At the end of the period, UNH Coach Karen Kay pulled starting goaltender Alicia Roberts, who set a school records with 48 saves against Harvard in last season's AWCHA national championship game, in favor of freshman Jen Huggon.

"If you look at the statistics, both teams did a pretty good job tonight," Kay said. "But they buried the puck when they had their chances and we didn't, and our goaltender did not come to play. When you let in some soft goals, it affects the whole team."

Those two early scores turned out to be the difference, as Harvard outshot UNH 24-22 and won by a two-goal margin. In the final 40 minutes, Huggon allowed only one goal--Botterill's shorthanded score on the breakaway--and made 15 saves to keep her team in the game. But the damage had been done in the first period, and the Crimson gave Kuusisto enough support in the defensive zone to maintain the lead.

"The Dartmouth game showed our weaknesses in the defensive zone, because our goals will come on offense," Stone said. "We ran around defensively at times tonight, but not like last week. I was most happy with our man-down situations--you really didn't notice when UNH had the power play."

But the Wildcats had the man-advantage nine times, and the two teams combined for 17 penalties and four power-play goals, including UNH's second goal with 5:27 left in third period. Harvard's defensive coverage broke down in front of the net, allowing UNH's top two scores to work against one defender. Wildcat senior center Carisa Zaban dished to Holmes, who sent home an open shot in the slot.

The Crimson received a boost from its rookie class in the opening minutes, as Harvard's first two goals came from a pair of rookies, Ingram and Hagerman.

Ingram, who joined the time Monday after spending the fall season with the field hockey team, skated onto the ice 55 seconds into the game with the second line for a face-off in the UNH zone. Junior center Kiirsten Suurkask won the draw to Ingram, who threw a shot on goal barely one second into her collegiate career. And the puck floated past Roberts untouched.