Butsch's hat trick leads Tigers

"We are a team that just does not like to lose," freshman forward Brittany Salmon said. "Even when we are down, we never give up, and we love to play in these types of close games."

Princeton (13-6-5 overall, 7-5-3 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) demonstrated that tenacity this weekend, twice battling back from deficits and forcing games into overtime. While the Tigers defeated Cornell (3-18-3, 3-14-1) by a 6-5 score, they could only salvage a 2-2 tie against Colgate (13-13-3, 6-7-3).

On Friday against Cornell, Princeton prevailed in a dramatic come-from-behind shootout that would have made John Wayne proud, highlighted by junior forward Sarah Butsch's gunslinging hat trick.

With just two minutes left, the Tigers found themselves down, 5-3, with the hope of victory quickly slipping away, so head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 decided to pull freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Allen and give Princeton an extra skater for the final push.

The move paid off as Butsch scored her first goal with one minute, 32 seconds remaining to bring the Tigers within one. Then, just 23 seconds later, Butsch struck home the equalizer, stunning the Big Red and sending the game into overtime.

Butsch was not content just to turn an imminent defeat into a tie however. She carried her hot hand into overtime. After a setup pass from junior forward Tarah Clark, Butsch scored the game-winner at 1:05 into overtime for her seventh goal of the season and her first career hat trick.

Cornell had started off the game with a flourish, dominating the first period with goals from forwards Halina Kristalyn and Brianne Schmidt.

Princeton roared back in the second period, starting with a power-play goal by sophomore forward Kim Pearce, her team-leading 14th of the season.

Then, fresh off being named to the U.S. National Team roster, sophomore forward Liz Keady drove home two more power-play goals at 14:24 and 18:00 in the period.

Cornell took over again throughout most of the third, scoring three more goals, including two by Kristalyn for the game's first hat trick. Her last goal came a little more than 12 minutes into the period, sending the score to 5-3 and setting the stage for Butsch's heroics.

Moving on up

The next day Princeton traveled to Colgate, hoping to continue its winning ways. Although the Tigers came out with only a draw, it proved to be enough to move them up in the standings.

After a scoreless first period, Princeton drew first blood at 10:38 in the second. Senior forward Becky Stewart, assisted by Pearce and Keady, drove a shot past Raiders' goalkeeper Brook Wheeler.

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Just over two minutes later, Colgate responded. With her team up one skater on a power play, forward Alison Paiano found the back of the net to even the score at one. The Raiders struck again at 7:41 in the third period, with a goal from forward Maura Kehoe.

After the previous night's comeback, however, Princeton remained confident. The equalizer came at 13:40 from Salmon, who scored her third goal of the season off an assist from senior defenseman Katharine Maglione.

But the Tigers would have to settle for the tie, as the remaining time in regulation and the additional minutes of overtime failed to produce any scoring from either side.

The weekend's action elevated Princeton to a tie for fifth place in the league with only five games remaining. If the Tigers can hold on to this spot, they would play their first playoff round at home.

Princeton will travel to Vermont and second-ranked Dartmouth next weekend before playing at Yale the following Wednesday. The Tigers will finish their regular season with two home games against cellar-dwelling Union on Feb. 25 and 26.