Women's Ice Hockey: Season ends as Princeton drops two straight

“[Van der Bliek] played very well,” head coach Jeff Kampersal ’92 said. “We couldn’t get the puck around her. She answered the call.”

While van der Bliek’s play cannot be understated, the Tigers could have brought themselves back into the game several times. Twice in the second and third periods, Princeton had opportunities after centering passes brought the puck into the slot, and both times the puck was shot over the net. These missed opportunities, coupled with van der Bliek’s stellar goaltending, were enough to end the series in two games.

The loss was even more frustrating because of Princeton’s almost three-to-one advantage in shots on goal. RPI’s lone mark came early in the game on the Engineers’ first power play. After waiting patiently for a shot, RPI defender Sierra Vadner rocketed a slap shot toward the goal. Senior goaltender and tri-captain Kristen Young never saw that the puck was deflected by defender Melissa Boik, and the Engineers had their game-winner 10 minutes, 36 seconds into the first period. While Boik’s goal was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, it was all that was needed.

Kampersal noted that his players went into the second game of the series with the same mentality that they had going into the first.

“Our approach was the same,” Kampersal said. “We just didn’t execute.”

Friday’s game was no different and was as hard-fought as Saturday match. Princeton’s offense that had been so prominent in the last few weeks was nowhere to be found. Indeed, the goal scored by freshman forward Heather Landry during the second period of Friday’s game was Princeton’s only goal on the weekend. With RPI leading 1-0 after one period after a slap shot from forward Jamie-Lynn Stewart got past Young, Landry was fed by sophomore defender Sasha Sherry inside the crease and put the puck past van der Bliek to tie the game at one. The goal came with only 29 seconds left in the second period.

The game remained locked through the third period and an overtime period. Unlike regular-season overtime periods, which are five minutes long, playoff overtime periods are a full 20 minutes long, making extended overtime segments very tiring for both sides. While it looked like the game might remain scoreless through the second extra period, RPI had other plans. After Young somehow turned away a shot off a breakaway from Engineer forward Whitney Naslund, it appeared as if the Tiger had new life. But it was not to be. RPI forward Alisa Harrison gave the puck to forward Allison Wright, who put the puck past Young 16 minutes into the second overtime period.

Kampersal recognized that his team put up a solid effort, but that it came up short.

“We struggled,” Kampersal said. “We worked hard the first game.”

Part of the Tigers’ struggles can be traced back to the team’s problems with illness during the past week. Kampersal said some players on the team had to get intravenous fluids after practices and games due to sickness. In this light, Princeton’s performance was even more admirable, as the Tigers held their own in both games and were a few close breaks away from winning the series.

Nevertheless, losing in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row is very disappointing, even more so for the seniors who have now played their last game in Tiger uniforms. While their final games may not have ended the way they might have liked, they can still look back on successful Tiger careers.

“[The seniors] played hard,” Kampersal said. “They played with a lot of heart and soul. I’m lucky to have coached them.”