Harvard iced by Wisconsin

New Hampshire falls short of final

Wisconsin captain Emily Morris (center) celebrates with teammates after knocking off top-ranked Harvard. (Jack rendulich/Associated Press)

DULUTH, Minn. - A Massachusetts native figured in the last four goals in yesterday's Women's Frozen Four opener. Unfortunately for top-ranked Harvard, not one was for the Crimson.

Junior Erika Lawler from Fitchburg and sophomore Meghan Duggan of Danvers each had 2 points in Wisconsin's 4-1 NCAA semifinal win. Harvard (32-2) led, 1-0, after the first intermission, but Lawler's goal 18 seconds into the second period gave the momentum to the two-time defending NCAA champion Badgers (29-8-3). She scored unassisted after wrapping around the net and beating Crimson sophomore Christina Kessler (24 saves) on a backhander.

"Whenever you get out there first, you want to get everyone fired up and back into the game," said Lawler, whose team will face Minnesota-Duluth (33-4-1) in the final. "We've been in this down situation before, and we knew what we had to do."

Jasmine Giles scored on a feed from Tia Hanson, also assisted by Duggan, for the 2-1 lead just over two minutes later. Then, at 6:56, Lawler fed team-leading scorer Jinnelle Zaugg for a one-timer, good for a 3-1 lead. Both goals came on delayed penalties.

"They came out on their toes in the second period with a lot to prove," said Harvard coach Katey Stone. "We backed up a little bit, and that's not the kind of team we are."

A power play to start the third period gave Harvard an opportunity to get back into the game, but the Badgers killed it. Duggan set up Zaugg for the final goal at 3:15 of the third period.

Wisconsin relied heavily on in-state talent such as Zaugg and goalie Jessie Vetter, who stopped 33 shots. Following Zaugg, Wisconsin's next three leading scorers are New England imports - Duggan, Lawler, and freshman Hilary Knight of Hanover, N.H.

Lawler, the Badgers' first-line center, brings the kind of speed that can change a game in an instant. At 5 feet, she contrasts sharply with Zaugg, a powerful 6-1 player.

"[Lawler] is a great player, she brings a lot of energy, and it looks like she goes 100 miles per hour," Zaugg said. "She just ducks her shoulder and gets around people."

Before Lawler's goal, Harvard forward Jenny Brine directed in a shot from the point by defenseman Kati Vaughn for a 1-0 lead at 4:42 of the first period.

Sarah Vaillancourt, a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist, had a shorthanded breakaway in the first period, but Vetter made the stop.

"After the first period, we were up a goal and got a little complacent," said Harvard captain Caitlin Cahow.

Despite being the No. 1 team in the polls since January, Harvard was the only semifinalist without a win over any of the other participants. The Crimson lost, 4-1, in their toughest regular-season game, against UNH. This was the first time this decade Harvard had not played a WCHA opponent. Stone did not believe strength of schedule was a factor.

"We love playing Western teams during the regular season if at all possible, but we had healthy competition with our conference teams," she said.

This is the second straight season Wisconsin has knocked Harvard out of the NCAA Tournament.

Despite the defeat, this remains one of the most successful Harvard seasons in school history. The Crimson's record was surpassed only by the 1999 team that went 33-1 and won the national title. Cahow and Vaillancourt both took home first-team All-America honors, while Kessler made the second team.

In the second game, Laura Fridfinnson scored her second goal of the game midway through the third period, Kim Martin stopped 41 shots, and Minnesota-Duluth beat New Hampshire, 3-2.

Sara O'Toole also scored for the second-ranked Bulldogs.

New Hampshire (33-4-1), which outshot UMD, 43-15, had a two-player advantage for 55 seconds late in the third period, but could not get the puck past Martin.

Jenn Wakefield gave the third-ranked Wildcats a 1-0 lead early in the first period, but O'Toole and Fridfinnson scored for UMD before the period was over.