Female Athlete of the Year: Botterill Leads W. Hockey to Frozen Four

When a Harvard athlete has already been honored as the most outstanding collegiate player in her sport and the most valuable player in her World Championship, then the question of Athlete of the Year ceases to be debatable. Junior women's hockey co-captain Jennifer Botterill, the 2000-01 Crimson Female Athlete of the Year, did all of that and more this past season.

Botterill led the nation with 42 goals, 78 points and seven game-winning goals and averaged an impressive 2.8 points per game this past season. She also set the collegiate hockey record for consecutive games with a single point-an 80-game streak that began with her first game at Harvard and ended with the final game of her junior season.

What makes those statistics even more impressive is that they don't even begin to tell the story of her performance in the clutch and the way she elevated the play of her teammates.

Botterill centered the most prolific scoring line in the country alongside senior Tammy Shewchuk and sophomore Kalen Ingram. When Shewchuk broke the Harvard career goal-scoring record, she was quick to give a large portion of the credit to her Canadian National teammate.

"My linemates help me out so much," said Shewchuk, who led the nation with 46 assists this past season, thanks in large part to Botterill. "Jen knows where I am at all times. She makes my job easy."

Botterill's goal-scoring really began to heat up in mid-January, as the Crimson began a seven-game win streak. In the process, Botterill scored three goals in three consecutive games-an unprecedented hat trick of hat tricks. She was averaging at least two goals per game in ECAC play until February.

"I think [Botterill's performance] is a testament to that entire line," said Harvard Coach Katey Stone. "Adding her game to that line is making it quite dominant."

During the week of the Beanpot in mid-February, Botterill established herself as the heavy favorite for the Patty Kazmaier Award-the prize given to the most outstanding player in women's college ice hockey. Against Northeastern in the Beanpot championship game, Harvard trailed 3-1 going into third period. The Crimson was letting its third straight Beanpot slip away.

But then Botterill scored five minutes into the period on the power play to cut the deficit to one, and Suurkask netted the game-tying goal to send the game into overtime. That set the stage for Botterill once again, who turned a loose puck off the boards into a clean breakaway from half-ice for the game-winning goal.

Extraordinarily, it was the third year in a row that Botterill had scored an overtime game-winner to defeat Northeastern en route to the Beanpot championship.

"Botterill was in the right spot at the right time and she knows how to finish," Stone said. "That's just a great testament to her feel for the game."

In the weekend following the Beanpot title, Harvard, who had lost its most recent ECAC game to Princeton, was in desperate need of a victory against No. 1 Dartmouth, who had won their last four meetings versus the Crimson. Botterill came to play that day with the season possibly on the line.

With under three minutes left in regulation and the game tied at two, Botterill and Shewchuk passed the puck cleanly back and forth to split the Big Green defense. When Botterill crossed the blue line and found a clear look at the net, she fired the puck without hesitation over the left shoulder of Dartmouth goaltender Amy Ferguson for the game-winner.

Three weeks later, the three Patty Kazmaier finalists were announced. Botterill and Shewchuk became the first teammates in the awards history to earn the honor.

"Jen and I being nominated together is so fitting because we've done everything together the past three years," Shewchuk said.

During the weekend of the Frozen Four, Botterill was named the Kazmaier winner. It was a bittersweet awards dinner, as the Crimson had been eliminated by Minn.-Duluth in the NCAA semifinals the night before.

"The Kazmaier is a huge honor," said Botterill following the reception. "But

I'd trade it away any day for a team championship. That was our goal coming into Minnesota."

Botterill's story does have a happy ending, however. Immediately following the Frozen Four, she and Shewchuk played on the same line for the Canadian National Team at the Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. In the 3-2 gold-medal-game victory over the United States, Shewchuk scored the Canadian's second goal and Botterill netted the eventual game-winner.

"Tammy and I are both on cloud nine," Botterill said upon returning to Harvard. "We're definitely enjoying the moment. It's pretty special."

Botterill scored eight times in five games to lead all scorers in the championships, and she was named Most Outstanding Forward and Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

"Jen is very deserving of the [MVP] award," said Shewchuk, who tallied five goals and four assists herself. "Coming in first in the scoring race in a world tournament is something fantastic. She definitely led our team to victory last night. We needed that goal. When it comes down to it, that's what determines an MVP."

Next year, Botterill and Shewchuk will both be seeking Olympic Gold in Salt Lake City with the Canadian National Team. While that commitment will prevent Botterill from playing for the Crimson next season, she will be back along with U.S. National Team defenseman Angela Ruggiero for her final year of eligibility in 2002-03. The scary reality for the rest of college hockey is that Botterill could be even better when she returns.