After a disappointing loss Saturday to Rensselaer, the No. 10 women's hockey team came right back yesterday afternoon with an impressive 5-0 win over Union.
Currently No. 3 in the ECAC Hockey standings, Princeton (12-9-2 overall, 10-5-1 ECAC) entered the weekend only four points ahead of Colgate and No. 7 St. Lawrence, who are tied for fourth and have played four fewer league games than the Tigers. So a weekend sweep reminiscent of the last time Princeton took on these two teams would have been appreciated as insurance in securing home ice for the playoffs, but the one win sufficed to keep a three-point buffer.
Until the final minutes, the contest with Rensselaer (9-12-1, 5-5-1) was close. A scoreless first period was followed by some real fireworks coming from both sides in the second.
The Engineers came roaring out onto the ice in the second frame, scoring two goals in the first four minutes of play. It was several minutes before Princeton returned the favor.
About halfway through the period, freshman forward Melanie Wallace, assisted by senior defenseman Kate Hession and sophomore defenseman Katherine Dineen, capitalized on a power play to halve Rensselaer's lead. It was less than two minutes later when sophomore forward Annie Greenwood tied the game, putting a rebound past the Engineers' Ashley Mayr.
Rensselaer, however, would not be denied the opportunity to avenge its November loss. Wright returned Greenwood's score, tucking away a rebound for her first of two goals in the game.
Entering the third frame, the Tigers were itching to even the score once again. Three minutes and 21 seconds into the period, junior forward Marykate Oakley broke through the Engineers' defense, raced down the ice and nailed an open shot on Mayr.
More than 10 minutes passed, and the score remained deadlocked as the third period progressed. Then, with just over three minutes on the clock, Rensselaer's Julie Aho found a seam and tipped the puck past freshman goalkeeper Brittany Parisi to take the lead. The loss was cemented in the final minute during a Rensselaer power play where Parisi was pulled from the net. Wright broke through the neutral zone for a shot on an empty net, making the final score 5-3.
In contrast to the close fight of the evening before, Princeton dominated the game against Union (4-16-0, 0-12-0) from the opening faceoff.
While the Tigers had been outshot in their contest against Rensselaer, Princeton had five times as many shots as the Dutchwomen on Saturday, won 57 percent of the faceoffs and generally owned the ice in Schenectady all game long.
The scoring began just under six minutes into the first frame, with an unassisted slapshot from the left circle that flew past Union goalkeeper Mandy Hanson.
Seven minutes later, the Tigers controlled the puck on a power play. Receiving a pass from Dineen, Oakley's wrist shot sailed past Hanson to put the Tigers up 2-0. While Princeton dominated play for the rest of the period and the next, the Tigers would not score again until Oakley put away her second of the night, 5:37 into the second period.
In the third period, Princeton put away another two goals. The first came from junior forward Brittany Salmon, who scored her sixth of the season off a pass from Hession. It was Hession's second assist of the night and marked two games in a row in which she has notched two assists.
At 9:43 in the third frame, the Tigers tallied their final score on a power-play goal from senior defense Dina McCumber. Assisted by sophomore forward Christine Foster and senior forward Allison Ralph, the goal was McCumber's fourth of the season.
Princeton continued to dominate the period and took several shots as the game wound down, but the Tigers did not capitalize again. The 5-0 win was sophomore goaltender Kristen Young's second shutout of the season.
After the weekend split, Princeton will take a three-week break from the ice for finals. They return to action Feb. 2 for a home match against Brown.
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