Women's hockey begins playoffs

Win or go home. That's what it boils down to for the women's hockey team this weekend, as they begin what they hope will be a march deep into the playoffs.

First up is a best-of-three series against Brown (16-10-2 overall, 12-5-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference), whom Princeton (20-9-0, 12-5-0) played just one week ago. The Tigers walked away with the road victory to even the season series at one game apiece. The Bears had defeated Princeton at Baker Rink in January.

The recent road victory must be repeated if the Tigers hope to move on, as Brown will have home-ice advantage. Princeton (the fifth seed) had a shot at hosting the game but was denied the opportunity after the team dropped its regular season finale to eventual ECAC co-champion Harvard. The Bears, on the other hand, defeated Yale and took possession of the fourth seed.

Beating a team more than twice on the road is never easy in any sport and could potentially pose a problem for the Tigers. They did take the last game in impressive fashion, winning by a final score of 6-3, but the game was actually much closer than the score suggests. The Bears held the lead for a good portion of the game. Still, head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 believes last week's victory only improves their chances.

"The win on Saturday gives our team confidence that they can go into Brown and play well against a tough team," he said.

The upcoming match-up will likely be just as competitive as the last, as both teams will be fighting for the continuation of their seasons. This time, Brown will make a concerted effort to shut down senior forward Gretchen Anderson. Anderson has been the story for much of the Tigers' season. She registered four points in the recent victory, including a hat trick. Anderson was also recently selected first-team all-Ivy for her efforts this season.

To contain Anderson, the Bears will be aggressive and effective with their forechecking. Princeton struggled in its recent loss to Harvard, in which the Crimson used extensive forechecking to keep the offense off balance. As a result, the Tigers were only able to launch 19 shots in the game, none of which found the net, resulting in a 2-0 shut out victory for Harvard.

For added offense, Princeton will look for other teammates to step up. Players such as senior defender Angela Gooldy, sophomore forward Heather Jackson and freshman forward Kim Pearce will be expected to contribute. These three all recently received Ivy League recognition. Pearce was named Rookie of the Year; Gooldy was selected second-team All-Conference, and Jackson was given an honorable mention.

The other Tiger who will have a significant impact on the game is senior goalie Megan Van Beusekom. Van Beusekom, who also received first-team all-Ivy honors, will look to shut down the Brown offense. Based on her recent performances, she has good reason to be confident about doing so.

Van Beusekom is coming off last weekend's Harvard game in which she took the loss but recorded 40 saves, a feat that topped the previous day's total of 39 against the Bears.

Her number of saves, though impressive, brings into question the rest of the defense that allowed that many shots to be taken. Princeton was considerably out-shot by its last two opponents. Throughout the season, it has been the Tigers that have had that edge, an advantage that usually leads to victory.