Tigers finally hit Baker ice this weekend

For the women's ice hockey team (3-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 Eastern College Athletic Association Hockey League), this fall has been a trip, and a long one at that. This weekend, for the first time this season, Princeton will be playing at Baker Rink, a welcome change from its last three consecutive excursions to Buffalo, N.Y., Vermont, Mass., and Columbus, Ohio. But traveling isn't always an entirely negative experience; the Tigers had ample time to learn while building team unity and incorporating seven new freshmen in their bench.

"After three brutally long travel weekends, I am happy with our players," head coach Jeff Kampersal '91 said. "Although it's not ideal having three long trips to start the year, there is a positive side. We spent a lot of time [together] on the bus, at team meals and in the hotel."

But even after a solid weekend of bonding and hockey against Ohio State (6-5-1), the Tigers will have their hands full as they face off against two of the nation's top teams — Clarkson (9-2-1) and an undefeated St. Lawrence (8-0-1) — on Saturday. While most teams might wish for a road trip over a home weekend against these two teams, Princeton is gearing up.

The Tigers have consistently been pitted against much more experienced teams, both in terms of actual games played and veteran skaters on the bench. But they have dug deep and come up with exemplary results, even against teams like Ohio State which, before last weekend, had come off an upset win against Minnesota, the third-ranked team in the country.

"The Ohio State program from top-to-bottom was a class act. We were happy to have two competitive games with them," Kampersal said.

Princeton will have to be more than just competitive this weekend, though, as its opponents include not only a team that beat Minnesota but also a team that sits two seeds above the Golden Gophers.

St. Lawrence comes to New Jersey touting outstanding statistics, as the Saints have outshot their opponents, 3-1, and starting goaltender Jess Moffat has amassed an astounding .958 save percentage, which is the best in the ECACHL. The Tigers can expect an extremely physical game as well, as St. Lawrence skaters throw their weight around and spend on average about 15 minutes in the box per game.

Clarkson also comes to Princeton with an impressive record and an extensive pool of talent to display. Nine of its players have amassed more than five points already this season, and the Golden Knights' goaltender Kira Hurley gives up only an average of 1.23 goals per game.

Clarkson and Saints' skaters will pose an extremely difficult challenge for Princeton, and the Tigers know that they are going to have to play competitively for the entire 60 minutes.

"Clarkson and St. Lawrence represent a huge challenge," Kampersal said. "Both programs have very knowledgeable coaching staffs and hardworking hockey players. We have our hands full."

Still, Princeton is accustomed to menacing opponents. Though the Tigers are still smarting from the loss to Harvard earlier in the season, they are only looking ahead, finding new strategies with each team they play.

"Each week in practice, we work on improving our skill level and trying to combat [specific] tendencies of the teams we play that weekend," Kampersal said.

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Princeton has the skill to continue to compete with top-level teams like Clarkson and St. Lawrence. This weekend's play, though, as with most tough competitions, will come down to team dynamics even more than pure skill. And the Tigers are not worried about that aspect one bit.

"Our freshmen are huge for us right now, and we hope they continue to prosper throughout the season," junior defenseman Dina McCumber said.

For a team with seven freshmen looking to find their place on a transitional team, that team faith is comforting for Princeton. Though in the face of possibly its toughest competition of the season, the Tigers may find it difficult to find comfort at Baker Rink this weekend.