The Harvard women's hockey team has been very successful in recent weeks, beating three ranked teams in eight days before succombing to cross town ECAC rival Northeastern 3-2.

The Crimson (19-8-0, 18-4-0 ECAC) is currently ranked No. 4 in the country after its tough loss against Northeastern and is second in the ECAC trailing Dartmouth by one point heading into the final weekend of play.

Harvard started its successful run at home by edging No. 1 Dartmouth, 3-2, and blanking No. 6 Brown, 5-0. The Crimson then took to the road and escaped No. 10 Providence with a 3-2 win.

Junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill won player of the week awards from both the Ivy league and U. S. College Hockey Online after breaking the record for consecutive games with at least one point scored at 74 straight.

Freshman goaltender Jessica Ruddock also received some accolades this week. Ruddock took home Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors for the second straight week after recording her second shutout of the season gainst Brown with a career-high 37 saves.

The Crimson is jockeying for playoff position this weekend as they travel to New Hampshire and Maine. The Crimson can still take first place in the ECAC, pending the outcome of this weekend's games.

Dartmouth's Big Green (21-3-1, 18-3-1) has struggled of late, falling to Harvard and taking a weekend split at Niagara. Nevertheless, Dartmouth retains its No. 1 ranking in national polls and maintains a one point lead over Harvard in the ECAC standings.

In the 3-0 victory over Niagara, sophmore goalie Amy Ferguson recorded her first shutout of the season, stopping 23 shots.