Women's hockey powerhouse New Hampshire defeated Harvard, 4-2, Thursday night in Durham, N.H.--but the icewomen found reason to celebrate nonetheless.

"It was a great game for us because we've never scored before against UNH, and we've never had them score so little against us," Crimson Co-Captain Johanna Neilson said.

Assisted by Julia Trotman and Lisi Bailliere, Neilson scored to put the Crimson on the board in the second period, after the Wildcats had pulled to a 2-0 lead.

Karen Carney loosed a near miss on a pass from Co-Captain Julie Sasner, bringing the icewomen within inches of a 2-2 tie.

But UNH notched two quick goals minutes later, to close the second period with a 4-1 lead.

Playing man-down in the third period, the Crimson tallied the last goal of the game when Char Joslin gracefully maneuvered around a pair of UNH blueliners and fired an unstoppable shot into the twines.

Winding down their 1986 circuit, Harvard can start off the new year with confidence. "This game was a good confidence booster for us," Neilson said. In their first game of 1987, Harvard hosts Dartmouth at Bright Hockey Center January 6.