On the other end of the ice, UNH netminderAlicia Roberts held her own until the final 10minutes of the contest. The Crimson controlled thepuck more and more as the game wore on and set upgood opportunities from the post and in front ofthe goal. But the UNH defensemen did not allowHarvard's forwards to follow through with cleanshots until the third period.

After solid defense had held the two mostpotent offenses in the country to a goal apiecefor the first 52 minutes, the final eight minutessaw a flurry of offensive action as both teamsbattled for the No. 1 ranking.

Again, the Wildcats struck first with atwo-on-one breakaway. Junior forward SamanthaHolmes cleanly rejected a Crimson shot from thepoint and took off down the ice with only oneHarvard defender helping Springer. After drawingSpringer to her left, Holmes flipped the disc toclassmate Melissa McKenzie, who sent the puck intothe net with 7:39 left in the contest.

But it was all Harvard after that. Although ittrailed by a goal, the Crimson offense that hadstarted to click early in the second period wentinto full throttle when it counted most.

Shewchuk was the catalyst of that offensiveoutburst. One minute and six seconds afterMcKenzie gave UNH its second lead of the game,Shewchuk intercepted a UNH pass at the blue lineand stickhandled around the UNH defense beforesending a shot past Roberts to tie the game with6:33 left in regulation.

"I got the puck and saw an opening so I wentfor it," Shewchuk said. "I was on the right wingand had a shot against [Roberts'] glove hand. Thatis a comfortable shot for me, so I just took it."

It did not take long before the Crimson tookthe lead for good. Fifty-two seconds after she hadknotted the score, Shewchuk reclaimed the puck andsent it to Botterill in the left corner. Botterillskated into the post and hit Mleczko in front ofthe goal. The co-captain immediately fired on goaland Botterill, still at the post, knocked in therebound to give Harvard its first lead with 5:41remaining in the final period.

Then Harvard clamped down on defense andrefused to allow UNH back into the game. A penaltyon Crimson defenseman Courtney Smith with 1:47left in the game gave the Wildcats a change topull even, but aggressive forechecking andimpressive saves from Springer prevented theWildcats from getting another good shot.

"Our whole team came up big at the end of thegame," Botterill said. "That just shows how muchheart we have."

The victory will probably move the Crimson intothe No. 1 ranking ahead of Brown in the U.S.College Hockey Online poll. The win also gaveco-captain Claudia Asano a special present on her22nd birthday.

"I told everyone that all I wanted for mybirthday was to beat UNH," Asano said. "My wishcame true."

Harvard 15, Colby 0

The one bright spot for the White Mules wasthat goaltenders Josephine Chapman and KatieMangan combined for more saves, 49, then therewere fans in attendance, 45, in Waterville, Maine.The problem with that statistic was that theCrimson poured 64 shots on goal.

Harvard freshman Alison Kuusisto earned thevictory in her first start between the pipes in aCrimson uniform, making seven saves to maintainher perfect goals against average of 0.00.

But most of the action took place in front ofChapman and Mangan, who were helpless againstHarvard's vaunted offensive attack. Mleczkodirected the furious traffic in front of the Colbynet, tying Harvard's single-game record with fiveassists.