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Women's hockey lacks offensive power; loses weekend games

The women's hockey team entered its two-game road trip last weekend with revenge on its mind.All Princeton ended up with, however, was a pair of losses that dropped the Tigers precariously close to the playoff fringe.

After having been embarrassed in their first encounters with both Brown and Providence, the Tigers (9-10-1 overall, 6-8 Eastern College Athletic Conference, 3-5 Ivy League) hoped to have more success in Saturday and Sunday's rematches following a solid 4-0 victory over Bowdoin.

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Although senior goaltender Tammy Orlow was sensational, Princeton once again lacked the firepower necessary to defeat its Rhode Island rivals, falling to Brown, 3-0, and Providence, 6-4.

No light

In the weekend's initial contest, the Tigers were shut out by perennial-powerhouse Brown (12-5-3, 9-3-2, 5-2) for the second consecutive time. Although Princeton was strong defensively, the Bears' constant offensive pressure was more than enough to earn them a victory and offset Orlow's magnificent 43-save effort.

Against Providence (7-16-0, 7-7-0) the following afternoon, Princeton's opportunistic attack netted four goals on just 18 shots. After holding the Friars at bay for the first two periods, however, the Tigers began to unravel in the third.

Freshman defender Annamarie Holmes scored an unassisted goal in the stanza's second minute to put Princeton ahead 3-2, but Providence soon took complete control of the contest as Corinne Hanson scored two unanswered goals and in the end the tired Tiger defense was powerless to stop the Friars.

The big picture

The 6-4 loss to Providence dropped Princeton into seventh place in the ECAC, two points behind the Friars. Although the Tigers are safely ahead of ninth-place St. Lawrence (the top eight teams qualify for postseason play), if the current trend continues, they would likely have to play either Northeastern, Dart-mouth or New Hampshire early in the playoffs – not a pleasant proposition.

Despite last weekend's defeats, Princeton can once again be confident in its defense and goaltending, as Orlow's fantastic performances nearly enabled the Tigers to overcome their offensive inefficiency.

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"We actually played pretty well defensively," head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 said of Saturday's performance. "Tammy played great the whole weekend."

Gearing up

For Princeton the upcoming weeks represent a challenge, as it attempts to regain the early-season form that resulted in an upset victory over Cornell.

"We're trying to find the right matchups and lines," Kampersal said.

Some of the Tigers' offensive woes are a direct result of the ineffectiveness of their power play. Junior forward Ali Coughlin's goal in the waning minutes against Providence was the Tigers' only tally in eight power-play opportunities. The Tigers have scored just three times in their last 25 power-play opportunities.

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