W. hockey to host two ranked teams

Beat up, banged up and in the middle of one of the more grueling parts of its schedule, the women's hockey team now faces a key weekend series the Tigers hope can set the tone for the rest of their season.

Princeton, currently No. 8 in the nation, face their mirror image in a matchup Friday night at Baker Rink in a Brown Bears team also ranked No. 8. If that wasn't challenge enough, the team will then welcome No. 3 Harvard on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers and Crimson will also be dealing with the loss of several key players to international competition, as two Harvard skaters and one Tiger will be away competing at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y.

For Princeton (4-1-1 overall, 2-1-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference), this weekend will also be an opportunity to get back into the hunt for an ECAC title after splitting games against Vermont and Dartmouth last weekend. The team got by Vermont by a score of 4-1, but was blanked by Dartmouth, 3-0.

In a matchup of two teams even the national pollsters can't separate, the Tigers know that the game against Brown (3-1-0, 2-0-0) could be a tough, physical game. But the team recognizes the importance of upping its play against head coach Digit Murphy's squad.

"We know that every time we play Brown it's going to be a gritty game so we're going to need to match them," junior goalie Roxanne Gaudiel said.

Brown has been led by the strong play of senior Krissy McManus, who leads the team with three goals.

For Saturday's game against undefeated Harvard (2-0-0, 2-0-0), the Tigers will face an even tougher test.

Harvard won both its games in convincing fashion last weekend, beating Colgate, 3-1, and thumping Cornell, 8-2. Freshman forward Sarah Vaiilancourt, last week's ECAC Rookie of the Week, made her presence known with three goals and a pair of assists over the weekend. Senior Nicole Corriero has also been a standout for the Crimson, matching Vaiilancourt's effort with three goals and two assists of her own.

The Crimson, however, will be without Vaiilancourt, who will represent her native Canada in Lake Placid. Junior forward Julie Chu will also be participating, playing for the United States.

They will be joined by Princeton sophomore forward Liz Keady, who will temporarily put aside league rivalry to play alongside Chu for the U.S. team.

For the Tigers, losing one of their top players to the Four Nations Cup forces the rest of the team to step up its play in her absence. For one thing, Keady's absence forces Princeton to shuffle its lines. This means that players who might not have a lot of experience being on the ice at the same time with one another may have to do so in the heat of a close game. Gaudiel recognized the challenge, but also pointed out that Harvard would be dealing with the same issue.

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"I think its going to be an interesting game because the Four Nations Cup is going on," she said. "We've lost one player, Liz Keady, so I'm really interested to see how the game is going to play out with the line changes."

But while the Crimson might also have to deal with a shuffled lineup, the Bears will come into Baker Rink with their complete squad, and this means the Tigers will have to be even more prepared for their Friday night matchup against Brown.

"[Brown is] going to have the same lines so we're really going to have to be ready for that game," Gaudiel said.

But while the team might now be feeling the grind of its season start to kick in, the Tigers know the importance of remaining focused and winning league games, even in the face of changes out of their control. In the meantime, Gaudiel summed it up best.

"We're still pretty sore," she said. "But we should be ready to go."