Tigers roll past Colgate in first round

There would be no meltdown for the fifth-ranked women's hockey team Saturday night, not if senior forward Sarah Butsch had anything to do with it, and boy, did she.

Toward the end of the third period, the Tigers (21-6-4 overall, 15-2-3 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) skated in disbelief. At the outset of the period, they had held a commanding 4-1 lead and were only 20 minutes away from a series victory against Colgate (12-15-7, 9-8-3). A little less than 20 minutes later, however, they stood deadlocked at 4-4 following a furious Raider rally.

"This game was actually a blessing in disguise for us," Kampersal said. "They came at us really hard. They're a well-coached team, and we had to deal with some adversity in that third period."

Enter "Miss Clutch," as head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 calls her. For Butsch, the prospect of a forced third game in the series was downright offensive. With 1:51 remaining in the match, she converted a centering feed from junior forward Kim Pearce into a bullet that punched right past the right side of the Colgate goaltender. The goal held up to the end, and the Tigers proceeded to pull out the brooms and sweep the Raiders right out of the ECACHL playoffs.

Mission accomplished, meltdown thwarted.

Before the Colgate rally in the third period, it appeared that Princeton had destroyed any semblance of hope or drive in the Colgate team. The first 40 minutes of the game were all Tigers, all the time.

The Raiders briefly appeared to be up to the challenge as they quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead over Princeton on a power play goal five minutes into the first period. But senior goaltender Roxanne Gaudiel shut down the Colgate attack for the rest of the first two periods. The Tigers, on the other hand, amped up the electricity, notching four consecutive goals.

Princeton went to a familiar face to get the team on the board. Freshman forward Annie Greenwood, the team's leading goal scorer, received a nice pass from junior forward Laura Watt while on the power play and ripped it past the Colgate goaltender for a 1-1 tie. The score raised Greenwood's season total to 25.

Senior defender Chrissie Norwich and Pearce worked together to put the Tigers on top 1:35 into the second period. Pearce got her stick on Norwich's shot and redirected it into the net for a 2-1 lead.

Pearce took over the setup role for the next goal, as she flicked a nice pass to Greenwood, who then proceeded to blast the net. The shot was blocked, but sophomore forward Marykate Oakley made sure the play wasn't a wash when she scooped up the rebound and punched it in.

Sophomore forward Brittany Salmon finished off the second period scoring festivities with a goal of her own, and the assist went to Pearce.

The Raiders, however, with their backs to the wall, came out firing at the start of the thir period. What appeared to be a ticket to the Frozen Four of the ECACHL for Princeton, freshly printed and punched, vanished in a matter of minutes. The Tigers were being tested for the first time in the series, and for a brief moment, it looked as if they were lost.

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Fortunately for Princeton, Butsch righted the ship.

"Colgate was a strong team and they forced us to play well in order to beat them," Pearce said.

The Tigers encountered anything but adversity in their first match against Colgate, a 3-0 win, where an unlikely hero and a regular cornerstone combined to put on an impressive show.

Freshman forward Christine Foster, had only scored two goals this season. When it mattered most, however, she was all over the place while surpassing her single-season total in one amazing performance, scoring all three of Princeton's goals.

Foster scored her first goal off of a nice feed from junior defender Kate Hession, in what turned out to be the only goal of the period.

Though they only notched one goal, the Tigers outshot the Raiders 12-1 in the period. Princeton looked very ready to play, while Colgate looked lost, lethargic and resigned to defeat.

The Raiders played with a little more passion in the second period, but Gaudiel shut them down again, blocking all five of their shots, including an amazing stop on a one-on-one play.

A Tiger turnover in the Princeton zone allowed a Colgate player to get up close and personal with Gaudiel. With the pressure on, Gaudiel coolly rejected the shot, keeping the Tigers ahead and preserving her shutout.

Foster went on to provide a couple of insurance goals in the third period, just for good measure. At the outset of the period, she took a pass from Greenwood and skated across the circle where she promptly whipped the puck past the Colgate goaltender Brook Wheeler for a 2-0 lead.

A short while later Foster completed her hat trick, doing her damage this time from long range. The Tigers were on the power play when Foster peppered the net with a blast from just inside the blue line. Wheeler never saw it coming.

Foster supplied the offensive firepower, while Gaudiel provided her typical stingy goaltending, recording 11 saves in her shutout performance.

Princeton will play Brown next weekend in St. Lawrence with a spot in the finals on the line.

"Having gone up 4-1, then Colgate coming back and tying the game made us realize that nothing for the rest of the season will be easy or given to us," Pearce said. "We have to work hard for the entire game and never back down."

If these Tigers are hungry enough, the prize is up for grabs. All they have to do is hunt it down.