That came just 32 seconds after the Wildcats had tied the game. Senior defenseman Nicki Luongo--who had stopped the action minutes earlier after taking an elbow to the head--took the puck at center point and sent a centering pass on net that junior winger Tina Carrabba tipped through Springer's five-hole.

"The puck was tipped, but not very well," Springer said. "I should have had it. But I didn't get too emotional after that because I knew I would have to make more saves and all I had to do was give my teammates a chance to win the game."

Three minutes before Carrabba's goal, Harvard appeared to have the game under control. A checking penalty against co-captain Claudia Asano at 10:08 of the third gave UNH its last power play of the game. But the Crimson kept the Wildcat offense in check.

UNH had also led midway through the second after Asano and sophomore center Michelle Thornton were called for matching minors for holding. Carrabba and winger Melisa Heitzman got a two-on-one breakaway at 4:03 of the second with Mleczko the only defender back for Harvard. Carrabba drew Mleczko to the left side before hitting Heitzman in front of the net, and the senior backhanded the puck past Springer into the far corner of the net.

Four minutes later, Stone bumped Dunn to the second line alongside Francisco and Suurkask, and the two-line rotation paid off immediately for the Crimson. At 8:00 of the second Francisco won a faceoff to Asano behind the left circle, and the co-captain fired a slapper at Roberts. The UNH netminder made the initial stop but never got control of the puck, which trickled across the crease.

Asano's score deflated an otherwise feisty Wildcat attack, and the Crimson gradually gained control of the period. The pivotal moment came with 4:20 left in the second, when Harvard set up its potent offensive attack, and Mleczko drew a UNH penalty against Thornton for hooking. The play gave the vaunted Harvard power-play unit its first action of the game, and the Crimson capitalized.

Just 27 seconds into the man advantage, Ruggiero swung the puck to Botterill in the right circle. The ECAC and Ivy League Rookie of the Year walked in and sent a shot towards Roberts, and Shewchuk guided it into the UNH net.