No. 5 W. Hockey Faces No. 8 UNH and Maine

The Harvard women's hockey team returns to conference play for the first time in three weeks when it faces UNH and Maine this weekend.

The No.5 Crimson (11-6-0, 11-2-0 ECAC) defeated No.10 Providence 7-4 three weeks ago in Bright Hockey Center to record its third win in a row. Since that win, Harvard has played only in an exhibition game against Concordia, which came last Saturday.

Tomorrow's game against No.8 UNH will mark the third time this season that the Crimson have had more than ten days between games. So far, Harvard has lost both times in its first game returning from such lengthy layoffs.

The Crimson's stamina will now be tested as it will play three games in four days, beginning with the Wildcats (14-11-0, 10-6-0) on Saturday afternoon at Bright.

Harvard is tied for second in the ECAC standings with 22 points and trails No.1 Dartmouth by seven points for the conference lead. The Crimson needs two wins this weekend to follow the pace of the streaking Big Green.

The sensational play of junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill has carried Harvard over the last few games.

Botterill recorded back-to-back hat tricks against Northeastern and Providence to lead the Crimson to crucial conference wins. Botterill leads the conference in scoring and is averaging three points per game. She has 22 goals in just 11 ECAC contests, while her closest competitor has 13 goals in 14 games.

Botterill was recently nominated for the Patty Kazmaier award, given to the best player in women's hockey each year. Botterill's teammate and linemate, senior forward Tammy Shewchuk, was also one of the ten finalists.

"It is a testament to that entire line," Harvard Coach Katey Stone said. "Adding Botterill's game to that line is making it quite dominant."

UNH enters the match-up on a three-game losing streak, recently falling twice to No.3 Minnesota in a pair of close games.

Wildcats captain Michelle Thornton was also among the finalists for the Kazmaier. Thornton is currently third in scoring in the ECAC behind Botterill and Shewchuk, and ranks second in assists.

Wildcats goaltender Jennifer Huggon has played well of late and kept UNH in many games where it could have been blown out. Huggon was named ECAC goaltender of the week for her efforts against Minnesota last week.

After the Wildcats, the Crimson will face the Black Bears (10-9-1, 5-8-1) on Sunday. Maine is coming off solid performances against Providence and Northeastern. The Black Bears defeated the Huskies, then followed that win up with a tie against the Friars for its best pair of games of the season.

The Maine attack is led by freshman forward Karen Droog. Droog has recorded 10 goals in 14 conference games and is the Black Bears' main weapon.

Junior forward Andrea Keller and senior defenseman Kelly Nelson, with 14 and 15 points respectively, also pose a threat on the offensive end.

On the defensive end, sophomore goaltender Dawn Froats has recorded three shutouts and brings a 1.90 goals-against-average. Froats has been in net for eight of Maine's 10 wins.

The Crimson offense should have no problems scoring goals, since it hasn't had any trouble all season. Harvard leads the ECAC with a scoring average of 5.15 goals per game. With Botterill and Shewchuk on the first line, the Crimson should receive more than enough the firepower it requires.

"We are looking to score more," Stone said. "Every one of our players is a threat on the ice."

The big question for the Crimson is its defense and its goaltending. Harvard has been allowing a lot of goals recently, turning would-be blowouts into close games.

Despite outshooting its opponents by a ratio of nearly two-to-one, the Crimson has only managed to convincingly defeat teams like Yale and Boston College.

If Harvard wants to capture the conference crown, the Crimson defense has to be able to shut the door when required.

This effort must start with freshman goaltender Jessica Ruddock. After a great start to the season that earned her the starting goaltender position, Ruddock has been struggling of late, posting a 3.25 GAA.

"She's doing OK and she's made the big saves when we've needed her," Stone said.

With games against Dartmouth and Brown not too far in the future, Ruddock must regain the form she has shown at times, and this weekend's games against Maine and UNH provide the chance to begin this crucial stretch with a hot streak.