ACTION JACKSON: You went and saved the best for last

As a player, senior winger Tammy Shewchuk has rarely been accused of being at a loss for words. When it came to saying goodbye Saturday, however, her actions spoke louder than words ever could.

"What a way for Tammy to end her career at Bright Hockey Center," said Harvard Coach Katey Stone. "She was outstanding, and I'm happy for her. I just thank god she was on our team."

Shewchuk scored a natural hat trick in the Crimson's 4-3 ECAC quarterfinal victory over Providence and is the biggest reason Harvard's bid for a second national championship is still alive.

It was Shewchuk's final home game, but it was clear by her actions on the ice that she wasn't willing to let it be the final game of her Harvard hockey career too.

"I was standing on the blueline going, 'Oh my gosh!' I got teary-eyed," Shewchuk said. "I really did. After spending five years here, on and off, it's tough to say goodbye. It's tough to know you're never going to lace it up here again. I think the whole team just wanted to have a good showing."

Following the game, Stone credited Shewchuk with giving the team faith after Harvard squandered a two-goal lead.

"The things she said going out for the overtime were just as confident as they were two years ago for the overtime in the national championship," Stone said. "She's an absolute believer, takes responsibility and gets it done."

Although Shewchuk's confidence reminded Stone of Harvard's 1999 national championship victory, Shewchuk was thinking more about last season and the Crimson's heart-breaking overtime loss to Dartmouth in the ECAC semifinal.

"Going into the overtime, we didn't want to have another situation where we had regrets like last year," Shewchuk said. "I think our team is very high on personal responsibility right now at this point in the season. No one wanted to be responsible saying that was my fault. Not on my watch is what we're thinking right now."

That mentality and determination strikes fear into visiting coaches.

"What is really impressive about Harvard is their stamina--how much Botterill and Shewchuk play," said Providence Coach Bob Deraney. "They just get better and better as the game goes along."

Opposing teams focus on the duo, design entire game plans centered around wearing them down and then hope that it works.

It didn't work Saturday. Deraney, who has a fair amount of star power on his own team in Patty Kazmaier candidate Jessica Tabb, was clearly a little bit in awe of the performance he just witnessed.

"I thought we did a pretty good job containing them for the most part, but they are opportunistic," Deraney said. "That makes Harvard a special team. You keep thinking they're going to get tired, and they never did."

If Shewchuk was out to prove she was one of the best in college hockey Saturday, consider it mission accomplished.

Team goals obviously come before individual accolades at this time of year. There was plenty of evidence of that on the ice Saturday. Still, as her career comes to a close, it is hard to believe there isn't a part of Shewchuk that wants to use these playoffs as a chance to solidify her place in Harvard hockey history.

"Tammy's out to make a statement, and I hope she keeps making that statement--in our building or in someone else's," Stone said. "She is definitely one of the best players in the country, and she showed it today. She played great defense. She was tough today, really tough."

She is Harvard's all-time leading scorer with 297 career points after surpassing A.J. Mleczko's '99 career mark of 257 earlier this season.

Shewchuk is the Crimson's all-time leader in goals with 148 and assists with 149. The 38 goals she scored her rookie year are second only to her own Harvard record of 51 goals from the national championship season of 1998-99.

Most goals in a game, most points in a game, most top-10 seasons in scoring just add to the list of Harvard records Shewchuk owns.

She's rewritten most of the record book, but the accolades and awards have never really followed.

First team ECAC, All-Ivy and All-American status in the 1998-99 season went a long way in terms of recognition, but she's always missed out on the big awards.

Brown's Tara Gardner beat her out for Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in 1997, and one of her own linemates has been Ivy Player of the Year for the past three seasons. Mleczko won the award outright in 1999, while Botterill shared the award with Brown's Ali Brewer in 2000 and was the unanimous choice in 2001.

On a national level, the Patty Kazmaier Award recognizes the most outstanding player in women's college hockey. Shewchuk was one of ten finalists in 1999 and is again on the list this season. Surprising to some, however, she missed being named last season despite leading the ECAC conference in points.

The three finalists for the award will be named tomorrow by the 11-member selection committee. Botterill is expected to be among the three, but Shewchuk is definitely on the bubble.

Maybe this weekend's performance will change their minds. If you listened to Stone after the game, it would be hard to imagine how she wasn't one of the best.

Stone rarely makes flattering comments about specific players. It's not her style. On Saturday, however, she was heaping praises on Shewchuk left and right.

Someone better be listening.