Stymied by unlucky bounces, the Harvard women's ice hockey team (6-6, 2-6 ECAC) dropped two contests to Northeastern last weekend. On Saturday, the Crimson committed two own goals in a 5-1 loss.
Yesterday, Northeastern left wing Emily Pemrick kicked in a goal that was allowed by the referee.
"We played better yesterday," said junior co-captain Kyle Walsh. "We hustled all 60 minutes."
Harvard had taken a 1-0 lead in the first period when junior right wing Jen Gerometta scored at 9:00. Freshmen Kiirsten Suurkask and Angie Francisco both collected assists. But the Huskies (8-2, 7-1 ECAC) pulled even at 3:30 of the second period, when defenseman Jennie Setaro scored on assists from Pemrick and right wing Hillary Witt.
Northeastern, which had already had one goal waved off for kicking, now scored the controversial go ahead goal at 19:26 of the second period.
"They brought the puck in, and it looked like they had people in the crease," Walsh said. "And the net was off."
The Huskies added one more goal on Kathryn Waldo's unassisted tally with 55 seconds remaining in the game.
"It was basically a one-goal game," Walsh said. "We stayed with them all game. It's too bad we couldn't have won."
Senior co-captain Jen Bowdoin turned in a stellar netminding performance, amassing 45 saves. Her counterpart, Lauren Harris, made just 22 saves. In the first period, Bowdoin weathered all 19 shots she faced.
"Northeastern was really aggressive," Bowdoin said. "But they also got their shots off pretty quickly. They had a lot of good scoring chances, but a lot just hit me too."
Walsh, though, lauded Bowdoin's efforts.
"Jen stood on her head [yesterday]," Walsh said. "She was amazing. She got hit after practically every save she made."
However, the Crimson certainly dished out its share of hits.
"We played the body, marked really well and finished our hits," Walsh said.
Making Harvard's accomplishment more formidable was Northeastern's daunting lineup.
"The Northeastern players are all big and aggressive," Walsh said. "They're very deep--a solid team.
"Their forecheck was relentless. Every time we turned around, they'd be divebombing in, creating havoc in our zone," she added.
A three-goal Northeastern surge in the second period dismantled a 1-1 tie on Saturday.
Northeastern's Betsy Dyke and junior defenseman Claudia Asano had swapped goals in the first period. Then the dam burst.
Among that three-goal deluge were two Harvard own goals. Asano tipped the first in by accident. A shot was skidding wide, and Asano tried to get it out from in front of the net. Misfortune struck Harvard again when sophomore defenseman Courtney Smith tried to pass the puck to Bowdoin.
"I didn't realize she was doing that," Bowdoin said.
The shot trickled in.
Northeastern added one more goal in the third period when left wing Jennifer Santerre scored on assists from right wing Stephanie Acres and center Kerri-Anne Allan.
"Our biggest problem was that we came out kind of flat," said junior Melissa Milbert. "We were not finishing up on offensive chances, and we had some defensive lapses. They were really hammering us."
Stopping 34 shots, Bowdoin made almost twice as many saves as her counterpart, Erika Silva, who made 18. In the third period, Silva made just three saves. First Period NU--Dyke (unassisted) 6:25. Har--Asano (Gerometta, Maloney) 13:03. (PPG) Second Period NU--Acres (unassisted) 2:33. NU--Dyke (unassisted) 13:44. NU--Coen (Setaro, Waldo) 17:45. Third Period NU--Santerre (Acres, Allan) 7:46. Saves: NU--Silvia 3-7-8 18; Har--Bowdoin 15-6-13 34. Power Play: NU--0/4; Har--1/8. Attendance: 346 First Period Har--Gazennuller (Suurkask, Francisco) 9:00. Second Period NU--Setaro (Witt, Pemrick) 3:30. NU--Pemrick (Witt, Acres) 19:26. Third Period NU--Waldo (unassisted) 19:05. Saves: NU--Meyers 4-9-9 22; Har--Bowdoin 19-15-11 45. Power Play: NU--0/3; Har--0/4. Attendance: 250
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