Princeton swept by Lakers

Having failed to take advantage of several golden scoring opportunities, the women's hockey team came out of the weekend's two-game set against No. 7 Mercyhurst full of regrets. Though the Tigers kept continual pressure on the Lakers throughout both contests, Princeton's inability to score during power plays doomed the team to a pair of tight losses, falling 3-1 Friday and 1-0 Saturday.

"The biggest thing we didn't do was execute," senior forward Marykate Oakley said. "We had a lot of opportunities, and we didn't use them. We hustled, we played hard, we just couldn't execute the plays."

The Tigers (4-6-2 overall, 2-4-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) skated onto the Baker Rink ice Friday eager to erase the memory of Mercyhurst's (9-2-2) sweep of Princeton last season. Coming off a dominant 3-0 win over Colgate the weekend before, the Tigers had reason to think things might indeed be different this year. But Princeton's offensive struggles, coupled with the hot stick of Laker forward Megan Agosta, shattered any Tiger hopes for victory.

Though Princeton managed to fend off Mercyhurst during the first period to keep the frame scoreless, the Laker offense dominated possession of the puck, outshooting the Tigers 13-7.

As the Lakers' offensive control continued into the second period, Princeton couldn't keep the game tied for long. Mercyhurst took the lead with a rebound shot midway through the second period, and Agosta, the Lakers' leading scorer, came back with a second goal just four minutes later. Agosta scored once more early in the third period, putting Mercyhurst ahead, 3-0.

Princeton managed to avoid a shutout when junior forward Christine Foster knocked one in just 14 seconds after the Lakers' third goal. Foster's score, however, proved to be all that the Tigers could manage.

"We played hard," junior goaltender Kristen Young said. "We were fairly evenly matched — it was simply a matter of capitalizing on opportunities. We had a lot of chances, but it really wasn't bouncing our way."

Effectively blocking several of Mercyhurst's one-on-one and power-play shots, Young finished the game with 33 saves.

Hoping to dispel memories of Friday's disappointing loss, Princeton hit the ice with a vengeance Saturday, fighting evenly with the Lakers for two periods. But a third-period goal by Agosta — her third of the weekend — was enough to send Princeton to its second-straight loss.

"It's sort of bittersweet to play a team two days in a row," Oakley said. "If the first game is a great game, you can come off that the next day. If it's a not a good game it's harder. We came up short our first game, which was not so great the next day."

With Lakers and Tigers knotted at 0-0, play shifted early in the third when the Lakers won the face-off to start the frame. Just 12 seconds later, Agosta barreled a shot past Young for the game-winner and the only score of the game.

The loss was made even more bitter by the fact that Princeton let several scoring opportunities slip through its fingers, including seven power-play chances, two of which were five-on-three situations.

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Though Saturday's outcome was reminiscent of the 1-0 overtime loss the Tigers suffered to the Lakers in the second game of last year's series, the way Princeton played in each match could not have been more different.

"Last year in both games we came out and they just absolutely took it to us," Oakley said. "This year we skated with them, we were right there all along. It was a different game."

Princeton begins a six-game streak of away matches this weekend, hitting the ice against Colgate and Cornell. While the Tigers are sure to bring a competitive fire into both matchups, they will also be burning to see some pucks start finding their way into the back of the net.