ECAC Quarterfinal results:
(1) Brown 6, (8) Colby 2
(2) Providence 3, (7) Cornell 1
(4) Northeastern 6, (5) Dartmouth 2
(3) New Hampshire 6, (6) Princeton 5 (ot)

ECAC Semifinal schedule:
(1) Brown 1 vs. (4) Northeastern 2
(2) Providence 3 vs. (3) New Hampshire 4 (ot)

ECAC Championship schedule:
(3) New Hampshire 2 vs. (4) Northeastern 3

LEGISLATIVE PUSH: Recently, a higher education funding bill passed by the Minnesota House of Representatives had the requirement that any school with Division I hockey that is not in compliance with Title IX must add women's varsity hockey by 1998. This provision, however, is not included in the Minnesota Senate version of the bill. If the bill were to pass with the provision, St. Cloud State and Mankato State would need to add women's hockey as a varsity sport to their atheltic programs.

TEAM USA CLINCHES OLYMPIC BERTH: Nancy Drolet stretched behind United States goalie Erin Whitten to tip in a fluttering puck at 12:59 of overtime and give Canada its fourth straight gold medal in the Women's World Ice Hockey Championship, 4-3. The Canadians have beaten the Americans for all four titles, but this was the first in which they needed overtime. In a game that had as much back-and-forth and hitting as a ping-pong match, Drolet scored her third goal of the game at the end of one of Canada's innumerable rushes. Drolet opened the third by batting in a rebound over Whitten's shoulder for a 3-2 lead. Less than three minutes later, the score was tied again by U.S. forward Katie King. Whitten turned back 19 shots in regulation and eight in overtime, while Lesley Reddon had 24 saves. Finland defeated China 3-0 for the bronze medal, while Sweden earned the fifth and final berth for the 1998 Olympics by defeating Russia 3-1. Switzerland defeated Norway 1-0 in the seeding game. Canada, the United States, Finland, China and Sweden will join host country Japan in Nagano next winter at the first Olympic women's ice hockey games.

• Full story
• Tournament results
• Team USA roster
• Mleczko, Tueting take time from school to go for the gold

HEFNER IS TOP PLAYER: For a second straight year, Middlebury College senior forward Jennifer Hefner has been selected as the ECAC Women's Alliance player of the year by a vote of the 11 league coaches. Hefner, a native of West Hartford, Conn., finished the season with 15 goals and 22 assists and led the Panthers to their second consecutive ECAC Alliance Championship.

THE OTHER AWARD WINNERS: Rensselaer's Cindy Acropolis was named the ECAC Alliance rookie of the year. Acropolis completed her freshman year with 41 (24-17) points and led the league in scoring. The coach of the year honors were shared by Hamilton Kelly McElroy and Maine's Stacey Livingston.

ALL-STARS: Named to the ECAC Alliance All-Star team were forwards Jennifer Hefner and Sylvia Ryan of Middlebury; Williams' Dana Critchell and Rensselaer's Cindy Acropolis; defensemen Bridget LaNoir of Rensselaer and Middlebury's Catherine Pullins; Rochester Institute of Technology goalie Lisa Sturm.

NORTHEASTERN WINS ECAC TITLE: Freshman Hilary Witt scored twice, including the game winner at 12:42 of the second period as Northeastern held off New Hampshire, 3-2, for the ECAC women's hockey championship. It was the Huskies third title and their first since 1989. Witt was named the tournament's MVP. Northeastern had to beat Brown, who went 22-0 in the regular season, and defending champion UNH. Ironically, Northeastern school officials had threatened to drop the women's program a the conclusion of last season.

• Game summaries

SEEING PUCKS IN HER SLEEP: Providence College's Sara DeCosta made 42 saves in the 4-3 overtime loss to New Hampshire in the ECAC semifinal game. The Wildcats outshot the Lady Friars 46 to 29. DeCosta made 19 saves in the first period, eight in the second and seven in the third before coming up with another eight in the sudden death stanza. New Hampshire's Carissa Zaban broke the deadlock at 13:25 of theovertime. Zaban had set up throw goals in the second period. Melisa Heitzman also scored twice in the second period. Providence's Lurie Baker had two goals and one assist for the Friars.

ST. CLOUD STATE TO ADD WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: St. Cloud State athletics director Dr. Morris Kurtz has announced a plan to add women's ice hockey starting in the fall of 2001. SCSU is also adding women's nordic skiing and a junior varsity softball team. "With so many Minnesota high schools now offering interscholastic hockey and skiing programs, we see the addition of these two sports at SCSU as an excellent opportunity for these student-athletes to continue competing at a collegiate level," said associate athletics director Shawna Hutchins.

A WOMEN'S WCHA?: St. Cloud State will be asking the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and its membership to consider the formation of a women's ice hockey league. The issue is on the WCHA's agenda for its membership to consider during its spring meetings in April.

MOE IS COACH AT GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS: Scott Moe has been named the coach at Gustavus Adolphus College. Moe, a 1995 GAC graduate, served as the women's club team coach this past season. Gustavus will be sponsoring women's hockey as a varsity sport for the first time next year. Moe, a defenseman for the GAC men's team in the early 90's, played sparingly for the Gusties due to a chronic shoulder injury. When his playing career was cut short, he became an assistant coach for Don Roberts and worked with the squad for three years. Moe began helping the women's team midway through their initial season of competion in 1995-96 and took over as coach prior to the start of ‘96-97. Under his direction this winter, the team went 14-5, including the consolation title at the Midwest Collegiate Women's Hockey Alliance's postseason tournament in February. In addition to his hockey coaching duties, Moe will continue to coach the men' s golf team. A former three-time conference champion in golf for the Gusties, Moe directed GAC to the MIAC title this past fall. Gustavus is currently ranked ninth nationally heading into the spring season.

BROWN COMES UP BIG WITH AWARDS: Brown, who completed a perfect 22-0-0 regular season, nearly swept this year's ECAC awards. Brown Bear senior forward Katie King was selected the ECAC player of the year while her coach, Margaret Degidio Murphy, garnered the coach of the year award, and freshman defenseman Tara Mounsey was named the rookie of the year. Northeastern junior forward Kathyrn Waldo was chosen to receive the Sarah Devens Award for achievement with sportsmanship.

ALL STARS: Selected to the ECAC Division I all-star team were: Yale junior goalie Laurie Belliveau; defensemen - Dartmouth senior Amy Coelho, Brown freshman Tara Mounsey and New Hampshire senior Heather Reinke; forwards - Providence sophomore Laurie Baker , Brown senior Katie King and Colby junior Meaghan Sittler. Chosen to the second team were: Brown freshman goalie Alison Brewer; defensemen - Brown senior Becky Kellar and Princeton senior Vicki Urbas; forwards - New Hampshire junior Brandy Fisher, Brown senior Danielle Solari and New Hampshire sophomore Carisa Zaban.

HONORABLE MENTION: Goalies - Sara DeCosta, Providence; Alanna Hayes, Cornell; Shannon Meyers, Northeastern; defenseman - Christa Calagione, Harvard; Catherine Hanson, Providence; Katie Lachapelle, Providence; Jamie Totten, Northeastern; forwards - Stephaine Acres, Northeastern; Dana Antal, Cornell; Erin Magee, Boston College; Mandy Pfeiffer, Princeton; Tammy Shewchuk, Harvard; Alison Wheeler, Providence.

STILL THE LONGEST: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's quarterfinal game between Colorado College and Wisconsin, which CC won 1-0, went four overtimes and is the longest men's game ever played at 129:30. But it's not the longest college hockey game ever, that mark belongs to New Hampshire and Providence who played 145:35 on March 10, 1996 in the ECAC women's championship game at Towse Rink. New Hampshire's Brandy Fisher scored the game-winning goal in the fifth overtime to give the Wildcats a 3-2 win and the title.

ALL-IVY: The six ivy league coaches chose as first-team All-Ivy League: forwards Katie King, Brown; Dana Antal, Cornell; and Sarah Hood, Dartmouth; defensemen Tara Mounsey, Brown Amy Coelho, Dartmouth; and Vicki, Urbas, Princeton; and Yale goalie Laurie Belliveau. Chosen to the second team were Princeton Mandy Pfeiffer, Cornell's Morag McPherson and Brown's Danielle Solari as forwards; Harvard's Christa Calagione and Yale Courtney Granville to defense and Cornell goalie Alanna Hayes. The Ivy coaches picked King as player of the year and Mounsey as rookie of the year. Honorable mention All-Ivy were: Princeton's Karen Cherinsky, Brown's Jill Graat and Harvard's Tammy Shewchuk at forward; Brown's Becky Kellar at defense and Brown's Alison Brewer and Princeton's Tammy Orlow in goal.

MIDDLEBURY WINS ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: In the ECAC Alliance Championship game, Middlebury defended their title by shutting out Bowdoin 10-0. In the semifinals, Bowdoin defeated RIT (7-4) and Middlebury beat Maine (10-1).

ALLIANCE LEADERS: Middlebury's Jennifer Hefner won the Alliance scoring title with 47 (19-28) points while teammate Sylvia Ryan was the runner-up with 44 (25-19) points and Rennssealer's Cindy Acropolis was third with 41 (24-17) points. Middlebury goalie Kristin Hackmann finished with the top goals against average of 0.86 and a saves percentage of .922 in 12 games played. Backup Crystal Springer had an 9.88 average and .932 saves percentage in eight games while RIT's Lisa Sturm had a 1.74 goals against average and a .925 saves percentage in 12 games.