Freshman Van Beusekom's 42 saves give women's hockey weekend split

A hockey game lasts for 60 minutes, and the team that plays the best for most of those minutes wins most of the games. The women's ice hockey team matched up with one of the nation's best teams Saturday at Baker Rink, and jumped out in front of No. 3 St. Lawrence, 2-0, with under five minutes remaining in the first period. But the Tigers could not hang on for most of the minutes.

But the Saints (11-3-3 overall, 8-1-2 Eastern College Athletic Conference) charged back, scoring three goals in the remaining 45 minutes and sending Princeton (8-8-2, 4-8-2) to a tough 3-2 loss. The Tigers have now dropped two games this month to top-10 teams, the other being a 4-3 defeat at the hands of New Hampshire Jan. 6. Princeton held two-goal leads in both matches.

All was not lost, however, for the Tigers this weekend. Besides the strong performance in defeat against St. Lawrence, Princeton rallied to beat Ivy League rival Cornell (6-9-1, 4-9-1) 3-1 Sunday at Baker Rink.

Perhaps the best sign for the Tigers this weekend was the strong play of freshman goaltender Megan Van Beusekom, who made 42 saves on the weekend including 24 against the Saints. Van Beusekom was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her efforts, becoming the third consecutive Princeton player to earn the honor. To date, she has posted a 2.47 goals against average, good for third in the conference.

Against the Big Red, Van Beusekom and her Cornell counterpart, Sanya Sandhal, both held the offenses in check during a scoreless first period. In the second stanza, the Big Red broke the tie with a short-handed goal by Jenel Bode nine minutes, nine seconds into the period. Princeton came back to tie the game just 44 seconds later on the same power play as junior defender Aviva Grumet-Morris found the back of the net after receiving a pass from junior captain and center Andrea Kilbourne.

Senior defender Laura Hays gave the Tigers a one-goal lead later in the second period. The blueliner notched the game-winning goal during a five-on-three power play.

Freshman forward Susan Hobson put the game away about three minutes into the third period, after Sandhal stopped freshman defender Angela Gooldy's slapshot from the blueline. Hobson swooped in for the rebound and the 3-1 lead.

Princeton's game was less complete against St. Lawrence. The Tigers got goals from sophomore forward Nikola Holmes and Kilbourne in the first period, when Holmes' shot found the top left corner of the net, 7:44 into the game. At 15:03 of the same period, Kilbourne beat Saints goalie Rachel Barrie off a pass from junior defender Wanda Mason, and the Tigers held a 2-0 lead against the third-ranked team in the country.

Then St. Lawrence went on the power play, scored three unanswered goals, and never looked back. The Tigers had chances to tie the score, including a six-on-four advantage, but could not convert. Both goalies — Van Beusekom for Princeton and Barrie for St. Lawerence — had 24 saves.

The Tigers have shown in games against the Saints and UNH that they can compete with the nation's best, but have yet to emerge with a victory. Their next chance to face a top team comes Feb. 4 in Hanover, N.H. against Dartmouth — a team the Tigers played well against both earlier this season and last year.

Princeton returns to action after a two-week break for exams Jan. 28 at Baker Rink against Wayne St., a non-conference foe.