Women’s hockey faces Quinnipiac in home-and-home series

This coming weekend, the women’s hockey team (5–2–3, 4–0–2 ECAC) will play Quinnipiac (4–8–3, 3–2–1) in its annual home-and-home series. On Friday, the No. 10-ranked Tigers will host the Bobcats at 6 p.m., and then the teams will travel to Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn., to play on Saturday at 3 p.m. At stake for Princeton is its eight-game unbeaten streak and its position atop the ECAC hockey standings.

The Tigers have been excellent on both ends of the ice so far this year, ranking in the top 10 nationally with an average goal differential of 1.50. Offensively, Princeton has scored from all over the ice. Eleven different players have tallied one goal so far, and from all of its lines — something that makes it much harder for opponents to defend just one line. Junior forward Carly Bullock has led the Tigers offensively with nine goals and seven assists, including a four-goal performance against Brown. Princeton has also had scoring from its offensive-minded defenders, including senior Stephanie Sucharda, junior Claire Thompson, and first-year Mariah Keopple. Thompson leads the trio with three goals and six assists so far. Lastly, the Tigers have done very well taking advantage of their power play opportunities, converting at a 21.3 percent rate, which puts them among the top 10 nationally.

Defensively, Princeton has been anchored in goal by sophomore Rachel McQuigge, who was named the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week after the Tigers’ last two games against Cornell and Colgate, which included her first career shutout against Colgate and an overtime tie against Cornell. She has made 115 saves for a 96 percent save percentage in conference, allowing only 1.20 goals per game on average. Princeton penalty killing is also top 10 in the country at 89.6 percent. Additionally, the Tigers have scored twice as many goals on the power play than they have allowed opponents, scoring 10 and only allowing five.

Looking at Quinnipiac, one player in particular to keep an eye on will be senior Melissa Samoskevich, who was recently selected to the USA Hockey Winter Training Camp roster. Samoskevich also played in the Four Nations Cup earlier this fall for the U.S. Women’s National Team — during which the United States defeated Canada in the championship — in which Princeton was represented by first-year Sarah Fillier, a member of Team Canada. Quinnipiac played in the Nutmeg Classic over Thanksgiving, where it lost to No. 9 Providence 2–1 and beat UConn 3–2. Against the Friars, face-offs were fairly competitive with the Bobcats winning 52 percent, an area that Princeton can look to take advantage of by controlling possession as it has to date this season.

Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ in the United States. Internationally, the game is available through links on the GoPrincetonTigers website. Lastly, live updates and stats are available through the website or through the team’s Twitter page @PWIH.