Gaudiel anchors women's hockey to home win, tie

When it comes to stopping flying projectiles, perhaps a wall, a shield, or a Star Wars-like forcefield come to mind. But none of these things could have been more effective for the women's hockey team this weekend than junior goalie Roxanne Gaudiel, who was perfect in both games for the Tigers.

No. 9 Princeton (7-4-2 overall, 3-3-1 Eastern Collge Athletic Conference Hockey League) battled Colgate (6-7-1, 1-3-1) on Friday to a 0-0 tie, before defeating Cornell (3-6-1, 3-5-0), 2-0, on Saturday in the friendly confines of Baker Rink.

Gaudiel manned the net in both matches, racking up 38 saves and earning her third and fourth shutouts of the season. She is currently on a streak of three straight shutouts.

"[Gaudiel] is on a tear right now, totally shutting down our opponents," sophomore defenseman Dina McCumber said. "When she is playing like this, we are an extremely tough team to beat."

On Friday, however, the Tigers' offense let Gaudiel and the defense down, as it was itself unable to score in three periods and overtime.

The Tigers controlled the tempo for much of the game, but both sides had opportunities to score that they failed to convert.

The Tigers' best chance came midway through the first period, when junior forward Heather Jackson intercepted a Colgate pass and streaked towards the Raiders' goal. She was unable to get off a strong shot, however, and Colgate goalie Brook Wheeler was able to make the save.

Wheeler finished the game with 35 saves for the Raiders, earning her second shutout of the year.

The Raiders had several chances late in the game. With seven minutes, 24 minutes remaining in the third period, forward Cheryl Setchell managed to get a slap shot through a crowd, forcing Gaudiel to make a right kick-save. Two minutes later, forward Tara French took a shot that deflected off Princeton sophomore defenseman Kate Hession, sending the puck barely to the left of the goal.

The game also saw superb play by the Tigers' penalty killing unit, as Colgate was unable to score on any of its three power plays.

Against Cornell, the continued dominance of Gaudiel coupled with an awakened Princeton offense produced a comfortable win. The Tigers relentlessly pressured the Big Red, outshooting them 37-15.

Sophomore forward Liz Keady broke the scoring ice for the Tigers with a goal at 10:36 of the first period. She sliced through Cornell's defense and beat goalie Flora Vineberg with a wrist shot for the unassisted goal.

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Going into the third period, trailing by just one goal, the Big Red still harbored hopes of a comeback. Such hopes were quickly dashed, however, when sophomore forward Kim Pearce scored on a power play just a minute into the period. The goal was set up by passes from Keady and sophomore forward Laura Watt, who both earned assists on the play.

Cornell was unable to muster any good scoring chances to start a rally, as it was shut down by the Tigers' defense and Gaudiel.

The games this weekend were the final home games of 2004 for the team. The Tigers travel to Boston College and Northeastern. They will not play their next home game until Feb. 4, when they host Clarkson.