Women's Hockey: Colgate weathers offensive onslaught

Princeton (2-4-0 overall, 1-3-0 ECAC Hockey) constantly pushed the pace on offense, and this aggressiveness paid off against the Big Red (0-1-1, 2-2-1), who were caught flatfooted by the Tigers early on and tired down the stretch.

Princeton scored first in the ninth minute, when freshman forward Danielle DiCesare scored her second career goal. Cornell responded quickly to knot the score at one, but the Tigers came roaring back on offense. Applying constant pressure to Cornell goaltender Jenny Niesluchowski, Princeton broke through twice in the next 10 minutes on scores from senior forward Christine Foster and DiCesare.

The 3-1 cushion may have given the Tigers an illusion of comfort, as they allowed Cornell to score two goals in the second period to tie the game. The first strike came from forward Liz Zorn eight minutes into the period, with fellow forward Laura Danforth following closely behind.

Heading into the third period, momentum looked to be squarely in the Big Red’s corner. Princeton revved its engines in the final 20 minutes, however, scoring three goals in quick succession to wrest back victory from the jaws of looming defeat.

Sophomore defenseman Sasha Sherry, who currently leads the team with eight points, scored her third goal of the season seven minutes into the third period during a two-man advantage. Power plays have been Sherry’s specialty this season, with two of her goals and four of her assists coming on power plays.

In the 13th minute, both junior forward Melanie Wallace and Foster scored insurance goals to put the game firmly out of Cornell’s reach, 6-3.

Senior goalkeeper Kristen Young made 28 saves, including nine in the pivotal third period.

After outshooting the Big Red 43-31 and winning by three goals, Princeton attempted to replicate its strategy of unrelenting aggression against Colgate (6-5-0, 1-1-0). Unfortunately for the Tigers, Sass played an otherworldly game in the crease, tallying 46 saves to neutralize a flurry of shots from Princeton’s attackers.

The two squads traded goals in a relatively quiet first period, with Raiders forward Katie Stewart getting the better of Young in the 12th minute. After a Colgate penalty, freshman forward Paula Romanchuk took advantage of the power play to notch her second goal of the season.

Sophomore defenseman Laura Martindale and Sherry assisted on Romanchuk’s score.

Sass took over after the first period, completely shutting down the Tigers despite facing 33 shots, including five shots with the man advantage.

The Raiders relied on a more moderate but steadier pace, scoring once in each period to gradually put the game out of the Tigers’ reach. After Romanchuk’s goal, Colgate reclaimed the lead after 17 minutes had passed in the second period on forward Nicole McDonald’s first goal of the season.