Bad things come in threes.
For the Harvard women's ice hockey team, those three things are named the University of New Hampshire, Northeastern University and Providence College.
The icewomen's 7-1 loss to Providence last night follows blowouts earlier in the season at the hands of UNH (an 11-1 loss) and Northeastern (8-1).
The deadly trio all boast superb women's hockey programs that rely on athletic scholarships and heavy recruiting.
For the Crimson, now 5-4 overall, these "hired guns" provide just a little more firepower than they can handle.
"We actually played better than in the Northeastern game," said Harvard Assistant Coach Bill MacDonald. "The lines were working very well, we had much better checking in the offensive zone and the neutral zone, but we just weren't able to convert."
Providence broke to an early 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Donna Salvoni and Cindy Curley at 7:38 and 10:47, respectively.
The Cantabs responded four minutes later, as freshman Christine Burns took feeds from seniors Dinny Starr and Kelly Landry and worked the puck past Providence goalie Cathy Carney.
In the second stanza, however, Curley, Lisa Brown, and Marlene Ricci notched tallies to increase the lead to 5-1.
Curley came through once again in the final period, to get the hat trick, and Lois Marotta pounded in the final nail with a goal with only 46 seconds left on the clock.
Despite the setback, the Crimson remain optimistic. "Our goal is to improve with each game and get ready for Dartmouth on January 5," said MacDonald. First period--1. P. Donna Salvoni (Cindy Curley, Marlene Ricer) 7:38. 2. P. Curley (Ricci) 10:17 3. H. Christine Burns (Dinny Starr, Kelly Landry) 14:37. Second period--2. P. Curley (Salvoni, Ricel) 4:09 5. P. Lisa Brown (unassisted) 5:49, 6. P. Ricei (Curley, Sherla Gulliver) 9:52. Third period--2. P. Cusley (Riceil 13:30, 8. P. Lois Marotta) Brown, Carly Mec Lellani 1794. Saves--H. Iracy Kinumel 16; P.Cathy Carney 16.
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