Icewomen Fall to Tigers, Crush RIT And Finish Third at Princeton Tourney

With one opponent in the powerhouse category and another in the bozo division, Harvard's icewomen knew they were headed for a second- or third-place finish at the four-team Princeton Tournament, played December 18-19.

The Crimson settled for third after a 3-1 loss to the Tigers in the opening round and a 9-1 rout of the Rochester Institute of Technology in the consolation game. The split left Harvard with a 5-3 overall record.

All year, the fast-skating Crimson's most persistent problem has been weak and inaccurate shooting, and it kept the icewomen from rallying in the first game against Princeton. Harvard managed only nine shots on goal, a season low, while the Tigers tested Crimson goalie Cheryl Tate 22 times.

Scatter Shot

Spraying the puck high and wide of the Princeton net, the icewomen failed to put one past Princeton goalie Becky Potter until Firkins Reed scored midway through the third period. Reed's goal cut Princeton's lead to 2-1, but a late-period Tiger tally iced the contest.

RIT, which had suffered a 9-1 thrashing at the hands of Providence's Lady Friars, met an identical fate against Harvard in the consolation game. Right wing Liz Ward's wrist shot beat RIT goalie Lorri Tuohey just seven seconds into the game, and the Crimson giggled all the way home.

Co-captain Reed scored her second goal of the tourney at 5:16, Sue Yunick deflected a linemate's shot past Tuohey 21 seconds later, winger Jennifer White's shot hit the twines at 10:36, Reed scored again at 15:31, and the Crimson had run up a 5-0 count by period's end. Ward, Carroll and White added to the lead in the second stanza.

Harvard led 8-0 after 40 minutes of play, and coach John Dooley, with humanitarian intentions, agreed to shorten the third period by five minutes. The teams traded goals in the abbreviated stanza.

In the championship game, Providence took the title, defeating Princeton, 7-2. The tourney wasn't really a major test for the Lady Friars, who recently grabbed the number-one ranking in the East after snapping New Hampshire's 74-game unbeaten streak.