Hockey gets well-needed rest before big opponents

The women's hockey players needed some time off—and the scheduling gods gave it to them. The team did not play this week and will not play again until Sat., Feb. 24 against the University of New Hampshire at the Whale.

The break will allow the squad to return to full strength; the team has suffered a lot of injuries and needs time to recover. The Elis earned their breakthrough solid play last weekend, when they gave highly ranked rivals Harvard and Brown all that they could handle. Despite strong performances by Nicolette Franck, SM '04, and Katie Hirte, SM '01, Yale fell to the Crimson 4-2 and the Bears 3-0. "We had great goaltending," forward Sarah Wood, SM '02, said. "We made some mental mistakes in the [defensive] zone, though, and with two Olympians on the same line, Harvard made us pay." Wood and Deanna McDevitt, JE '03, notched the squad's goals against the Crimson.

The team returns to action against New Hampshire next weekend. The Elis fell to the Wildcats 4-1 earlier this year but are confident that they can be victorious—thanks to VHS. "We get their game tapes from everybody, so we know them very well," Wood said. "And we have two weeks to prepare for them. New Hampshire has lost six games in a row, but its most recent defeat was a 10-1 shellacking at the hands of the U.S. National Team. The next day, the Elis will face Maine, a team that beat them 4-2 earlier this year. The Black Bears are only one spot above the Elis in the ECAC standings, and the matchup is Yale's final home game. "It's a winnable game if we come out and play as a team," Wood said.The team will miss the ECAC playoffs, but rest and preparation will give it the chance to finish the season with a "W." —Aaron Lichtig

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