When Harvard junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill and senior winger Tammy Shewchuk strode into Minnesota's Mariucci Arena for the NCAA Frozen Four only two weeks ago, they came up short of a national title. But last night at the same venue, they rose to the top of the world.

In the gold medal game of the Women's Hockey World Championships between the United States and Canadian National Teams last night, Shewchuk scored a second-period goal to give the Canadians the lead for good, and Botterill netted the eventual game-winner with 3:15 left to give Canada a commanding two-goal lead.

Former Harvard defenseman and 1999 Patty Kazmaier winner A.J. Mleczko `97-`99 scored for the U.S. with 1:19 left to make the game interesting in the closing moments, but Canada held on for the 3-2 win.

"One of the great things about this rivalry is our close games, and tonight was no exception," Mleczko said.

Canada has now won all seven Women's Hockey World Championships. The U.S. won the sport's first Olympic Gold in 1998.

Botterill-who scored eight times in five games to lead all scorers in the tournament-was named the Most Outstanding Forward and the Most Valuable Player of the Championship.

"I believe there are things coaches can't teach," said Canadian Coach Daniele Sauvageau. "By putting our players in different situations, in college, in club hockey, it only makes them better. They play for different coaches. Jennifer Botterill has only become a better player in college."

The U.S. team had trained together in Lake Placid through the course of the past season while the Canadian players stayed with their respective club and college teams, but no advantage from the centralized training showed up on the final scoreboard.

"[Decentralization] is just a different approach," Botterill said. "Our team is feeling great, so we don't feel like we've lost anything by playing for club and college teams. But next year, in preparing for the Olympics, we will be a centralized program,"

Canada owed much of its victory to outstanding goaltender Kim St. Pierre of McGill University, who stopped 33 of 35 U.S. shots, including a clean breakaway from U.S. captain Cammi Granato in the first period.

In contrast, U.S. goaltender Sarah Tueting faced just 18 shots and stopped 15.

Although the U.S. dominated the course of play and outshot Canada, the Americans-on three occasions-left opponents unmarked on the doorstep. The opportunistic Canadians made them pay every time.

"Our team is really jelling at the right time," Shewchuk said. "Even though we have only been together as team for six days, some of us have played together a lot. And some of our lines have played together for years."

The first Canadian goal came on a power play 8:09 into the contest, when Canadian winger Dana Antal deflected a shot from the point from linemate Vicky Sunohara past Tueting.

Former New Hampshire forward Carisa Zaban tied the game in the final minutes of the first period with a spectacular individual effort. She darted up the right wing, skated through a defender, then flipped a backhander over St. Pierre.

Shewchuk gave Canada the lead again halfway through the second period. Kelly Bechard-the winger who rounds out the Shewchuk-Botterill line on Team Canada-set up the goal. After a U.S. defender blocked her shot, Bechard recollected the puck and sent to the puck cross-ice through the sticks of three players to Shewchuk, who was unmarked at the edge of the crease. Shewchuk placidly buried the puck into the open part of the net for the 2-1 advantage.

Once the Canadians regained the lead, they played more conservatively and kept a forward back, while the U.S. tried in vain to get the pack past St. Pierre. In one startling sequence on the power play, St. Pierre stopped several shots in succession while sprawled across the crease, including a Mleczko shot from point-blank range.

Then with 3:15 left in the game, Botterill netted the critical insurance goal. Canadian defenseman Therese Brisson earned the assist on the goal, as she sent the puck from the point to left side of the crease, where an unmarked Botterill deflected the puck perfectly over Tueting into the net.

With only 1:16 left, Canadian defenseman Correne Bredin-Dartmouth's lone representative in the tournament-got called for a holding penalty. Mleczko lit the lamp just seven seconds later, sending a puck that deflected off a Canadian defender past St. Pierre.

But there would be no last-minute miracle comeback for the U.S. With Tueting out of the net, Shewchuk gained control of the puck on the attack and had a chance at the game-icing goal, but she was tripped up by U.S. defenseman Karyn Bye. Bye watched the agonizing final minute from the penalty box.

In the awards ceremony after the game, Botterill was awarded a pile of honors, and the Canadian team was awarded their gold medals, while the American team-including defenseman Angela Ruggiero, Botterill's former Harvard roommate-could only watch. Tueting never removed her goaltender's mask through the course of the ceremony.

Shewchuk finished with five goals and four assists on the tournament, while Botterill had eight goals and two assists. The Harvard athletes smoothly made the transition from the college game to the international game in a matter of days.

"I like going from one to another with no break," Shewchuk said. "[The international game] is a step up from college hockey, for sure. It's so much faster. The shots come faster. But college hockey in the U.S. has gotten so much better. It's at a level now that I'd recommend it to any woman who has serious aspirations."

The U.S. earned silver medals in defeat for the seventh consecutive time. The Russian National Team earned the bronze with a 2-1 upset over Finland earlier in the afternoon. The Russian team-which includes MIT women's hockey coach Katia Pashkevitch-finished well beyond expectations.

Although Canada can relish the 2001 World Championship for now, both the Canadians and the Americans are setting their sights on the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in February. The Canadians are aiming for their first Olympic Gold, while the Americans are hoping to emerge as champions in front of their home crowd.