The women's hockey team (6-4-1 overall, 2-3-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) rebounded from a loss on Wednesday night to sweep two games over the weekend and finish the break with a 2-1 record. Princeton hosted Yale on Wednesday, before welcoming Connecticut for two games over the weekend.
Over the last two seasons, the Tigers have split series with the Elis (5-3-0 overall, 4-2-0 ECAC), yet have consistently finished ahead of Yale in conference standings. It looks as though the Tigers may do that again this season, as they fell to the Elis, 2-1.
The game started in the Tigers' favor. The first period remained scoreless, though Princeton dominated play, outshooting Yale, 13-9. The Tigers finally managed to score at 9:08 into the second period, as sophomore Kim Pearce caught a rebound off of Yale goaltender Sarah Love and pushed the puck into the net. The goal came during a four-on-four situation. Junior defenseman Chrissie Norwich and sophomore forward Laura Watt assisted on Pearce's fifth goal of the season.
Yet the Princeton lead lasted just under four minutes when Helen Resor of Yale found the back of the net on a power play. Yale's Deena Caplette managed to win an offensive-zone draw back to Resor who then rocketed a slap shot past junior goaltender Roxanne Gaudiel.
Yale broke the tie early in the third period as Caplette worked a wrist shot past Gaudiel to put the Elis ahead, 2-1. Yale killed off eight penalties and amazingly three five-on-three situations to earn the win. Love banked 32 saves in net for the Bulldogs, while Gaudiel made 25 saves for the Tigers and absorbed the loss.
The Tigers welcomed back sophomore forward Liz Keady in the match against Yale. Keady had missed Princeton's last two games playing for Team USA in the Four Nations Cup. Yale went into the game off a very successful weekend in which they outscored Union, 12-0, over the course of two games. The Elis are off to their best start in 10 years.
Sweeping the Huskies
The Tigers bounded back after a few days of rest to take on the Connecticut Huskies (5-5-1) on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The Tigers went 2-0 against the Huskies, winning the Saturday game, 3-1, and taking Sunday's game, 2-0.
"We are constantly learning from our mistakes and from our losses," Watt said. "We are hoping to get better and elevate our play."
Three Tigers scored against the Huskies on Saturday. The game got off to an exciting start; three of the game's four goals were scored early in the contest. Watt gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead just 2 minutes, 38 seconds into the first period on a power play. The goal was assisted by Keady and senior defenseman Katharine Maglione.
Pearce claimed her sixth goal of the year at 6:04 in the first period on yet another play off an assist by sophomore defenseman Kate Hession. The Huskies pulled within one goal at 10:16 of the same period when Bridget King scored on a power play for the Huskies.
The action in the second period was fast-paced and back-and-forth. When the buzzer sounded, however, neither team was able to put the puck in the net.
This style of play continued into the third period, and once again neither team was able to capitalize until Jackson scored an empty-net goal with just 1:29 remaining. The goal put the icing on the cake for the Tigers, as they went on to win the game 3-1, supported by 22 saves from Gaudiel in the net.
The sweet taste of victory stayed with the Tigers on Sunday as they faced the Huskies for a second time. Gaudiel made 23 saves to carry the team to a 2-0 shut out.
Once again Watt opened the scoring for the Tigers early on when she netted a goal at 2:43 into the first period, assisted by Keady and sophomore defenseman Dina McCumber. The period ended at 1-0. The second period did not begin as quickly for the Tigers but saw Jackson score at 16:07 on a power play, with assists from Watt and freshman forward Brittany Salmon. The third period was a scoreless stalemate.
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