CHESTNUT HILL--Last night in the Conte Forum, the Boston College women's hockey team showed their male counterparts the right way to use a 3-1 lead.
One night earlier, the BC's men hockey squad lost the Beanpot consolation game to Northeastern after having lead by two goals.
But the woman would not make the same mistake as BC (13-5 overall) overcame a late Harvard rally to beat the Crimson 4-3 in the women's Beanpot consolation.
The loss was another heartbreaker for the Crimson, which has now lost six games by one goal this season. Victory, like the Eagles' winning goal in overtime, has been out of the team's reach.
The Crimson (5-11-2 overall), whose record in overtime this season is 0-1-2, has only won one of its last nine games.
The loss was its second in a row as Harvard suffered 4-1 defeat to Princeton last Sunday.
"It was a great comeback," Harvard Coach John Dooley said. "The blue line was fantastic in getting the two tying goals."
Down 3-1, Harvard did not fold. Sophomore Diana Clark scored at 3:35 of the third when she took a feed from freshman Holly Leitzes and beat BC netminder Dina Solimini on the glove side with a hip-high shot.
With 3:28 left in the game, the Crimson tied the score on a perfect center pass from Alissi to freshman Megan Hall.
In overtime, Eagle's Kate Antos ended the suspense when she fired the winning goal from the crease 1:14 into the extra period, beating sophomore Crimson goalie Erin Villiotte who looked to have the puck firmly in her grasp.
Unfortunately she didn't.
Trouble Scoring
The Crimson had trouble scoring throughout the game and just could not convert on many good opportunities, finding no answer to the solid Eagle defense.
"We just can't finish," said Dooley, whose team had 45 shots on goal to BC's 15. "You should be able to finish. We had the opportunities."
"Their goaltender was fantastic," he said.
Harvard junior forward Jo-anne Alissi led numerous fast-breaks, but was denied each time by Solimini who collected an amazing 42 saves in the game.
On offense, BC was paced by Heidi Anderson and Antos, who each tallied two goals.
"They played a good game," Alissi said. "We outshot them, but they had great goaltending."
Fatigue a Factor
One reason for the Crimson's inability to convert, however, may also have been fatigue. The Crimson suited up only 12 players compared to 20 for the Eagles.
"I think we're all a little tired, but I think we had our chances. We just couldn't convert," Alissi said.
Although Harvard knocked off BC easily last week 4-0, tonight the Crimson fell behind early and was forced to play catch-up.
The first period went back and forth until BC's Anderson took a pass from Lucy Tulimeri on the right side and one-timed it into the net's left corner at 6:11.
After an unsuccessful Crimson power play, the Eagles scored again at 13:11 on a rebound goal by Antos, assisted by Tracey Labossiere and Morgen McLaughlin.
The Crimson countered 33 seconds later when freshman Stacy Kellogg slapped in a loose puck from a scramble in front of the net.
The second period was a scoreless struggle in which Harvard held the edge on offense but could not convert.
At 12:29 of the second stanza, sophomore Diana Clark appeared to score, but her shot came after the whistle.
In the third, Anderson scored on a two-on-more shorthanded goal with 11 seconds left in Harvard's power play.
And although Harvard would end up tying the game 3-3, another Crimson comeback was destined to fall short. First Period BC--Anderson (Tulmeri) 6:11 BC--Antos (Labossiere, McLaughlin) 13:11 Har--Kellog (Landry) 13:44 Seond Period No Scoring. Third Period BC--Anderson (Duval) 3:01 Har--Clark (Leitzes) 3:36. Har--Halt (Alissi, Clark) 14:32. Over time BC--Antos (unassisted) 1:14 Savest: Har--Villotte 5-4 3-2 14; BC--Solmini 13-14-15-0 42.
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