If Princeton women's hockey were a police force, then Baker Rink would be their prison. The Tigers' have locked up their visitors so far this season and have let them leave with nothing but bad memories. Princeton (5-2-1 overall, 2-0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) will put its 4-0 home record on the line this weekend in games with Maine and Northeastern.
Maine (3-5-0, 0-4-0 Hockey East) visits Saturday and brings an offense that has scored two goals in the past five games.
Scoring and execution are two key problems for the Black Bears. Junior Meagan Aarts leads the team in scoring with two goals and three assists. Eleven other Bears have between one and four points.
Senior Dawn Froats and junior Lara Smart have shared time in net this season. Froats is 2-1 with one shutout and a 2.00 goals against average. Smart is 1-4 with one shutout and a 2.20 GAA.
But no matter what the goalie's GAA, Maine cannot win without some scoring. Opponents are outscoring the Black Bears 14-5 in the second and third periods. Their power play has scored just once in 31 tries, and they have been shut out four times this season.
Northeastern (4-6-1, 1-2-1 Hockey East) stops over Sunday afternoon and may pose more of a threat to the tenth-ranked Tigers.
Senior Kim Greene leads the Huskies in scoring with eight goals and four assists. Senior Pamela Pachal has added six goals, senior Brooke White leads with nine assists, and senior Michelle Lorion has racked up three goals and six assists.
This Northeastern senior quartet (17 goals, 20 assists) has produced more offense than the entire Maine team (11 goals, 16 assists).
Junior Chanda Gunn has started 10 of the Huskies' games this year in goal, going 3-6-1 with a 1.89 GAA.
The key to this game may lie in Northeastern's tendency to start quickly. The Huskies are outscoring their opponents 20-10 in the first two periods, and both of Princeton's losses this season have come after giving up the first score.
The Tigers are nationally ranked and looking to work out the kinks in their game before the meat of the ECAC season starts in January. Like both of its weekend opponents, Princeton needs to boost its offense.
"We have a tremendous offense with some tremendous scorers," sophomore forward Becky Stewart said. "But we're trying to find the chemistry for a good offense.
"We need an extra kick offensively."
Princeton has 25 goals in its first eight games, but is struggling against its tougher foes. Stewart (two goals, seven assists) leads the team in scoring along with senior forward Andrea Kilbourne (3,6). Each has nine points on the season. Junior defender Angela Gooldy leads the team in goals with four.
Junior Megan Van Beusekom has started five games in net for Princeton, compiling a 2-2-1 record with two shutouts and 1.89 GAA.
Thirteen members of the Princeton squad have scored this year — a testament to the depth that will be key to staying among the national elite.
"Each night we don't have to look to just one person," Stewart said. "We have a lot of depth, which is great, but we want more consistency."
Consistency at home has not been a problem. The Tigers are outscoring challengers 17-1 in their undefeated run at Baker Rink.
You can already hear the sirens — slap the cuffs on Maine and Northeastern.
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