Princeton looks to build on its monster upset

After picking up one of the most impressive wins in program history last Sunday with a 2-1 toppling of then-No. 1 New Hampshire, the No. 10 women's hockey team will spend this weekend trying to avoid falling back to earth.

The win over the top-ranked Wildcats was the Tigers' second straight, and Princeton (3-3-2 overall, 1-3-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) will look to build on that streak in matches against Cornell (3-4-1, 0-1-1) and Colgate (2-5-1) at Baker Rink this weekend.

The Tigers skate into tonight's face-off against the Big Red with the added assurance of having won their last 14 games against Cornell. With nine freshman recruits bolstering its roster, however, the Big Red is liable to be unlike any other team the Tigers have faced this year.

"They are a much, much, much different team," head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 said. "Cornell's freshmen this year are some of the best in college hockey. In general, our matches against Cornell are low-scoring games — it comes down to a couple of turnovers. But this year it is a completely different team."

Though Princeton exhibited the skills of a powerhouse against New Hampshire, its performances against Dartmouth (4-0-1, 2-0-0) and Harvard (2-0-0, 2-0-0) two weeks ago — a pair of late collapses that resulted in one-goal losses — were lackluster. A similarly dismal show will sink the Tigers against the Big Red, who is hungry to show Princeton what its new team is made of.

"They are a lot better than last year, and they probably want some revenge," senior forward and captain Lizzie Keady said. "When we played Harvard they scored twice with a two-player advantage. We just can't afford to give up any penalties this weekend; it ruins the momentum in the offense."

The Tigers will continue the weekend with a match against Colgate tomorrow. Though the Raiders are also fighting for their third-straight win after a sweep last weekend, Princeton hits the ice with the confidence of a 12-2-2 record against Colgate in the teams' last 16 meetings. But though the Tigers defeated the Raiders in both regular-season games last year, each was won by slim one-goal margins.

Princeton's history against Colgate hasn't been all rosy. After making it to the quarterfinals of the ECACHL playoffs last season, the Tigers were swept by the Raiders in two games, losing control of each contest in the third period.

"In the past years our games against Colgate have always been very tight," Keady said. "They've also improved a lot from last year. We got swept by them during playoffs last season so a lot of our players want to get them back. We are ready to play them and win."

Intent on completing a second-straight sweep this weekend, Princeton knows it has to perfect the simple aspects of its game.

"Over the past two weeks we've been working on basics," Keady said. "We've been focusing on giving and receiving passes, making simple plays, not turning the puck over and other simple things. From there the big things start to work out."

Leading the Tigers offensively this weekend will be Keady, who has a team-high four goals, and senior forward Marykate Oakley, who has three goals and eight assists. Bringing up the back end are freshman defender Sasha Sherry — who has contributed eight assists and one goal — and reigning ECACHL Goaltender of the Week junior Kristen Young, who sports an impressive 2.22 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.

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The Tigers have undoubtedly proven their ability to take out top opposition. This weekend's matches will not only prove whether Princeton has the ability to keep up the momentum, but may also decide if it is a contender for the championship.