Bulldogs end Tigers' season with series sweep

Good teams win all the games they should, but great teams win ones they should not. This saying held true all season for the women's hockey team, which finished its season Saturday after getting swept by Yale in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League playoff quarterfinals.

Throughout the season, Princeton easily dispatched teams that were ranked lower but struggled for ties and close losses with teams that were ranked higher. Following last season's success, this early exit from the playoffs was disappointing.

The No. 4 seeded Bulldogs (16-14-1 overall, 14-7-1 ECACHL) won the first game in overtime Friday night, 4-3, before again defeating the No. 5 seeded Tigers (16-10-5, 10-9-3), 4-2, the following night to win their first ever home playoff series at Ingalls Rink.

Princeton came closest to a win in the first game when senior defenseman Katherine Maglione scored to put the Tigers up by a 3-2 score with 17 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the second period. Sophomore forward Kim Pearce and junior forward Sarah Butsch assisted on the goal, which would stand as the potential game-winner until late into the third period.

At 14:26 in the third period, however, a scramble in front of the Princeton net resulted in Maglione's hand on the puck inside the crease. For this mistake, the Tigers were assessed a delay of game penalty, which gave the Bulldogs a penalty shot. Forward Helen Resor converted on the play for her second goal of the game and knotted the score at three.

Each team had six shots in the ensuing overtime period, but it was forward Deena Caplette who found the back of the net at 15:22 to win the game for Yale.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead 3:31 into the first, but Princeton took back the advantage with power-play goals by Keady at 4:52 and Pearce at 11:20 into the period.

Natalie Babony evened the score at two with a goal at 3:38 into the second period, but the Tigers reclaimed the lead on a goal by Maglione later in the period.

The second game was marked by sloppy play from both teams that resulted in each side committing 15 penalties.

Despite the numerous penalties, Princeton was able to take advantage of the ensuing power plays only once, while Yale never capitalized on the man-up situation. The sole power-play goal came when sophomore defenseman Dina McCumber scored an unassisted wrist shot at 1:14 into the third period.

Neither team managed to score until halfway into the second period, although the Tigers had a 5-3 power play just five minutes into the game.

At 10:45 in the second, Bulldog forward Kristin Savard opened up the scoring on a nice feed from forward Sheila Zingler, who drew the attention of the Princeton defense.

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After McCumber tied the game in the third, Yale waited less than 45 seconds to respond. Forward Nicole Symington knocked the puck under the glove of Princeton junior goalkeeper Roxanne Gaudiel to make the score 2-1.

With 4:47 left to play, Zingler scored the game-winner on a Resor rebound. The Tigers climbed to within one just seven seconds later on a goal by junior forward Heather Jackson, but Zingler sealed Princeton's fate with an emptynetter at 18:25.

"Obviously, we didn't come out on top, and we thought we could have made a run in the playoffs," sophomore forward Alison Ralph said, "but the team still played well and fought hard in both of the games."

The two losses marked the third time in two weeks that the Tigers have fallen to Yale, as the Bulldogs completed a season sweep of Princeton.

The Tigers were hampered by several injuries to key players, including sophomore second-team All-Ivy forward Liz Keady, who was injured for the second game.

After their weekend wins, the Bulldogs will play Harvard in the semifinals next Saturday in Schenectady, N.Y.