Of course, St. Lawrence isn't the only young team to emerge in women's hockey this season. Out west, Ohio State and Wisconsin surprised Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth, the two dominant teams in the fledgling WCHA. Northeastern handed Dartmouth its first loss on Friday night. As talented as Harvard is offensively, the improving competition is the reason the Crimson is just three games above .500.

But Harvard is still in first place in the conference--partly because it has played more games than teams like St. Lawrence--and has the potential to beat good teams down the stretch. As Botterill, Shewchuk and Francisco showed against the Saints, the Crimson can score against good defenses with quality goaltenders. But Harvard cannot afford to give up sloppy goals at the other end.

There is certainly room for improvement in the defensive zone. Ruddock, who played like a freshman over the weekend, should get better with more experience between the pipes. And moving senior Tara Dunn to the blueline should benefit the defensive zone coverage in the long run.

Harvard didn't play a perfect game yesterday against Cornell, either. But the Crimson got the job done when it counted most, scoring three goals on 12 shots in the final period to erase a one-goal deficit and beat the Big Red. Controlling the third period is a step in the right direction.

But there is still a lot of work to be done before March. Just as reading period is a time to study for exams, the women's hockey team needs the month of January to study how to beat quality opponents. Its first two exams are this Friday and Saturday when Northeastern and Providence come to the Bright Center.