The Harvard women's hockey team knew they needed to sweep both games last weekend to have a chance at the ECAC league title. They also needed Dartmouth to falter in one of its two games.
Both the Crimson and the Big Green were dominant, however, and Dartmouth claimed the league crown by a mere one point.
But the most important games have yet to be played. An ECAC title is a nice accomplishment, but an NCAA title would be even better.
No. 4 Harvard (21-8-0, 20-4-0 ECAC) begins its quest to recapture the national championship it earned in the 1999 season with an ECAC quarterfinal game this weekend. Harvard needs to perform well in the ECAC tournament in order to secure a high seed in the NCAA tournament.
"We're right where we want to be right now," said Coach Katey Stone. "We're proud of how we finished [in the ECAC regular season] and now we have to focus on one game at a time."
The first test for Harvard will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. against No. 10 Providence. The Crimson beat the Friars (18-13-3, 10-11-3) just 3-2 on February 24 on the road..
Saturday's contest will be in the friendly confines of Bright Hockey Arena, where the Crimson has lost just three games all season.
There was no surprise in who led the Crimson scoring in the last meeting between the two teams. Junior co-captain Jen Botterill, the league's all-around scoring leader, scored two goals and assisted on the other to lead the Crimson over the Friars.
Read more in Sports
Botterill, Shewchuk Named Kazmaier FinalistsRecommended Articles
-
W. Hockey Falls to No. 5 in Polls Despite Weekend Sweep in H-Y-P'sThe Harvard women's hockey team swept its ECAC competition last week, taking the H-Y-P games with ease. The Crimson (5-3-0,
-
W. Hockey Roundup: Harvard Shoots For First in Final WeekendThe Harvard women's hockey team has been very successful in recent weeks, beating three ranked teams in eight days before
-
W. Hockey Notebook: Will the NCAA Follow its Stated Criteria?Until this weekend, it looked as if the four berths to the first-ever NCAA women's hockey tournament would be handed
-
A Rhode Island Weekend For Streaking IcemenLast year at this time, the Harvard hockey team held a 4-2 ECAC record, had just beaten the University of
-
Keeping Rank: Botterill Beats Friars in Final Seconds of OTPROVIDENCE, R.I.—All the clutching, grabbing, pressure and forced turnovers may have momentarily allowed Providence to obscure Harvard’s image as the