After losing five out of its last six games to close out 2004, the Harvard women’s hockey team swept its weekend opponents, Cornell and Colgate, to bounce back in the new year. The Crimson (9-6-1, 8-1-0 ECAC) defeated the Big Red (3-7-2, 3-6-0) with a solid 5-3 victory before blanking the Raiders (7-9-1, 2-5-1) 3–0 behind a shutout by junior goalie Ali Boe—the 10th of her career and the most for a Harvard women’s hockey goaltender.

Any doubt that the Crimson would be focused and back to its winning form was dispelled by the team’s play. Tri-captain Nicole Corriero once again led the way for the Crimson, scoring four goals and three assists over the weekend, while freshman Sarah Vaillancourt added three goals and two assists of her own in the two games.

“Every day we play we need to prove ourselves,” said junior tri-captain Julie Chu. “From the beginning we had a tough season, but to say we had a tough season is only making excuses. We just came up a little bit short, and we need to come out flying.”

For her part, Chu assisted on four of the eight Harvard goals over both games.

Harvard returns to Bright Hockey Center Tuesday night to host Brown at 7 p.m. in what will be the Crimson’s final game before its annual exam break.

HARVARD 5, CORNELL 3

While Vaillancourt and junior forward Jennifer Raimondi each helped the Crimson to a win over the Big Red, it was Corriero who really cinched the win for Harvard, putting away the game-winning goal courtesy of Vaillancourt at 9:39 in the third period.

The goal was the first of two for Corriero in the period, which gave the Crimson a necessary cushion against a late Cornell surge that brought the Big Red back within one at 11:33 in the final frame.

Keeping Cornell at bay wasn’t easy for the Crimson.

“They get in there and use their bodies and are physical,” Chu said. “They really made us work for all the goals.”

But Corriero secured the win for Harvard when she scored her team-leading 24th goal of the season, bouncing the puck off Cornell goalie Flora Vineberg’s skate at 14:04 in the period.

Vaillancourt managed to score both of the Crimson’s first two goals, giving the team the momentum and a 2-0 lead early in the second period.

Harvard’s advantage was soon snatched away when Cornell managed to outwit Boe and score two goals, the first at 10:37 and the second only five minutes later.

Both goals came during power plays for the Big Red.

“We got into some penalty trouble,” Chu said. “We need to clear up those little mental lapses here. We need to come up big when we are a man down.”