W. hockey drops Brown in OT, loses to league-leader Harvard

The middle of the pack and the best in the country were first on the agenda as women's hockey began the bulk of its Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule this weekend at Baker Rink. Fledgling Brown (7-7-3 overall, 3-3-0 ECAC) and top-ranked Harvard (14-1-0, 7-0-0) stopped off in Princeton, and the eighth-ranked Tigers (11-5-2, 4-2-0) came away with a draw — a 2-1 win over the Bears and a 5-2 loss to the Crimson.

Brown took the ice Friday night with an upset in mind, but a good showing from junior goalie Megan Van Beusekom and a late goal from junior forward Gretchen Anderson helped the Tigers prevail, 2-1.

Princeton struck first when it capitalized on the first power play opportunity of the game. Pressuring in the Bears' zone, Anderson took a shot from the right side that caromed off Brown goalie Pam Dreyer and found the blade of senior forward Andrea Kilbourne's stick, who slid into the crease and punched it home for a 1-0 Tiger lead at 15 minutes, 22 seconds of the first. Senior forward Nikola Holmes also received an assist on the play.

But Princeton would not be able to celebrate for long. The Bears struck back three minutes later when Cassie Turner scored on a Brown power play, catching Van Beusekom in a moment of confusion and slapping the puck home to even the score. Kim Insalaco and ECAC Player of the Week Jessica Link were credited with assists on the play.

The second period came and went without incident and after another fifteen minutes of the third the teams were still tied at one, and the tension was mounting.

Van Beusekom stopped several quality Bears' scoring chances before her teammates finally rewarded her. At 16:21 of the final period, Kilbourne and Anderson changed roles. Within thirty seconds of roughing penalties to Princeton junior defense Angela Gooldy and Brown's Myria Heinhuis, the scoring tandem found themselves on a two-on-one, and Kilbourne threaded a pass to Anderson who beat Dreyer in close from the left side.

Van Beusekom made a game-high 31 saves, including 16 in the third period, and the Tigers killed a late penalty to preserve the victory. Dreyer made 24 saves in the loss.

But when the greatest show in women's hockey came to visit the next night, the puck did not bounce Princeton's way. Harvard built a 4-0 lead behind ECAC Rookie of the Week Julie Chu, a Crimson forward, and the Tigers' third-period comeback was not enough as the Crimson cruised to a 5-2 win.

Kalen Ingram made it 1-0 Harvard after sliding a cross-crease pass from Nicole Corriero by Van Beusekom at 18:06 of the first.

Midway through the second, Chu extended the lead to 2-0 after a Princeton turnover, and Angela Ruggiero made it 3-0 when she sprinted out of the penalty box, picked up a pass from Corriero and beat Van Beusekom one-on-one.

Proof that this was not Princeton's night came when Chu took a slapshot early in the third. The shot hit the pipe, then hit Van Beusekom's skate and crossed the goal line for a 4-0 Crimson lead.

"There's no question that Harvard is good," Kampersal said. "They have so many players who can skate, pass, and shoot."

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Senior defender Annamarie Holmes finally ended the drought for the Tigers with a power play shot that ricocheted off a Harvard defender and found its way by goalie Jessica Ruddock. Senior forward Nikola Holmes and Anderson were given assists on the goal. Amazingly, it was the first goal Harvard had allowed in 241 minutes of play.

Princeton closed the gap to 4-2 when junior forward Lisa Rasmussen redirected a pass from freshman forward Sarah Shea at 17:59, but Harvard made sure of their victory when Lauren McAuliffe redirected a shot from Ruggiero to beat Van Beusekom again and push the lead back to 5-2.

"We were a little too tentative," Kampersal said. "We had some good scoring opportunities where we rushed thinking we had less time then we actually did. I think we gave them too much respect."