W. hockey tops Harvard, comes up short vs. Brown

"We didn't just beat 'em, we clobbered 'em," senior forward Gretchen Anderson said after women's hockey's 6-3 win over Harvard on Friday night at Baker Rink.

Anderson and her teammates followed up their biggest win of the season, however, with a disappointing effort, also at home, in a 3-1 loss to Brown. In that game, the Tigers lost their captain, senior forward Lisa Rasmussen for several weeks. Rasmussen suffered a separated left shoulder when she was illegally checked into the boards.

The victory over the Crimson, ranked No. 2 in the nation, could have and should have been the turning point of the Tigers' season. Princeton battled through the first period and took control in the second and third periods to skate Harvard right out of the rink.

The game was a physical contest from the beginning — there were 10 penalties in the first period alone, and 21 for the game.

The Tigers were able to control the game by controlling Harvard's senior captain, Angela Ruggiero.

"[The team] was able to shut her down," head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 said. "She got frustrated, but she is a classy kid."

That class did not shine through in this game. Ruggiero was whistled for four two-minute minor penalties in the first period and left the ice with less than a minute to play in the game after receiving a 10-minute game misconduct penalty for taking a swing at sophomore defender Chrissie Norwich.

The Tigers exploded on offense with two freshmen providing the biggest spark. Forwards Kim Pearce and Liz Keady scored two goals apiece.

Senior goaltender Megan van Beusekom recovered from a shaky first period to stymie the Crimson and finished with 36 saves on the day, many of the spectacular variety.

The Crimson struck first when Ruggiero scored only one minute, 39 seconds into the game. However, the Tigers picked up the intensity and scored the game-tying goal when Pearce scored her first of the game.

After trading goals to end the first, Princeton took its first lead early in the second period when Keady stole a neutral zone pass and scored on an individual effort. After the Crimson tied the game, Princeton put it away with Pearce's second goal of the game.

The explosive offense Princeton had displayed against Harvard disappeared in the Brown game. The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 first-period lead when sophomore forward Heather Jackson scored on a delayed penalty. Anderson controlled the puck behind the Bears' net and fed Jackson perfectly out front. She one-timed a shot past goaltender Katie Germain.

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The Bears dominated the rest of the contest, outshooting the Tigers, 31-18, in the last two periods. Jessica Link tied the game in the second period as she blocked a shot attempt and scooped up the puck and skated in uncontested.

Brown's Lindsey Glennon scored the game-winner at the 6:53 mark of the third period. The Bears scored an insurance goal with less than two minutes remaining to end any chance for a Princeton victory.

On the play, Van Beusekom made five saves, but the Tigers could not clear any of the rebounds. The sixth shot got behind her and sent the Tigers home disappointed that they could not capitalize on the momentum from the night before.

The offense was stagnant for much of the game, and the Tigers committed far too many turnovers. They also allowed the Bears to control the puck in their offensive zone.

The loss, while disheartening for Princeton, means more in that they will now have to suffer without Rasmussen's services for at least two weeks. Thankfully for the Tigers, their next key match-up does not come until Feb. 21 against Dartmouth.

The Tigers' immediate concern , however, is their back-to-back games against Union next weekend. Princeton will have to dig deep to get back to doing the clobbering instead of being clobbered. They will have to do so shorthanded.