Women's Hockey: Lead slips away in third period's final minutes

Unfortunately for the Tigers (4-6-1 overall, 2-4-0 ECAC Hockey), they couldn’t hold onto their lead. After the Eagles (8-3-2, 3-1-2) pulled goalkeeper Molly Schaus, forward Mary Restuccia took advantage of the man-up opportunity and knotted the score at three with 2:24 left on the clock. Neither team scored again, and the matchup ended in a 3-3 tie after a scoreless five-minute overtime period.

Foster noted that the Tigers did not maintain a tough enough mentality after her key goal in the third period to enable them to come home with a win.

“I think after we scored our third goal we stopped being aggressive,” Foster said. “One of the things we have to be better at is playing with the lead. I think sometimes when we get the lead we start playing overly defensive to protect it.”

Princeton got off to a slow start in the first period. On its home turf at Kelley Rink, Boston College drew first blood when forward Megan Shea capitalized on a power-play opportunity to put the Eagles ahead 1-0 2:14 into the game. Forward Kelli Stack passed the puck to Shea, who sent it ricocheting over senior goalkeeper Kristen Young’s head and into the back of the net.

Foster recognized that the Tigers did not start the game playing dominant hockey.

“The first period was not a good period for us,” Foster said. “We came out slow, and they were all over us.”

Princeton, however, responded to the 1-0 deficit and got on the board. With 10:33 gone in the first period, junior forward Melanie Wallace, who finished the game with one goal and one assist, passed the puck to freshman forward Paula Romanchuk, who directed the puck behind Schaus for her fifth goal of the season.

The score remained tied at one until five minutes into the second period, when the Eagles netted their second goal. After receiving a pass from Stack, forward Lauren Wiedmeier shot the puck past Young for her third goal of the season.

The Tigers outshot Boston College 10-4 in the second period. Foster said she thought Princeton’s dominance was a response to adversity and that the Tigers played better in the second frame.

“[In] the second period, we started to play our game, and from then on, we controlled the play,” Foster said. “The ability to bounce back from bad periods is a big strength for our team.”

The Tigers entered the third stanza down 2-1, but 6:25 into the period, Wallace took advantage of a power-play opportunity to knot the score at two.

The rest of the game unfolded from there, as Foster scored her go-ahead goal before the Eagles responded with their game-tying tally.

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Foster said it was frustrating to see her team’s lead disappear when victory against a highly ranked team seemed within reach.

“We were two minutes from the win, and we had controlled the last 40 minutes of the game,” Foster said. “Despite our record, we all believe we can beat any team in the nation when we come to play for 60 minutes. That being said … we have to be able to lock it down for the last five minutes and protect a one-goal lead.”

Princeton outshot Boston College 28-25 overall. The Tigers had two scoring chances in the overtime period but couldn’t come up with a goal.

Both goaltenders were kept busy, as Young notched 22 saves in the matchup, and Schaus had 25. Young has a 2.77 goals-against average this season.

Romanchuk’s second-period goal tied her with sophomore defenseman Sasha Sherry for the team lead in goals scored. In overall scoring, she ranks second to Sherry, with 10 points to Sherry’s 13.

Romanchuk is merely one of several outstanding freshmen skating for Princeton this season. The Tigers’ deep underclassmen group, headed by Sherry, has been bolstered by freshman forwards Danielle DiCesare, who has scored eight points, and Heather Landry, who has tallied five.

With some of its brightest offensive stars still adjusting to collegiate hockey, Princeton seems poised to make a run in the ECAC.

The Tigers take their fast-paced offensive style back home this week, playing Quinnipiac on Tuesday night before hosting Union and Rensselaer this weekend.