Saturday afternoon at Bright Hockey Center the Junior Aeros of North York,
Ontario crunched the Harvard Crimson 0-5.  It was a scrappy kind of game that
did not feature much skating or interesting plays.  In the end, the Jr Aeros
had enough experience to take it to Harvard.
 
There was no scoring in the first period.  Execution was rough.  There was
some hustle, but very little passing.  In the second, Cherie Piper swooped in
on the Crimson goal from the right wing and slid the puck under the goalie.
Cheryl Murenko (Piper) made it 0-2 when she followed up another charge by
Piper.  Piper had cruised down the left wing this time and Murenko finished
from the right slot.  Courtney Doran knocked in a third Jr Aeros goal when the
Crimson defense did not clear the puck.  In the final stanza, Doran (Annie
Fahlenbock) was left all alone to tuck her shot between the goaltender's legs.
Murenko finished the scoring when she shot high into the netting.  The goal
developed off a present from the Harvard defense.
 
The Junior Aeros could be a much better team if their skating was better.  The
woman of the match for the Jr Aeros was Leslie Reiart.  She was easily their
best defender and provided excellent coverage with her strong skating.
Reiart's mobility let her join, or lead the attack and put her in a position
to act on her very fine reads.  Randi Hickox was the other defender that moved
extremely well.  She made a number of good breakup plays and could rush from
her blue line position.  Piper looked very good taking the puck to the net.
She has a style that's fun to watch.  Overall the visitors from North York
need to develop their mobility and then consider the finer points of passing.
 
Harvard seemed to be conducting a number of experiments.  Either those
concepts need time to settle, or we need to move on to another theory.  It was
a first exhibition match, but the skating looked dreadful.  The Harvard woman
of the match was goaltender Crystal Springer.  The transfer from Middlebury
has very fast feet and look very good in net.  Springer moves with the shooter
exceptionally well and gives them very little net to shoot at.  Her defenders
let her down on Saturday.  Christie MacKinnon played some tough defense and
looks ready to lead the blue liners.  She has the movement and the desire.
Melissa Milbert showed anticipation in meeting the incoming forwards.  First-
year Julie Rando was steady in her defense role.  She needs to get her skating
up to speed, but looks like she could be a very solid defender.  Another
first-year, Jamie Notman, saw limited action, but given time to settle might
be very strong on the blue line.  Claudia Asano was the other defender
yesterday.  She was easily Harvard's best skater.  It appears Asano is vastly
better as a forward where her speed and attacking ideas are decidedly needed.
The first line for the Crimson was Courtney Smith, Kate Schutt and Jen
Gerometta.  Smith is a transfer from UNH and was amazingly good on the point
during power plays.  She looks like a natural defender.  Schutt returns to the
team after taking time off.  Always a player with tons of hustle, Schutt
showed some good speed and made a few smart moves to the net.  In general the
first line had a touch of swiftness, but were not on the same page.  The line
of Kyle Walsh, first-year Tara Dunn and Elizabeth Ganzenmuller demonstrated
potential.  They were the line that moved the best together.  Walsh played
with energy.  After last season, I am inclined to think that her skill set
works best at a defender position.  Dunn had moments where she looked real
sharp.  There was one point where she was ragging the puck to kill off a
penalty that indicated we can expect much more from her in the near future.
Sally Maloney and first-years Kiirsten Suurkask and Angie Francisco formed
another line that had spells of nice play.  Suurkask has a nice pair of hands
and laid off several intelligent passes.  She is another player who needs to
develop her mobility if her attacking capacities are to be fully realized.
Kim MacKinnon and first-year Cory Waldinger were the other two forwards who
saw restricted amounts of ice time.  Overall Harvard has much development
ahead of them if they hope to challenge in the Ivy and ECAC leagues.
 
 
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 hungerf
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