Melting ice at Meehan Auditorium forced the women's hockey team to flee on a weekend when two home games were scheduled. Brown moved downtown to face No. 9 Dartmouth at the newly renovated Dunkin Donuts Center on Friday, and traveled to Cambridge, Mass., to take on No. 7 Harvard. Despite 83 total saves by Nicole Stock '09, Brown lost both games by identical 2-0 scores.
Head Coach Digit Murphy said compressors in Meehan failed sometime on Wednesday, causing a rise in the temperature of the brine used to chill the concrete surface. The same computer glitch that knocked out the compressors also silenced the alarm that monitors the ice temperature, causing the problem to go unnoticed for three hours on a warm day.
"It was like being on a warm spring afternoon on a pond and (worrying) you might fall through," Murphy said. "It was that wet out there."
Murphy said she expects Meehan will be usable in time for the team to practice today and will be functional for the rest of the season.
Athletic Director Michael Goldberger said the team would most likely play its Feb. 1 game with Harvard at Meehan instead of in Cambridge as scheduled.
Murphy was pleased that the Bears were able to hang tough against strong teams even after missing practice and having to move the games.
"I feel really happy that they played as well as they did in the face of a lot of adversity," she said. "Nicole Stock and the defensive corps are really doing a great job right now. I'm proud of them. I think it's just a matter of time before the offense starts to click and we get our feet under us."
On Friday, Dartmouth opened the scoring with a short-handed goal 15:56 into the first period. Sarah Parsons intercepted a pass, skated down the ice to face Stock one-on-one and fired a back-handed shot over the goalie's right leg and into the back of the net.
"I think it always takes a little bit out of a team when you let one in on your power play trying to score one of your own," Stock said. "But I think we took it well. You have to come back. It's just another goal."
The Big Green controlled the first two periods with a 31-13 advantage in shots, but Stock, who finished with 38 saves, prevented them from adding to their one-goal lead. The Bears rallied to take nine shots in the third period, but Dartmouth goalie Carli Clemis stonewalled the Bears, finishing with 22 saves to preserve the shutout.
Dartmouth added an insurance goal with 2:59 left when Jenna Cunningham skated around the back of the net and passed to Maggie Kennedy in the slot, who one-timed a shot past Stock.
In the Bears' second game of the weekend, Harvard struck on a power play 8:37 into the game to give Brown an early deficit once again. The Crimson kept the pressure on all game long, but Stock kept the Bears close by making 45 saves, tying her career high for the second time in three games.
Harvard goalie Christina Kessler earned her second shutout of the weekend with 14 saves, including two critical saves on dangerous second-period shots by Nicole Brown '10 and Hayley Moore '08.
The score remained 1-0 until Brown was whistled for a pair of penalties at 6:31 and 6:40 of the third period. Brown successfully killed Harvard's 5-on-3 power play, but the Crimson got their second goal 10 seconds after Brown returned to even strength. Anna McDonald's shot was headed wide, but it hit defender Erica Kromm '11 in the back and ricocheted into the net.
"It was definitely a heartbreaker," Stock said. "Our team was really pumped up. ... We were trying like hell to kill off the power play and then tie it up, but bounces happen and sometimes they don't go your way."
Playing well against two ranked teams gave the Bears confidence.
"I think we've improved as a team dramatically and we'll just continue improving," Stock said. "When we meet them again later in the season, we're going to put up a fight."
Brown has a very green defense consisting of only one sophomore and four freshmen, but Murphy said she was pleased with the job the group did against Dartmouth and Harvard.
"We've got a very young squad trying to adjust," she said. "Without a lot of practice this week, the kids did a great job. They were diving in front of the puck and playing with a lot of willingness and determination."
Stock also sees considerable growth in the unit.
"They're improving as a corps and learning a lot from the amount of playing time that they're getting," she said. "They've definitely stepped up. They don't act like freshmen as much anymore."
The Bears will host Robert Morris University on Friday and then travel across the city the following day to play Providence College in the 13th Annual Mayor's Cup.
