Tigers must shake goal-scoring woes

Though the women's hockey team seems to dominate shooting in its matches, a season spattered with as many losses as victories clearly displays the Tigers' most fatal flaw — accuracy.

Entering the weekend two games under .500 after last week's 3-2 loss to Cornell, Princeton will look to pull itself out of a mediocre season as it travels to the Capital Region to take on Union and Rensselaer.

Thus far, Princeton (5-7-2 overall, 3-5-1 ECAC Hockey) has been unsuccessful in finding the back of the net, a weakness that will cripple it in this weekend's matches if left unchecked.

"You obviously want to take a lot of shots, but keeping them quality is important," senior forward Marykate Oakley said. "We are still looking to be consistent for the full 60 minutes of the game. We just need to bear down and execute our shots."

The Tigers split their series at Colgate and Cornell, defeating the Raiders 4-2 but falling to the Big Red 3-2 despite outshooting their opponent 26-18. Currently tied for sixth in the league standings with Colgate and Yale, Princeton needs to produce wins this weekend if it wishes to remain a contender in the ECAC Hockey conference.

Despite offensive issues, the Tigers hit the ice today with the confidence of an 8-0-0 all-time record against Union (0-6-0, 1-13-0) to their advantage. The combination of the Dutchwomen's sticky-fingered goalie and Princeton's failure to generate goals could jeopardize the Tigers' dreams of victory, however.

"Our expectations are high for the game against Union, but we don't want to go in taking anything for granted," Oakley said. "They have a new coaching staff and recently held a tight game with Dartmouth. We are definitely expecting a battle."

Princeton continues the weekend with a match against Rensselaer (6-7-2, 1-4-1) tomorrow, its third meeting with the Engineers. The Tigers are looking for revenge against Rensselaer after last year's embarrassing loss. Then-No. 10 Princeton had dominated the Engineers just two months before but fell behind early in the season's second match against Rensselaer. In that second matchup, the Tigers stumbled under the pressure of generating a win.

"We didn't play a good game last year," Oakley said. "We didn't show up to play, and it was probably one of the worst games all year. We're looking to make up for that. We're looking for vengeance."

Already set on improving its offensive tactics this weekend, Princeton will need to focus on every point if it is going to move up in the ECAC standings.

"Rensselaer will be a tough competitor — they play a quick game, and we will definitely have our hands full," Oakley said. "But it's really important we start getting points. We're looking to put together a couple of wins in a row before the end of the season, and we need these four points."

Guiding the Tigers' defense this weekend are junior goaltender Kristen Young — who has played the entirety of every game this season and boasts an impressive .918 save percentage — and freshman defender Sasha Sherry, whose strength lies in her powerful shot from the blue line.

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Up front, Princeton celebrates the recent return of captain and senior forward Lizzie Keady — out for two weeks due to injury — who is the Tigers' leading scorer.

Thus far, the Tigers have failed to display the prowess of a powerhouse team. If Princeton once again fails to score goals, it could mark the death of any championship dreams.