Women's Hockey: Veteran defense looks to lead as season begins

The Tigers lost a talented group of seniors from last season, but the defense and goaltending corps were untouched by graduation and have been bolstered by incoming freshmen, making Princeton a very dangerous squad this season.

“We are going to be a grinding team with a lot of low-scoring victories,” senior forward and assistant captain Christine Foster said.

Filling the skates left by last season’s graduating class — which included a member of the U.S. National team and another former All-Ivy League, All-ECAC forward — will be a tall order. Nonetheless, the Tigers said they believe that they are up to the challenge.

“Last year’s seniors contributed offensively in a huge capacity,” senior goaltender Kristen Young said. “But at the same, you never know who is going to step up to replace them.”

All five of last season’s seniors were forwards — 38 of last season’s 80 goals were scored by the graduated quintet — but five of the seven incoming freshmen are looking to make an immediate impact up front.

“We have a lot of good offense freshmen who are going to contribute from the start,” Foster said.

Offensively, the Tigers will rely heavily on Foster, senior captain and forward Monica Brennan and senior forward Annie Greenwood, the team’s top returning scorer. Greenwood tallied a team-high 13 goals and 10 assists last season, but she and her classmates will be called on to further carry the load this season.

“Anytime you graduate five of your top-scoring forwards, the offense is going to be a question mark,” Foster said. “But we are confident in our ability to shoot the puck and score goals. We have a great goalie and a solid defense, so we will be looking to win a lot of 2-1 or 1-0 games.”

Low-scoring games may become a staple at Baker Rink this season because on the blue line, the Tigers are as qualified and capable as any team in the nation.

“Right now, our goal is to allow under two goals a game,” Young said.

Senior Katherine Dineen, last season’s ECAC Defenseman of the Year, heads a strong group of two-way defensemen who not only stifle opposing offenses but contribute on attack as well. Dineen was fifth on the team last season with 20 points, sophomore defenseman Sasha Sherry was fourth with 21 points, and junior defenseman Maddie Endicott added 11 points.

“A lot of our defensive players are offensive minded,” Young said. “In our style of play, sometimes we have three defensemen out there, so they are definitely going to be a big part of the offense.”

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

If opposing teams make it past the Tigers’ suffocating defense, however, they still have to deal with Young, who set a Princeton record last season with seven shutouts.

“Kristen had an amazing season last year,” Foster said. “She had a lot of pressure, especially given the fact that she was our only goalie for a while, and she handled it really well. She is the backbone of our team.”

After the Tigers’ started last season with three goalies but quickly dropped to one, Young played every minute of all 32 games. Though it is only natural that Young’s playing time will drop off slightly, she will remain one of the team’s most important figures.

The Tigers’ success this season will hinge on the team’s ability to make it all mesh: the solid goaltending, the experienced defense and the young offense.

And with two games apiece scheduled against conference rivals like No. 3 Harvard, No. 5 Dartmouth and No. 9 St. Lawrence, there is little room for a learning curve.

“The ECAC [Hockey League] is extremely competitive,” Foster said. “We could finish top three, we could finish at the bottom, and we could finish in the middle of the pack; the difference between the teams is so small.”

The non-conference schedule will not do the Tigers any favors, either. After opening tonight against the Huskies, they have games against No. 7 Boston College, No. 11 Boston University and reigning national champion Minnesota-Duluth.

That said, Princeton does start its season with four-straight home games, which works to Princeton’s advantage.

“You are much more relaxed at home,” Young said. “Being in a comfortable environment to start the season makes it a lot easier to find your footing.”

Through three exhibition games, the team is 2-0-1, but the Tigers are wary to say that those games have a bearing on the outcome of this season.

“We use the exhibitions get the kinks out,” Foster said. “It is always hard to tell this early how the season is going to shape up because scrimmages and exhibitions are not treated the same as regular-season games.”

So far, however, things are looking good.

“We had a hard preseason, with a lot of hard workouts,” Foster said. “Right now, our work ethic is incredible, and we expect that to translate to the rest of the season … We are going got grind games out. That’s how we are going to win.”