Princeton to face a plethora of ranked opponents

The true character of a team is not always determined by how it wins, but rather by how it reacts in the face of defeat. The women's hockey team has repeatedly shown its ability to rebound after tough losses this year, and this resiliency has begun to define the Tigers (9-5-2 overall, 8-2-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) despite their relative inexperience and youth.

Two weeks ago, Princeton suffered a 6-1 loss to No. 1 Mercyhurst. In an impressive display of determination, the Tigers fought back the next day and only lost, 1-0, in the waning seconds of overtime. Last Friday, Wayne State managed to defeat the Tigers, 4-2, after rallying to score four unanswered goals to overcome an early 2-0 deficit. Not discouraged by this loss, the Tigers returned Saturday afternoon and pulled out a 1-0 victory against Wayne State, which snapped their five-game losing streak. The lone goal of the game, scored by junior forward Marykate Oakley, gave the Tigers a split with Warriors for the weekend.

The team's resilience has truly become a Tiger trademark. Hopefully for Princeton, this ability to shrug off a setback and look forward to what lies ahead will continue over the holiday break, as the Tigers face off against No. 9 Ohio State, No. 6 Harvard and No. 5 Dartmouth. Princeton has lost to each of these teams in its most recent matchups, but if history repeats itself, the Tigers will only use these losses as fuel for the upcoming games.

The weekend before New Year's, Princeton will skate against Ohio State (7-6-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 11-6-1 overall) in back-to-back home games. Ohio State is currently ranked fourth in the WCHA and ninth nationally, and the Buckeyes have yet to suffer a non-conference loss.

Last season the Tigers and Ohio State split a series of games, with each team earning one win. In the first game, Princeton defeated Ohio State, 4-1, with the Tiger goals coming off the sticks of junior forward Brittany Salmon, sophomore forward Annie Greenwood, sophomore defender Katherine Dineen and senior defender Laura Watt. The next evening, the Buckeyes rebounded to top the Tigers, 2-1.

Princeton may be able to take advantage of the Buckeyes' inability to play clean hockey. Ohio State tallied 32 total penalties in last weekend's series, and the Buckeye players spent a total of 83 minutes in the box. The Tigers will have to work to earn goals that weekend, however, as Ohio State netminder Erika Vanderveer currently boasts a .938 save percentage. On defense, the Tigers will have to guard Erin Keys and Amber Bowman carefully. Keys, a proven scoring threat, has already tallied 11 goals on the year, while Bowman, an expert playmaker, has earned 17 assists this season.

At the end of November, Princeton conceded back-to-back defeats to Dartmouth and Harvard, losing to the Big Green, 6-3, and blanked by the Crimson, 5-0. Both losses were extremely hard to swallow, not only because of mistakes on defense and lapses on special teams, but also because Princeton's record 10-game winning streak was broken with the loss to the Big Green. Currently, Harvard and Dartmouth share the top spot in the ECACHL and will play against each other this weekend for sole ownership of first place.

On Jan. 5, Princeton will face off against Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. The Tigers struggled with poor luck in their last match against Harvard (12-2-1, 9-1-0), generating quality shots that somehow failed to find the back of the net.

Scoring should remain difficult in the rematch against the Crimson, whose goalkeeper, Christina Kessler, was recently named the ECACHL's goalie of the week after earning a shutout against Minnesota-Duluth. She was also recognized as the league's Rookie of the Week after holding the Tigers scoreless at the end of November. Her goals against average is currently 0.980, meaning the Tigers will have to take smart shots and capitalize on the opportunities they are given.

A day after squaring off against the Crimson, Princeton will travel to Hanover to play Dartmouth (10-3-1, 9-1-0). The Big Green boast a talented and deep offense. The Tigers will have to keep close watch on forwards Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps, who currently share the points lead for Dartmouth, each with 20 on the season. Both players tallied goals against the Tigers in November, with two coming from Piper and one from Apps.

If Princeton lives up to its resilient reputation, its early losses against the Crimson and the Big Green may bode well for the team's chances this go-around.