Women's Hockey: Homestand ends with Golden Eagles, Saints

The women’s hockey team will look to improve on its 3-5-0 (1-3-0 ECAC) record as two premier teams visit Hobey Baker Rink this weekend. No. 3 St. Lawrence (7-1-2, 4-0-0) and No. 6 Clarkson (4-5-3, 2-1-1) should pose challenges for a No. 11 Princeton team that will be looking to pick up lost ground in the ECAC standings.

The Tigers managed a split last weekend. After dropping their Friday night contest against No. 7 Boston University 2-0, Princeton rebounded for a 3-1 victory over Vermont. The Tigers recovered from an early deficit against Vermont, scoring three times in the second period. Freshman forward Danielle DiCesare led the way with a goal and assist, raising her season goal total to four. Two of DiCesare’s freshmen classmates, in forward Paula Romanchuk and forward Charissa Stadynk, also notched goals during the game.

Sophomore defenseman Sasha Sherry remains the team’s offensive leader. The sophomore has nine points to her name, with three goals and six assists. Romanchuk and DiCesare follow closely behind Sherry, ranking second and third on the team in points. The two rookies have combined to score 12 of Princeton’s 20 goals this season.  

A split this weekend will be a difficult task for a team with only one victory in the five games it has played against ranked teams.

Though the Tigers have scored three or more goals in five games this season, netting the puck will not be an easy task against St. Lawrence. The Saints have limited their opponents to two goals or fewer in their past seven games and have won six straight, including victories against No. 6 Dartmouth and No. 9 Harvard. St. Lawrence has won the last two meetings against Princeton.

St. Lawrence’s defense begins with netminder Brittony Chartier, who boasts a .937 save percentage and a 1,59 goals- against average.

Clarkson

The second game of the weekend against Clarkson should prove no less of a challenge. All five contests between the two teams in the previous season were ultimately decided by one goal, with Princeton coming out on top three instances out of five. Though Princeton is 10-2-1 all time against the Golden Knights and has yet to lose at Baker Rink, Clarkson has won the last two meetings. Despite their record, the Golden Knights have been on a hot streak recently as well, having triumphed over Harvard and tied Dartmouth 2-2 over the past weekend.

The Tigers will face the daunting task of putting points on the board against Clarkson’s sophomore goalie Lauren Dahm. Dahm is ranked among the top goalies in the nation, boasting a .945 save percentage. Opponents have averaged a mere 1.4 goals against Dahm.

“Winning is a positive. Getting in the habit of winning is a good thing,” head coach Jeff Kampersal ’92 said after last weekend’s split.

Given the seemingly impenetrable defenses they will be facing this weekend, the Tigers will have to turn their offensive game up a notch if two more wins are to appear in the results column.