No. 5 Princeton begins playoff march at home

Securing the number two seed in the playoffs? Not a problem. Winning the Ivy League title? Done. Bringing an Eastern College Athletics Conference Hockey League championship home to Baker Rink? Still to be determined.

With two huge wins against Brown and Yale last weekend, No. 5 Princeton (19-6-4 overall, 15-3-2 ECACHL) ensured itself home ice, at least through the first stages of the postseason.

The Tigers will face off this weekend against Colgate (12-13-7, 9-8-3) in the quarterfinal round of the ECACHL playoffs. The two teams will go head-to-head in a best-of-three contest at Baker Rink on Friday, Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m. each day.

The Orange and Black have momentum on their side going into the playoffs, winning 10 out of their last 11 games and playing their best hockey of the season.

One player who has been a large part of the Tigers' success is senior goaltender Roxanne Gaudiel, who was recently named the ECACHL Goaltender of the Week after two brilliant games against Brown and Yale. Stopping 32 out of 34 shots on the weekend, she improved her record to 17-5-4 on the season.

"Winning the game over Yale was amazing," Gaudiel said. "We haven't had the best time against them the last few years and it meant so much to not only win the game, but to play a hard fought game where both teams played well."

Besides the strength that Gaudiel provides on the defensive side, Princeton has also created chances and converted those chances to goals. Led by junior forward Kim Pearce and freshman forward Annie Greenwood, the Tigers scored 96 goals on the season, as opposed to 48 scored by all of their opponents combined.

Princeton's success originates from the teamwork and togetherness that the team feels off the ice.

"The whole team is amazing," Gaudiel said. "From the start, everyone just gets it this year."

The coaching and guidance of head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 and his staff have also been positive factors for the team all season. Kampersal has very high expectations of his team and is the driving force behind the competitive mentality and tenacity that the team possesses.

"We always think we are starting every period 0-0 whether we are winning or losing," Kampersal said. "In practice this week, we are working on areas that need improvement and that includes just about everything."

Colgate a challenge

The strength of the Tiger squad will be tested against Colgate. Though it looks on paper as if Princeton has an easy first-round matchup, the Raiders cannot be overlooked. The Raiders are led by scorers such as forward Allison Paiano, who has scored 103 total points in her four-year career at Colgate.

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Even though the series is best-of-three, the Tigers would still like to win it in two and have more time to prepare for the road ahead. Kampersal knows that playoffs can always be tough on teams.

"Each year has been different," Kampersal said. "We've had our ups and downs. Two different times we had so many injuries we could barely field a team. We are hoping to play our best and see what happens."

Regardless of what has happened in the past, these are the 2006 ECACHL playoffs. In the land of the postseason, every team starts with a clean slate and regular season highs and lows both must be left behind.