Princeton (6-7-1 overall, 4-5-0 ECAC Hockey) already showed it could hang with the class of the East, tying then-No. 8 Boston College on Nov. 28 just a week after upending No. 4 St. Lawrence. Now, the Tigers head to the Midwest to take on the formidable No. 3 University of Minnesota-Duluth (11-5-2), the defending national champion.
After its trip to Duluth, Princeton will return to the East Coast to take on two more top-10 opponents. While the Bulldogs may pose the biggest challenge, the Tigers, aching for revenge, have circled these East Coast games on their calendar. Princeton’s Ivy and ECAC Hockey rivals No. 5 Dartmouth (7-3-1, 6-1-1) and No. 10 Harvard (4-4-3, 4-2-2) both visited Baker Rink and triumphed over the Tigers earlier this year.
On Halloween, Princeton dropped a 3-2 decision to the Big Green before losing 6-4 to the Crimson the next afternoon. This time, the rematches will take place on foreign ice, as the Tigers first travel to Cambridge, Mass., and then to Hanover, N.H. The Harvard game wounded Princeton’s pride and is clearly still on the players’ minds.
“We should never let up six goals,” senior forward and tri-captain Christine Foster said. “We need to just be playing responsible defense.”
The Tigers, however, cannot get caught looking ahead to those rivalry games. On Saturday, they will be on the ice with the Bulldogs for the first of the teams’ two matchups.
No one on the current team has faced UMD, and the last time the Tigers were in Minnesota they lost to the University of Minnesota Gophers in the 2006 NCAA quarterfinals, when the current seniors were freshmen.
Head coach Jeff Kampersal ’92 praised the Bulldogs.
“The trip to Duluth provides an amazing opportunity against the NCAA defending champs in a pure hockey environment,” Kampersal said. “They have a very strong program. We will need to play our best.”
Senior forward and tri-captain Monica Brennan said Princeton is excited for the games but is also looking forward to the general experience of traveling to play.
“Usually Christmas time is a really fun time to play hockey,” Brennan said. “You can concentrate on hockey alone … It’s good to play competition outside of the ECAC, so we can compete nationally.”
Competing against UMD, though, is no small task. The Bulldogs are led by Swedish forward Elin Holmlov, who leads the team in both goals and points with 12 goals and 11 assists in 14 games played.
The Bulldogs have not lost a game to an East Coast opponent all year. On the other side of the red line are the inconsistent Tigers, who, Brennan said, “are just trying to get two full, solid games. We have not really done that yet this year. We’re just trying to get two in a row.”
Foster zoned in on an area where Princeton needs to improve.
“Special teams are going to be very important,” Foster said.
The Tigers have been inconsistent on both the power play and the penalty kill this year, something they will need to fix to get by the high-flying Bulldogs. Kampersal also mentioned the team’s consistency issues.
“Whether it is preparing for Duluth or preparing for our league games, our goal is to get better each day,” Kampersal said. “We are still working on consistency and getting everyone to play their best come game day.”
In Harvard and Dartmouth, Princeton faces familiar foes, but that does not mean the team will slack in its preparations. Both Kampersal and Brennan explained that the two league games are of the utmost importance to the Tigers.
“Our goal in the league is to win every game we play,” Kampersal said.
Brennan agreed with her coach wholeheartedly.
“They are really important games back in the league,” Brennan said. “We really need to get those wins to get a playoff spot.”
Both the Crimson and the Big Green have gotten the job done this season, but the Tigers won’t let their opponents overlook them. Kampersal did not mention any specific strategies he will bring into the matchups, but he did echo a sentiment heard throughout the season: bringing pressure on defense and denying opposing scorers their comfort zone.
“All the players they have are good,” Kampersal said. “We will try to take away time and space from them.”
Brennan’s analysis was more focused on toppling the opposition, stressing the importance of wins.
“We, again, just need to play a full 60 minutes and capitalize on all our chances,” Brennan said.
Brennan’s fellow captain was even blunter.
“They sort of kicked our butts last time,” Foster said. “So we’re looking to get them back. They have hell to pay.”
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