. The Beanpot championship game is set for next Tuesday night at B.C.

"You have to be careful not to put too much on one game, however," Harvard Coach Katey Stone said. "It's the Beanpot, but you just have to win one next Tuesday night. Northeastern is going to come in here ready... and we're going to give them everything they can handle."

Although the outcome of last night's game was predictable, the Crimson (14-6-0, 14-2-0 ECAC) put on an entertaining performance nonetheless.

In an evening of hat tricks and highlights, senior winger Tammy Shewchuk and sophomore winger Kalen Ingram each scored three times. It was the first hat trick for either player this season.

"It is nice to get it," Ingram said. "But it's an 8-1 game and all we really needed was the second goal."

The Harvard record for points in a game is nine. Shewchuk has done it twice in her career against B.C. (5-23-0. 1-20-0), and last night, Ingram made a run at the record with seven.

"But Harvard hockey is not about statistics," Stone said. "It is about winning games. Period. However it happens, it doesn't matter. It's about winning games."

Junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill, who centers the top-line with Shewchuk and Ingram, had a pair of goals and three assists. Botterill's first assist at 18:30 of the second was the 100th assist of her career. She is fourth on Harvard's career list and chasing Shewchuk, who is Harvard's all-time assists leader at 139.

"Our line played well tonight," Botterill said. "Kalen and Tammy each got a hat trick and it's great when your teammates play well."

From the game's opening moments, it was clear which team was in control. The Eagles started the game on the powerplay after a bench minor was called against Harvard for a protocol infraction, but B.C. could barely clear the puck from their own zone.

In the second period, the Harvard penalty-killing unit did more of the same. After Shewchuk was called for slashing at 17:58, Ingram did not let it slow down Harvard's offense punch, netting a pair of short-handed goals 25 seconds apart.

The first of the two goals was easily the prettiest of the night. On a 2-on-1, Ingram fed Botterill in the slot. Eagles junior goaltender Sharon Van Tuyl could not handle the rebound, and Ingram poked the loose puck in while sliding on the ice and with all but her stick behind the goal line.

"I dropped it to Botts, and usually I just go behind the net expecting it to go in," Ingram said. "But the puck was just sitting there and I put it in."

Just 25 seconds later it was almost deja vu. Botterill's shot trickled through the legs of Van Tuyl and Ingram helped the puck along an extra couple of inches into the back of the net.

"She was in the right place at the right time," was all Stone would say.

Despite Harvard's impressive statistical performance, Stone still saw plenty of room for improvement.

"I think we showed our fatigue a bit today," Stone said. "We need to come in here next weekend and be a little more juiced up than we were today."

The Eagles scored their lone goal of the game at 12:55 of the second on the powerplay. Junior winger Missy Barsz deflected a goal line shot off junior goaltender Alison Kuusisto and into the net. Sophomore defenseman Sarah Engwall and freshman center Kaitlin McGrath assisted on the play.

"We could have done a lot of things better," Ingram said. "We were controlling the puck down low and then getting caught. One little turnover and they were on their way."

It was Kuusisto's first start in a non-exhibition game since December 17 against No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth. Kuusisto made three saves in two periods of play and improves her record on the season to 5-4-0.

Freshman goaltender Emily Smith replaced Kuusisto to start the third. It was Smith's third career appearance for Harvard between the pipes.

The Crimson defeated B.C. 13-1 earlier in the season and beat the Eagles by similar scores of 9-0 and 7-2 last season.

"That is one of the biggest challenges," Botterill said. "In the past a team may not have been as successful, but you have to prepare for every game. In our league the competition is so good you never know who will come out on top and play a great game."

Harvard will vie for its third consecutive Beanpot title against NU at B.C. Harvard won back-to-back titles in 1999-2000 and 1982-83.

"We have never won three in a row," Ingram said. "And it is always nice to do something for the first time."

But is Harvard in danger of looking past this weekend's games at Yale and Princeton because of Beanpot distractions?

"We have a lot of work to do in preparation for this weekend," Stone said. "We're not going to spend time in the next couple of days talking about the Beanpot final. We really need to accomplish what we need to do in the weekend and go from there."

The Huskies currently hold the record for most consecutive Beanpot titles. NU won eight straight in a stretch from 1984-91.

"It would be great to win the Beanpot," Botterill said. "It is such a tradition in Boston and a lot of fun to play."

Harvard has faced NU in the finals 13 of the last 15 years dating back to 1986, and has won the last two. The last time Harvard failed to make the finals was 1996.