For 12 straight weeks now, the Harvard women's hockey team has been ranked the No. 1 team in the country, but what happens in the next fortnight may just define the Crimson as one of the greatest college hockey teams of all time. Harvard finished the regular season with a record of 28-1, and captured its first Ivy League title since 1989. Moreover, the Crimson is primed to score the program's first ECAC Tournament title, and will be the favorite to capture the second annual women's national championship in Minneapolis on March 26-27.

Last week the Crimson took their first step toward the ECAC crown by beating Cornell 3-2. Cornell's Danielle Bilodeau (left) falls while attempting to intercept a pass from senior A.J. Mleczko (#11) to sophomore Tammy Shewchuk (#25).

Harvard earned an automatic bid to the American Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) National Championship by virtue of being the ECAC regular season champion. Winning the National Championship has been a goal of this team since Day One, and head coach Katey Stone realizes that her squad has a good chance of coming away with yet another title.

"We feel very confident right now," said Stone. "We are looking forward to playing the best teams in the next couple of weeks. With the return (from the World Championships in Finland) of Jennifer Botterill ['02] and Angela Ruggiero ['02] we feel that we will be peaking at just the right time to secure the ECAC's and the National Championship."

Taking the Ivy

The Crimson finished up the regular season with a pair of Ivy League matchups on the road. With a 5-4 overtime victory over Princeton on March 2, Harvard captured the program's fourth Ivy League title, its first in 10 years. It didn't come easy, as the Tigers staged a tough, determined fight, but freshman defenseman Ruggiero's short-handed goal in overtime gave Harvard the victory.

The following day, the Crimson had little trouble handing Yale a 9- 3 defeat, but it was the four-goal and three-assist effort of senior co- captain A.J. Mleczko that made this regular season finale extra special. Mleczko finished the regular season with 31 goals and 71 assists for 102 points, but more importantly, she became Harvard's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Scott Fusco '86, who finished his career with 240 points in 123 games. Mleczko broke Fusco's record in just her 101st game, and now has 247 points on 123 goals and 124 assists.

"A.J. has been a large part of why we have been so successful this season," said Stone. "The experience and leadership that she has added to this team has been invaluable."

Beating the Big Red

For the second time in as many years, the Crimson qualified for the ECAC playoffs, but this year, they were in a -- for them -- unique position: as the top seed in the eight-team field. With losses in eight previous ECAC postseason appearances, Harvard was looking to change its luck against Cornell in the ECAC Quarterfinals. Despite two convincing victories over the Big Red during the regular season, Harvard felt the absence of two of its top players, and it was a challenge to secure the final 3-2 victory.

Mleczko kicked things off by scoring her 32nd of the year just 15 seconds into the game to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead. Barely five minutes later, sophomore Tammy Shewchuk tallied her 45th of the year on the power play to give Harvard a comfortable lead. Midway through the second Shewchuk intercepted an errant clearing pass from Cornell goalie Allana Hayes and skated in to score a short- handed tally to give Harvard a 3-0 lead.

Cornell came back and outshot the Crimson in the final two periods and scored two goals in the final five minutes of the third to make it a game.

Junior netminder Crystal Springer made her third start in goal since returning from a broken collarbone injury that kept her out of action for six weeks.

Honors Pile Up

In the semifinals of the ECACs, the Crimson will have to face Dartmouth, a team that has given Harvard two tough games. The Crimson topped the Big Green 4-2 in Hanover in December, then secured a 4-3 overtime victory in February.

A number of individuals have received deserved recognition for their outstanding play. Mleczko was named the Ivy League and ECAC Player of the Year, and was a unanimous selection to the First Team All-Ivy League women's hockey team.

Botterill joined Mleczko as a member of the First Team All-Ivy League, but she was also dually recognized as both the Ivy League and ECAC Rookie of the Year.

The Crimson were a powerful presence on the Ivy League First Team, as Shewchuk and Ruggiero joined Mleczko and Botterill.