Wednesday night at Bright Hockey Center turned out to be a triple-
header.  The match was not just an Ivy League/ECAC game, but also the
first round of the 15th annual Women's Beanpot.  The Brown Bears proved
to be a strong skating club, and according to one of the Brown fans
they have beaten all of the Big Three (Providence, UNH, Northeastern)
this season.  Harvard put up a tough defensive shell, but in the end
Brown's talent came through.
 
There was no scoring in the first two periods.  Brown had periods of
extended pressure.  The line of Molly Driscoll, Kathy Hopkins, and
Katie Donovan created many scoring chances.  For Harvard, while the
defenders hung tough, Sara Simmons, Diana Clark, and Jo-anne Alissi
managed to mount break-out attacks on the Brown net.  In the last
half of the third period Shannon Bryant (Andrea Boudreau, Chie Chie
Sakuma) opened the scoring for Brown.  The goal was a nice back-
hander off a rebound in front of the net.  Two minutes later,
Harvard's Alissi intercepted a sloppy pass right in front of the
Dartmouth goal and drilled it home.  13 seconds later, Brown won
the match when Byrant (Boudreau, Stacey Nokonechny) banged home the
puck after a brisk Bear barrage on Harvard's goalie Erin Villiotte.
 
Brown is a very good team, but last night they didn't have the
passing ability, and overall dynamic game of Providence.  They seemed
tired.  Still, they have a large group of skillful players.  Driscoll
played a strong game, and I though she was going to score or set up
someone else at many points.  Joy Woog skated well and almost roofed
a great chance she created for herself in the third period.
Nokonechny is a first-year forward who is leading the team in scoring.
She can really let the puck fly.  She most impressed me by her
extremely quick skating which she used to break up a couple of Harvard
chances with her good back-checking.  Bryant, besides scoring the
goals, played a good solid game at defense.  She was always looking
to go forward.  Boudreau was also very impressive with her strong
offensive thrusts.
 
Harvard played up to their opponent.  Co-Captain Joey Alissi played
another stellar game.  She has been playing it very smart.  In her
defensive zone she helps break up plays, and has the ability to
take the puck and break it out.  Her rushes are helping her team-
mates try to formulate an offense.  Her goal was very smart, as she
anticipated the play well to intercept the pass.  Holly Leitzes is
becoming a real good player.  One of the things I like about watching
college hockey, is seeing a kid finding her edges in the league.
Leitzes is doing that and is on the fringe of becoming something
special for Harvard.  Last night she played a good defensive game,
reading the plays and countering well.  She also continue her break-
out rushes, which are getting close to what one loves to see.  Sara
Simmons is starting to use her speed.  A couple of times in the Brown
game she swooped around and took the puck out of her own end and into
the Bear zone on a rush.  We aren't getting goals yet, but we are
getting close.  On the down side, the coach again did not play all of
his defenders.  The result was third tired kids, which were less
effective than they could have been.  On the whole, the Harvard team
played well.
 
This year's Women's Beanpot final will be at Boston College, next
Tuesday, and will feature Brown vs. Northeastern.  Northeastern
defeated host BC on Tuesday 1-10.  While geographically having Brown
in the tournament is pushing it, it is a good idea, as the hockey in
the final should be great.  Northeastern has been a strong team, and
Brown, along with Dartmouth, are trying to push the Big Three into
a Big Five, so the result should be interesting.
 
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 good shooting
 rhun
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