Follow us on Instagram
Try our daily mini crossword
Play our latest news quiz
Download our new app on iOS/Android!

Women's Ice Hockey Unbeaten Streak ends - but balanced scoring effort beats Brown

The women’s ice hockey team experienced a red-hot couple of months this season, managing to maintain their momentum through the challenging January period, but the team's run ended this weekend as the Tigers fell to Yale. No. 9 Princeton (11-5-2 ECAC, 15-7-3 overall) entered the weekend sitting at fourth place in the Eastern College Athletic Conference and riding an 11-game unbeaten streak, having just shut out Quinnipiac University (11-5-2, 18-7-5) 3-0. But their momentum was not enough to overcome Yale (8-9-1, 10-12-3) and stay ahead of Quinnipiac in the race for the final playoff spot. 

Yale played a tight, well-organized game, scoring the only goal of the first period from a Tiger turnover. Princeton finally responded in the second period: Junior forward Kiersten Falck took the first attempt, which was saved by the Yale goalkeeper, but senior forward Cassidy Tucker ensured Princeton got on the board by putting in the rebound, earning her ninth goal of the season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Going into the third period tied 1-1, Princeton’s freshman goalkeeper Steph Neatby, who is also a two-time ECAC Goalkeeper of the Month, managed to maintain a solid performance. Staying composed and solid when faced with a Yale breakaway, Neatby, who totaled 28 saves in the game, made a crucial save to deny the Bulldogs. With just 1:45 remaining, the game appeared to be heading to overtime, until a checking call gave Yale a power play and a chance to steal the game. With that opportunity, Bulldog forward Phoebe Stanz managed to squeeze one past Neatby inside the right post. With time running out, Princeton pulled its goalkeeper in a last-ditch attempt to take the game to overtime, but in the remaining seconds the Bulldogs blocked the Tigers’ attempt and a deflection to a Yale forward allowed the Bulldogs to seal the game with a 3-1 win over Princeton.

Facing Brown (3-15, 5-20) the following day in another crucial game, the Tigers could not afford to dwell on their loss. With six different scorers, the Tigers swept past the Bears 6-1 in order to maintain their No. 4 standing in the ECAC. However, this game was not just a display of Princeton’s strong forward line, but also an impressive defensive display by junior goalkeeper Alysia DaSilva, who saved 32 of the 33 shots from the Bears. The afternoon started well for the Tigers, with the familiar faces of sophomore forward Karlie Lund and freshman forward Carly Bullock both scoring in the first period. Lund is now the joint top goal-scorer in the ECAC, having netted 20 goals; Bullock is fifth with 15.

Forward Tucker got the third shot in the game from an assist by classmate and US Under 22 player, senior defenseman Kelsey Koelzer. However, the afternoon would be one to remember for freshman forward MacKenzie Ebel, who scored her first career goal and point as she tucked away the rebound from a shot by Lund to make it 4-0. Koelzer then was moved to the forward line and got her seventh goal of the season before Brown took advantage of a power play and ended the Tigers’ shut-out attempt. Princeton responded, and the quickness of the sophomore forward Keiko DeClerck was too much for the Bears’ defense, allowing the score to reach 6-1. 

“Getting the win against Brown was a great bounce back and it was made even better by the balanced scoring we got from everyone," said Kolzer, commenting on the win. "This was key to building momentum going into the final four games of the regular season, all of which are critical for our standing in the ECAC.”

ADVERTISEMENT