Sports in brief

Grumet-Morris grabs Walter Brown Award

The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced this week that Harvard goalie Dov Grumet-Morris ’05 has been selected as the winner of the 53rd Walter Brown Award. Presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953, making it the nation’s oldest college hockey honor.

The senior has posted a goals-against average of 1.53 through 28 games to date, good for second in the nation. A career leader in nine categories at Harvard, Grumet-Morris is second nationally in shutouts with six on the season, and his .949 save percentage is currently the best in the country. He will receive the award at the New England Hockey Writers’ Dinner on April 13.

Streaking men’s, women’s hockey glide to ECACs, Big Dance

Harvard women’s hockey scraped by Yale in overtime, 2-1, in ECAC semifinal action this past Saturday (March 12) in Schenectady, N.Y. First-year Sarah Vaillancourt tallied her second goal of the contest in the 12th extra minute to break the 1-1 standstill. In the championship game the following afternoon, junior netminder Ali Boe collected a career-best 36 saves to help No. 5 Harvard to a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Dartmouth.

The win hands the Crimson (24-6-4 overall) its second-consecutive tournament title and the accompanying NCAA tournament bid. The women will next host Mercyhurst Saturday (March 19) at 4 p.m. in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The other quarterfinal match-ups include top-seeded host Minnesota vs. Providence; Wisconsin at Dartmouth; and host Minnesota-Duluth vs. St. Lawrence. The four advancing teams will square off in Durham, N.H., for the national championship on March 25.

Meanwhile, the men’s program swept visiting St. Lawrence in ECAC quarterfinal play, 2-0 and 3-2, on March 11 and 12, respectively, to advance to the semis. Harvard – which improved to 20-8-3 overall with the wins – will make its league-best fifth consecutive appearance in the ECAC semifinals on March 18. This year the Crimson will face off against Colgate in Albany, N.Y., at 7:30 p.m. The winner will vie for the conference championship the following evening. Visit http://www.gocrimson.com for the latest hockey results.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks