"I was nervous," Bowdoin said. "But it was something I had to do. I'm glad I was able to play even though I didn't feel completely ready."
Entering the game, Bowdoin felt especially nervous.
"You never know what's going to happen," said she.
However, Suurkask gave Harvard a boost by scoring her 11th goal of the year on a nice pass from Francisco.
However, Harvard played a mostly lackluster first period.
"We were getting outhustled, playing with the puck too long, and our defensive zone coverage was awful," Walsh said. "People were not sticking to their marks. We weren't making smart decisions."
Harvard's troubles continued when B.C. right wing Erin Magee scored on an assist from left wing Gena Nolin.
Forty seconds later, though, the Crimson reclaimed the lead for good when Francisco scored her seventh goal on an assist from junior Melissa Milbert.
Sophomore Courtney Smith iced the contest with just over 15 minutes to play in the third period, notching her fifth goal on an assist from junior Kate Schutt.
"I was really glad we were able to hold onto the lead," Bowdoin said. "We had trouble doing that last year. I don't think we played that well in the beginning and middle. I'm glad we didn't allow many chances in the third."
Harvard grabbed control of the game when it began playing the body.
"The turning point was when we started to mark up better and take the body harder," Walsh said. "It was pretty key. There were some times when B.C. definitely had a lot of chances. There were some hectic moments in our zone, but we withstood them."
Bowdoin made 27 saves to gain her first win.
Having knocked the stuffing out of B.C., Harvard enjoys Thanksgiving off before returning to face Middlebury on December 3.