Barely two minutes into the game, the Saints' Chera Marshall and Shannon Smith rushed down through the offensive zone. Marshall sent a pass from the right side, but no one was home to take the pass.

And at 6:25, Jessica Wilson and Sara Simard made a move to strike early in a 2-on-1 rush. Wilson started to go for a pass to Simard but changed her mind and went for a wrist shot that went high.

Desperation started to set in for the Saints towards the end of the first stanza, but they still could not put one over the line. At 14:41, Suzanne Fiacco nabbed a rebound from a shot into Ruddock's pads right off the face-off, but was unable to bury the puck.

St. Lawrence's inability to implement its own system throughout the game was only too clear in the second period. Not only were the Saints' shots sloppy and impatient, but they allowed their penalty kill unit to break down and allow the Crimson to notch another tally on the man-advantage.

Harvard maintained the edge in play for most of the third period, as Botterill abused the Saints' defensemen and flew in close for a shot at 5:09. Despite the pressure, Barrie was able to recover and make the save.

Clearly, St. Lawrence's spotless league record was not entirely out of luck. Its scrappiness and determination, coupled with less defensive pressure from the Crimson, showed that the Saints' conference record is not a fluke--it allowed the Saints to erase Ruddock's shutout in the final stanza.

Wilson took a long shot from outside the circle, causing Ruddock to flop around and make the save. The puck dallied on the goal line, but Ruddock was able to nudge it out of the crease with her glove. However, Fiacco was lurking at the crease, and one-timed the rebound to bring the Saints within one.