W. Hockey Advances to ECAC Semfinals with Overtime Victory

Playing in her final home game, senior winger Tammy Shewchuk made sure it would not be the last time she laced up the skates in her collegiate career.

Shewchuk recorded a hat trick and assisted on the game-winning goal to lead the No. 4 Crimson (22-8-0) to a 4-3 overtime win over No. 10 Providence (18-14-3) in the ECAC tournament quarterfinals at Bright Hockey Center.

The Crimson will now face No. 5 St. Lawrence on Saturday in the semifinals at Dartmouth, with possibly a spot in the Frozen Four hanging in the balance. A victory could vault Harvard into another showdown against No. 1 Dartmouth on Sunday.

In timely fashion, Shewchuk had one of her best games of the year when the Crimson (22-8-0) needed it most.

"What a way for Tammy Shewchuk to end her career in Bright Hockey Center," said Harvard Coach Katey Stone. "Tammy's out to make a statement, and I hope she keeps making that statement--in our building or in somebody else's. She's definitely one of the best players in the country and she showed it today."

Although Shewchuk dealt the majority of the damage, it was sophomore winger Kalen Ingram that scored the game-winning goal five minutes into the extra frame and propelled the Crimson to the next round.

At the 5:03 mark in overtime, Shewchuk ferociously drove the net and managed a shot on heavily defended Friar goalie Amy Quinlan.

Quinlan made the initial save but Ingram, trailing the play, retrieved the rebound in front of the crease and lifted a floater over Quinlan's right shoulder just below the crossbar and into the net.

As soon as the light went on, Ingram was swamped by the entire team in celebration, and Providence walked off the ice having suffered its third loss to Harvard this season.

"We had so many shots, so to have this finally go in is a relief," Ingram said. "Coach Stone singled me out in the locker room [after the third period] and told me to stay in front of the net and get those rebounds."

The Friars continued the punishing defensive style they employed in the previous two games against Harvard and managed to contain the Crimson offense as the game progressed.

"You have to give it to them--they do have some really talented kids, and their goalie kept them in it for a while," Shewchuk said. "You have to do what it takes to win, and if their method of winning is to put the body on and be physical and be dirty, well then that's what they have to do."

Harvard struck first and led 1-0 after Shewchuk scored with two minutes to go in the first period.

Shewchuk took the pass from junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill and swept past several defenders with a series of spectacular moves. She approached the net from the left side and shot a backhander five-hole on Quinlan for her first goal of the night.

The Friars tied it up in the second period on a power play goal by sophomore winger Jenn Butsch, who deflected a puck in front of the net five-hole past Ruddock.

But Shewchuk's efforts once again gave Harvard the advantage. With the Crimson on the man-advantage at 12:55 of the second frame, Shewchuk set up between the circles and waited for the pass from Botterill. Shewchuk powerfully one-timed the puck over Quinlan's left shoulder to give Harvard the 2-1 lead.

Less than three minutes later, Shewchuk completed the hat trick by cutting right through the middle of the Providence defense and firing the puck under Quinlan to make the score 3-1.

Providence's physical defense and opportunistic special teams ultimately forced an added period.

The Friars narrowed the gap at 16:12 when junior winger Kim Mathias deflected a shot from senior center Jessica Tabb, who shot the puck from the right-side boards.

Mathias deflected it in front of the net and five-hole on Crimson freshman goaltender Jessica Ruddock to reduce the lead to 3-2.

The Friars brought the pace of the game to a halt with their aggressive checking in the third period and eventually managed to net the equalizer at 12:38.

Mathias took the puck at the blue-line and fired a cannon shot that Ruddock apparently never saw. The puck went past Ruddock and into the net to tie the game at 3-3.

Providence kept the Crimson off the scoreboard for the duration of the third, but Harvard avoided the upset in overtime.

"It is really impressive how Harvard has so much stamina and how much Botterill and Shewchuk play, but they just get better and better as the game goes along, " said Providence Coach Bob Deraney. "In the overtime we kept thinking they were going to get tired, but they didn't."

A loss to the Friars would have meant elimination from the tournament and ended Harvard's chances of being among the four teams chosen to compete for the national championship.

No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth, the recently crowned WCHA tournament champion, and No. 1 Dartmouth, the ECAC regular season champion, should both be locks for the NCAA tournament.

That leaves the Crimson in a race for the last two Frozen Four spots along with St. Lawrence and Minnesota.

The Crimson finished the season with a 10-3 record at Bright, including a 10-1 record after opening the season with two losses at home during Botterill's and Shewchuk's absence.

Aside from Shewchuk, it was also the final home game for co-captain Angie Francisco, forward Tara Dunn, defenseman Julie Rando, and winger Kiirsten Suurkask.