At around 11:00 on Sunday night, the Harvard women's hockey received the startling news that its season was over.

Despite being ranked No. 2 in the country going into the ECAC Tournament and never falling out of the top three spots in the national rankings all year, the Crimson was denied a spot in the four-team AWCHA National Championships.

"We're obviously shocked that we're not considered one of the four best teams in the country," Harvard Coach Katey Stone said. "We certainly feel that we are. That's what happens when you leave things in other people's hands."

Harvard (21-5-3, 17-4-3 ECAC) could have secured an automatic bid into the championships by winning the ECAC Tournament this past weekend, but in the semis, the Crimson fell to Dartmouth (20-11-0, 17-7-0) for the third time this season.

The loss left Harvard's fate in the hands of the six-person AWCHA selection committee. Brown, the ECAC champions, and Minnesota-Duluth, the WCHA champions, both earned automatic bids to the championships, leaving two at-large spots.

The committee chose to give the remaining bids to Dartmouth and Minnesota (30-6-1).

"I'm baffled that we could fall from No. 2 to No. 5 in the country in one day," Stone said.

The selection of Minnesota as the third seed in the tournament was a complete shock to the Crimson, since Harvard had blown out the Golden Gophers 8-3 at Minnesota in their only meeting of the season.

"The fact that Minnesota got selected is pretty baffling," junior winger Tammy Shewchuk said. "I don't see any justification. We've been ranked higher than them all year."

By seeding Minnesota third and Minnesota-Duluth second, the AWCHA guaranteed that a western team will reach the championship game for the first time ever.

"I think the committee was definitely trying to set up an East-West final," Shewchuk said. "I guess they think that's good for spreading the game of women's college hockey or something like that."

It was the third consecutive year that Minnesota had been selected for the AWCHA Tournament. The Golden Gophers got the majority of their wins from first-year hockey programs in the WCHA. Minnesota did post a respectable 7-3-0 record against teams from the ECAC.

The Golden Gophers had a few impressive wins the season. Minnesota blanked Brown 4-0, dealing the Bears their worst loss of the season. Minnesota also beat Dartmouth twice, by scores of 5-4 and 4-3.

The Gopher victories were, however, helped out by the fact that all the wins came at home in the earlier half of the season. Minnesota never had to face Tara Mounsey, Brown's first team All-American, due to the overlap between the field hockey and ice hockey seasons.

Dartmouth's selection as the No. 4 seed was due to its three victories over Harvard, and not much else. The Big Green managed an abysmal 8-9-0 record against teams with winning records, compared to 7-4-3 for Harvard.

Dartmouth was also winless in five tries against the top three seeds of the tournament. Harvard posted a near-perfect 2-0-1 record against Brown and Minnesota.

The Big Green also lost twice to Northeastern and to Niagara and Princeton. The Crimson was undefeated against these teams.

Despite the long list of statistics Harvard had in its favor, the selection committee decided to weigh Dartmouth's three head-to-head victories above everything else.

"There hasn't been consistency in the selection committee," Stone said. "There were controversial decisions last year as well."

The committee clearly valued head-to-head competition on a case-by-case basis. The Big Green's three victories over the Crimson were enough to put them in the tournament, but Harvard's dominant 8-3 win over Minnesota was ignored.

"If the measuring stick to determine if you make this tournament is whether you can beat Harvard, then Minnesota has absolutely no right to be there," Shewchuk said.

Harvard was solid in every game it played this season. Only twice this year did the team lose by more than a goal. No other team in the country made it through this year without a three-goal loss.

"We proved ourselves on the ice," Stone said. "That alone should have been reason for us to get in."

Dartmouth can't say the same. The Big Green lost 5-1 to New Hampshire, a team that Harvard beat twice. In its last meeting against Brown before the ECAC tournament, Dartmouth was humiliated 6-1 by the Bears.

Harvard also managed to compile its solid record despite more player personal disruptions than any other team in the country. The Crimson's 4-2 loss to St. Lawrence, for instance, came while Shewchuk and sophomore center Jen Botterill were out playing for Team Canada.

"Harvard is so supportive of players playing for national programs," Stone said. "I'm proud that through all the distractions we were able to persevere."

Even without the invitation to the AWCHA Tournament, Harvard is still proud of its spectacular season.

"I think a lot of people recognize what a great team we are," Shewchuk said. "I don't think we need any national championship to let ourselves know that we're a great team."