Women's hockey outlasts ECAC-power Dartmouth

In its first weekend back on North American ice, the women's hockey team knew that things would be different on this side of the Atlantic. There would be no more skate-over foes and easy wins. But there would be a lasting bond that the Tigers forged during their European tour.

Saturday against an Eastern College Athletic Conference cellar-dwelling Boston College team, the Tigers discovered the cost of their trip – some competitive rust on their collective skates – as they faltered to a 2-2 tie with the Eagles (2-9-1 overall, 0-9-1 ECAC).

But yesterday against conference-power Dartmouth, Princeton (6-6-4, 5-5-2) showed the real benefit of their Continental forays – a resilient bond that guided the Tigers to a 5-4 victory, and more importantly, gave them the confidence to drive them up the ECAC standings.

"I knew that we were capable of [this kind of win] all along," junior defender Annamarie Holmes said. "The whole season has been building up to winning a game like this."

After being surprised early by Princeton's 3-0 first-period lead, the Big Green (7-6-0, 6-3-0) kept finding ways to dissect the Tigers' defense and put the puck past freshman goalie Sarah Ahlquist, who finished the game with 27 saves.

"We were getting barraged by them," head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 said. "They have three really strong lines. They ended up wearing us down towards the end of the game."

Little pink bunny

Just 35 seconds into the decisive third period, Dartmouth forward Kim McCullough completed the Big Green's energized comeback with a stunning backhanded shot past Ahlquist while surrounded by a host of Princeton defenders to tie the game, 4-4.

Throughout the final stanza, both sides showed unabashed intensity but struggled to convert the few openings they did find. With five minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the game, however, the Tigers finally found the last chink they needed in the Dartmouth defense.

Positioned on the point, the ubiquitous Holmes, who would finish with five points on the weekend, spotted an alley to the goal and sent a slapshot toward Big Green goalie Meaghan Cahill. A perfectly positioned sophomore forward Melissa Deland deflected the puck past Cahill to give the Tigers the game-winner – and the confidence of a strong victory heading into the exam break.

Saturday, the Tigers were looking to regain their form after the month-long layoff with a victory over the Eagles, who were 0-9-0 in league play heading into the game.

While both Holmes sisters, Annamarie and freshman forward Nikola, notched goals in the first period, the Eagles took advantage of a quick one-timer and a poorly timed Princeton line change to keep the game tied.