Sports in brief

Crimson skaters score gold, bronze in Torino

On the heels of Team Canada’s 4-1 win against Sweden this past Monday (Feb. 20) in Torino, former Harvard skater Jennifer Botterill ’02-03 and Crimson forward Sarah Vaillancourt ’08 took to the podium to collect gold medals. Making her third Olympic appearance (while earning her second straight gold-medal championship), Botterill tallied two assists on the day, with Vaillancourt collecting an assist in her Olympic debut.

Meanwhile, Team USA – featuring past and present Harvard skaters Caitlin Cahow ’07-08, Julie Chu ’06-07, Jamie Hagerman ’03, and Angela Ruggiero ’04 – bounced back from a tough loss to the Swedes on Feb. 17 with a 4-0 shutout of Finland on Presidents Day to take the bronze. Team USA, along with Chu and Ruggiero, won silver at the Salt Lake City games four years ago.

Men clip Big Red to clinch Ivy hockey crown

A visiting Harvard men’s hockey team tallied a pair of third-period goals to edge sixth-ranked Cornell by a score of 4-3 this past Saturday (Feb. 18). The victory – Harvard’s first at Lynah Rink in seven seasons – closes out the Crimson’s Ivy League season by securing the team an Ivy League championship, Harvard’s first since 2000 and 21st in program history.

Four Crimson players notched goals on the evening, including senior captain Peter Hafner, who scored the eventual game-winner shortly upon returning to the ice after sustaining a nasty cut to his forehead. Between the pipes, senior John Daigneau denied 30 shots, including a barrage of attempts in the closing minutes.

With the win, the Crimson (15-10-2, 11-8-1 ECACHL) finish 7-3-0 in Ancient Eight competition, clipping both the Big Red and Dartmouth, who both closed out the season 6-3-1. The Crimson, who gain two points in the ECAC Hockey League race as a result of the victory, host St. Lawrence and Clarkson this weekend to wrap up the regular season.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks