Women's hockey picks up three points on sojourn to Maine

After a nine-hour drive, it just would not be fair to leave without a win.

Far up the coast in Orono this weekend for two games against Maine, the Princeton women's hockey team salvaged a 3-1 victory Saturday after losing a third-period lead the night before in a 4-4 tie.

With the Eastern College Athletic Conference season winding down, the Tigers (14-6-3 overall, 9-3-0 ECAC-North) had, coming into last weekend's action, just six games left to make a last gasp at the Northern division title. The Black Bears (14-13-3, 6-9-2 ECAC-East) could not help Princeton's cause, however, since the two teams play in opposite divisions and are not considered conference opponents.

The Tigers gave a win away Friday after a furious rally put them in front in the final period. Freshman April Brown struck first for the orange and black, scoring unassisted at six minutes, 17 seconds of the first period.

Maine was offended. The Black Bears rattled off three unanswered goals against junior goalie Sarah Ahlquist in the first 3:31 of the second, including two in the first minute, leaving Princeton reeling and facing a 3-1 deficit. Sophomore forward Susan Hobson started the comeback just three minutes after the Maine ambush by capping off passes from sophomore forward Lisa Rasmussen and senior defender Aviva Grumet-Morris. Sophomore forward Gretchen Anderson and Hobson each scored in the next 10:31, putting Princeton back up 4-3 after a staggering six-goal second period.

Nursing that one-goal lead and enjoying a five-on-three power play, the Tigers were in good shape. Enter Maine forward Nicole Munro, who stole the puck at her own blue line and skated the length of the ice to beat Ahlquist and tie the game, all despite the two-player shortage.

"We practice the five-on-three a lot," Anderson, the team's leading scorer, said. "We just got caught trying to make silly passes, and they took advantage of a loose puck."

Both teams went scoreless the rest of regulation and overtime. Maine outshot Princeton 2-0 in the extra period and 30-18 overall. Ahlquist made 26 saves, moving her record this season to 5-3-3.

Saturday was a new chance for the Tigers to tune their skills in a game that, since it had no baring on the conference record, was meaningless except for the value of experience. Head coach Jeff Kampersal '92's effective game of goalie roulette continued as sophomore Megan Van Beusekom got the start in net.

This time, Maine jumped ahead when pesky Munro scored on a one-timer late in the first. And this time, it was Princeton that responded with three unanswered as Anderson, Rasmussen, and senior forward Jessica Fedderly all scored in the second to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

That lead would hold. Maine dominated the third period, firing 10 shots on Van Beusekom, but the three-time ECAC Goalie of the Week turned them all away. Van Beusekom made 27 saves in the win, improving her record to 9-3-0.

Grumet-Morris assisted on all three goals. Hobson and senior defender Melissa Deland also added one assist each.

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"We knew we should beat Maine," Anderson said. "We had a meeting the night before and we got all of our bus lag out the first night. We knew we had to go in and win."

Princeton has four regular season games remaining and next plays Vermont and Datrmouth at home this weekend.