Tigers head to upstate New York

For every team, playing at home has its perks. The women's hockey team (13-10-2 overall, 11-6-1 ECAC Hockey) won't be playing at Baker Rink this weekend, but it does have the opportunity to gain enough momentum to move up to fourth in the league — a position that would earn Princeton home-ice advantage in the first round of the league playoffs.

The Tigers are currently ranked fifth in the ECAC — just two standings-points out of fourth — and will face Clarkson (15-12-3, 7-9-2) in Postdam, N.Y., and St. Lawrence (22-6-2, 14-4-0) in Canton, N.Y. The Tigers will have just two more games after this weekend to secure at least a top-four finish.

Last weekend Princeton faced Brown and Yale, splitting the weekend with a 4-1 win over the Bears and a 6-3 loss against the Bulldogs. In its loss against Yale, Princeton was unable to respond after the Bulldogs found the back of the net three times in less than four minutes. Yale outshot Princeton, 27 to 23, and was also able to capitalize on a power play early in the first period to gain an advantage. The Tigers will need to be more resilient to top this weekend's foes.

Though Clarkson's record doesn't appear too impressive, the Golden Knights are nonetheless ranked just three spots below Princeton, at No. 8 in the ECAC. Genevieve Lavoie and Britney Selina lead Clarkson's team, with a season cumulative total of 18 and 14 points, 11 and seven goals, respectively, and seven assists each.

Compared to their past opponents, the Golden Knights have taken greater advantage of power plays and have started games strongly, gaining momentum in the second period before tapering off toward the end. Clarkson also touts two highly successful goalies: Stephanie Hansen has stopped almost 92 percent of all shots on the Golden Knights' goal, just ahead of fellow netminder Kira Hurley's 90 percent clip.

The Tigers' game against third-ranked St. Lawrence will be their most difficult game this weekend. In their previous games, the Saints have proved to be both powerful and smart on the ice. Compared to their competition, St. Lawrence has scored over twice as many goals and has capitalized on more than twice as many power plays. Notably, the Saints have also recorded a lower number of penalties than their opponents.

Sabrina Harbec leads the Saints in points, goals and shorthanded goals. She is also tied for the most points in power plays and game-winning goals on her team. Carson Duggan and Alison Domenico are the Saints' next two highest scorers with 31 points each. Like Clarkson, the Saints' lineup is rounded out with three highly successful goalies: Meaghan Guckian, Maxie Weisz and Kaitlin Branon have recorded save percentages of 91.4, 90.6 and 88.9, respectively.

Princeton will counter with junior forward Marykate Oakley, who leads the Tigers in goals and power-play goals. Oakley is also among the top four for Princeton in shots and assists.

Other notable Tigers include senior forward and captain Kim Pearce — who leads Princeton in shots and assists — senior defenseman Laura Watt and junior forwards Lizzie Keady and Brittany Salmon. Freshman goalie Brittany Parisi and sophomore goalie Kristen Young round out the Tiger lineup, each having saved 91 percent of opponents' shots on the season.

Princeton will brave the cold of upstate New York this weekend, but with solid play the Tigers can earn the opportunity to remain comfortably at home for the playoffs.