Tue Feb 15th  Consolation game:  BC           4 - BP Alumnae   4
              Final:             Northeastern 6 - Harvard      2
 
Last night at Matthews Arena I saw an excellent Beanpot final with
the Huskies skating to victory over the Crimson.  Harvard played a
tough game, but in the end the superior skills of Northeastern proved
to be too much for them.  The consolation game between BC and the
Alumnae was better than I expected, but I would still prefer a fourth
team (like MIT).
 
Consolation game:  The Beanpot Alumnae scored first when Tina
Cardinale Beauchemin "Nor 89" (Margie Sanford Burke "Nor 89") put on
a burst of speed and went right up the gut to score.  The Eagles came
back when Karen Emma (Laura Traynham, Kate Antos) poked home a goal
mouth scramble.  BC went ahead 2-1 when Emma (Kathleen Garvin) drill-
ed in a wide-angle shot.  Beauchemin (Linda Lundrigan "Nor '95") tied
the match when she finished off a nice 1-2.  Wanda Collins "Nor 90"
(Beauchemin) put the Alumnae ahead when she tipped in a rebound
which came right after the ensuing face-off.  Lisa Tulimieri (Heidi
Anderson) tied the match at three when she touch in at the far post
after a good break in play.  BC took a 4-3 lead into halftime (2x25
minute periods) when Tulimieri (Liz Dawson) knocked in a rebound.  In
the second half, the Alumnae were able to earn a draw when Burke
(Jennifer Lynch "BC 88") roofed a shot on a power play.
 
All in all a pretty good match.  It was good to see some of the
former players again, though some of my favorites were not there.
Just for the record, here is who played for the Beanpot Alumnae:
Michelle Mesnick "BU 91" ; Kristen Chisholm "BC 90" ; Charlotte Hall
"Nor 91" ; Jennifer Lynch "BC 88" ; Lauren Norton "Har 91" ; Wanda
Collins "Nor 90" ; Linda Lundrigan "Nor 95" ; Tina Cardinale
Beauchemin "Nor 89" ; Margie Sanford Burke "Nor 89" ; Kerry Cronin
Brasington "Nor 87" ; Kelly O'Hearn (sp?) "Har ??".
 
Final:  Northeastern came out in the first period (3x18 minute
periods) quickly.  Shelley Looney scored an unassisted goal after she
intercepted a defensive clearing pass.  Looney's speed to get the
pass and then deke the goalie, before shooting under her pads was
fantastic!  Lovely goal!  In the second period, Harvard tied the game
on a power play goal when Stacy Kellogg (Holly Leitzes, Joey Alissi)
put home the perfect cross-ice weak side pass from Leitzes at the
point.  What a pass!  The Huskies went up 2-1 when Angela Scerra (Kim
Drews) went end to end, bursting past two defenders to score.  A
marvelous solo effort.  Northeastern went further ahead when Rayanne
Conway scored a shorthanded goal.  She made the nice intercept, went
oh-la-la on the deke, and tucked her shot in the net.  The Huskies
closed out the second period with a power play goal when Jeanine
Sobek rocketed her shot from the right face-off circle high to the
far post.  In the final period Harvard got close when AJ Mleczko
(Kellogg, Alissi) was left unmarked in the left slot.  Northeastern
came back and made it 5-2 when Kim Haman (Looney) gunned her high
shot past the glove of the Harvard goalie from just inside the blue
line.  I believe the movement of Looney froze the goaltender.  The
Huskies closed out the scoring when Haman (Looney, Sobek) scored a
power play goal.  The play was made on good puck movement: left point
- left slot - center thru traffic - shot - shot - in.
 
Harvard played a very strong game.  They always seem to be able to
play well against the Huskies.  The outstanding player for the Crimson
was defender Holly Leitzes.  Her good strong D along with her smart
playmaking skills and fast skating make her the general on the ice.
It is great to see Leitzes playing so well.  Joey Alissi's relentless
checking helped keep Harvard in the game.  Her efforts really carry
her line and the team.  Early on Erin Villiotte kept Harvard in the
game, making a number of key saves.  Diana Clark had a real good
skating game.  She played the match with a lot of heart and made a
number of excellent plays at both ends of the ice.  Christa Calagione
almost got her feet moving.  It is so agonizing to see a player come
so close to being something special, but not get there.  Allez
Christa!  Colleen Malek provided some good cover on D, but did not
play as well as I was expecting.  Overall, it was a good effort by
the Crimson.  I hope it gets them ready for the big weekend with
Brown and Providence.
 
Northeastern came out quick but then started to give Harvard too much
respect.  They were waiting instead of breaking.  I don't see why
they do not just turn on the jets and blitz Harvard.  The Crimson
seems to be their psyche-out team right now.  One thing the whole
Huskie team could work on is the soft touch pass.  Used to directly
touch ahead or off the boards, that pass is uniformly poor for NU at
the moment.  Shelley Looney was on form.  That is a real treat to
watch.  Looney's speed and moves are just so exciting!  To me she
was the outstanding player of the match.  Bree Cheatham had a good
game on D breaking up play after play.  She, Drews, Werner, and Wyman
provide a strong defensive shield.  Julie Otto also saw limited time
on defense and was again spot on.  Jeanine Sobek had an real good game
of anticipating the play.  I was so proud to see first-year forward
Angela Scerra start to break out with her wonderful solo goal.  With
the speed she has it is only a matter of time before she starts find-
ing the net all the time.  Danyel Howard and her third line (Dori
Hoagland, Marion Corcoran) had a good match.  NU using three lines
just about the whole game had the edge over Harvard who mainly went
with two lines.  Certainly the leadership and skating of Howard was
one of the factors that made it possible for the Huskies to win.  The
MVP for the Beanpot was Kim Haman.
 
Two events marred the evening.  First Harvard's Team Mleczko could
learn a few things about good sportsmanship.  AJ in particular was
disgusting.  She got several penalties and could have been tossed out
of the match.  Second, an administrator for the Women's Beanpot had
the nerve to thank Harvard and NU for bringing the Beanpot back to
Boston.  Considering the fact that last year's winner Brown was not
allowed in the tourney, what else could have happened?  Still, my
memories of the last night are filled with scenes of Looney flying,
Scerra's great solo effort, Leitzes commanding performance, and
Alissi motoring all over the ice.  Now that was a final!
 
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 good shooting
 rhun
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