Anderson's natural hat trick leads w. hockey past Providence

Speaking of the women's hockey team's 3-0 loss to No. 9 New Hampshire last Saturday, head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 sounded like the Tigers had been involved in an ultimate fighting match rather than a hockey game.

"The first goal was like a surprising left jab to the face, the second was a hard right uppercut in the stomach, and the third was a kick to the butt," Kampersal said. "It was painful."

The Tigers recovered admirably, though, taking down No. 6 Providence on Sunday, 4-2, to earn a weekend split against two of the top teams in the Hockey East conference.

Princeton (4-2-0 overall), tied for No. 10 nationally in the USCHO.com poll, stepped onto the ice against Providence (2-3-1, 0-0-1 Hockey East) determined to make up for its 3-0 loss the day before. Both teams pressed hard from the start, but the game was broken up by whistles for icing and offsides.

The Tigers got on the board first after another whistle — this one for holding the stick — was blown against freshman forward Liz Keady.

With Keady in the box, Providence carried the puck into Princeton's defensive zone, where a Tiger defender pounced on the puck and sent it deep into the Friars' zone. Sophomore forward Heather Jackson gathered the puck in front of the goal and slapped it puck towards Friar goaltender Jana Bugden, who saved it but sent it right back out to the top of the crease. Jackson made good this time, scoring the Tigers' first goal at nine minutes, two seconds of the first period.

Jackson's shorthanded goal was emblematic of one of Princeton's greatest strengths throughout the game — its special teams units. Besides Jackson's goal, senior forward Gretchen Anderson scored with her team a player down in the third period and a player up in the first.

"Pretty much all we work on in practice are special teams and d[efensive] zone play," Kampersal said. "I think in college hockey goaltending is No. 1 and special teams are right behind that."

Anderson's shorthanded goal in the third period completed a natural hat trick, lifting her to a team-leading eight goals on the season.

The defense also played solidly throughout the game. The Tigers blocked nine Providence shots and forced 14 more wide. Senior goaltender Megan Van Beusekom, the most important, cog in the defensive unit, saved 20 of the 22 shots that made it through to her.

With the win, the Tigers showed that they could rebound impressively from the tough loss to New Hampshire the day before.

"We came back from [the loss] really well," Kampersal said after the game. "All weekend and going back to practice on Friday we've been playing fast, crisp and mentally tough. We really came out on them today and got the jump on them right away."

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Princeton's mental toughness was evident right up until the end of the game Saturday in the team's 3-0 loss to the Wildcats.

New Hampshire (4-2-1, 1-0-1) came out of the gates a little faster, outshooting the Tigers, 8-5, in the first period of play.

Princeton came into the second period with momentum, however, and was able to even the shots at 14 apiece. Anderson and Jackson again proved dangerous for the Tigers, combining for two quality scoring chances through the middle frame, but neither team was able to break through.

The score remained knotted at zero until the final six minutes of the game, when the Wildcats connected with their first jab. A shot from the blueline wound its way past several defenders and behind Van Beuksekom, breaking the tie and putting New Hampshire on top, 1-0.

Princeton battled back furiously and Anderson had a quality chance on the doorstep, but New Hampshire doubled its lead with Van Beusekom pulled with 44 seconds remaining. The Wildcats put the icing on the cake with only one second left on the clock, handing Princeton a deceptive 3-0 loss in what was an incredibly tight game.