Sat 02/25   ECAC Quarterfinals
            #1 Brown         1  - #8 St. Lawrence  2    2:00 pm
            #2 UNH           6  - #7 Harvard       1    7:30 pm  (@Rochester)
            #3 Princeton     5  - #6 Dartmouth     3    7:30 pm
            #4 Providence    4  - #5 Northeastern  3    7:30 pm
 
Sat 03/04   ECAC Semifinals at Brown
            #2 UNH           5  - #8 St. Lawrence  1   12:00 pm
            #3 Princeton     2  - #4 Providence    3 OT 3:00 pm
 
Sun 03/05   ECAC Final at Brown
            #2 UNH           1  - #4 Providence    2 OT 2:00 pm
 
 
Dark clouds hung over Meehan Auditorium Sunday afternoon and a certain
gloom was in the air.  The ECAC Women's final was eventually won by
Providence College, 1-2 in overtime, over UNH.  Both sides looked tired
from Saturday's semifinals.  The game was certainly not a good show for
ice hockey.
 
There was no scoring in the first period, as fatigue and team defense
dominated.  In the second, UNH put on some pressure.  Brandy Fisher
(Tricia Dunn, Wendy Tatarouns) converted on the Wildcat's corner roll
play.  Fisher shot high near post for a 1-0 lead.  In the final period,
Melissa Mills (Alana Blahoski, Amy Carlson) tied the match on a wonderful
shorthanded end to end solo rush.  Mills broke through the entire UNH
team before finishing high into the back of the net.  In overtime, both
teams put on some pressure, but the game winner came when Alison Wheeler
took a break out feed up the gut.  She controlled the puck at center ice
and blew past the Wildcat defense.  Wheeler went in on goal, stayed on
her forehand, and drilled her shot home.
 
UNH put on some pressure throughout the game, but were lethargic.  Regina
Renner was there best forward on the ice with her tenacious play.  Her
linemate Jennifer Turner also made some nice plays.  Brandy Fisher was
the other Wildcat striker that looked dangerous with her darting moves.
In goal, Dina Solimini played extremely well.  She held her team together
throughout the match.
 
It was fitting somehow that Alison Wheeler won the Championship for PC,
because the Friars did not play Wheeler on the first line or power play.
That was stupid.  You have to get your best setup artist on the ice with
the snipers.  Stephanie O'Sullivan could have won the game many times, if
she had passed the puck!  Blahoski showed her usual speed and did tons of
skating for the team, but lacked the finisher's edge.  Karen McCabe,
Catherine Hanson and Mills all played very tough defense, despite the
team only using three defenders.  In fact, the woman of the match had to
be Melissa Mills.  Her stunning solo goal, numerous rushes with UNH
players hanging onto her, and steady defense powered her team to
victory.  Mills was the one ray of light in a dull affair.
 
The Tournament MVP:  Alison Wheeler (PC)
 
The All-Tournament Team:
Dina Solimini (UNH) - Melissa Mills (PC) - Alana Blahoski (PC) - Brandy
Fisher (UNH) - Alison Wheeler (PC) - Kathy Issel (Princeton)
 
Overall, the Championship reflected the 94-95 season in that the game was
not as interesting as it should have been because of the lack of
attacking ideas from the coaches.  In past years more coaches have had
coordinated offenses that worked to make a better total team and a much
more exciting game to watch.  Today's match and many this season have not
had a sense of direction.  That is very sad considering the skills of
many of today's players.
 
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 good shooting
 rhun-hungerf
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