This weekend, the women’s hockey team faces two tough ECAC opponents in St. Lawrence and No. 4 Clarkson. Princeton will travel to Canton, N.Y., to face the St. Lawrence Saints in a Friday night battle. The Tigers will clash with the Golden Knights on Saturday in Potsdam, N.Y.
Princeton (7-4-1 overall, 5-2-1 ECAC Hockey) is currently ranked fourth in the conference, while Clarkson (12-4-1, 6-1-0) is ranked second and St. Lawrence (6-5-4, 3-3-1) sits in seventh place.
The Tigers are fresh off two home games against No. 8 Boston University, played last Friday and Saturday. Princeton won the first game by a score of 3-1, but could not follow that performance up with another win. The Tigers suffered a 3-2 defeat in the Saturday matchup.
“I thought we battled well both games against Boston University,” head coach Jeff Kampersal ’92 said. “In both games, we did a good job of staying out of the penalty box. On Friday, we were a few plays better, and on Saturday, they were a few plays better.”
Junior defender Sasha Sherry agreed with her coach that the team played well in both games, but that the Tigers could not finish on Saturday.
“On Friday against BU, we made the big plays when we were presented with the opportunities,” Sherry said. “In my opinion, BU was the same team both games. They played tough, quick hockey. They were far from flawless, and we made them pay for their penalties … [On Saturday,] we did not play a full 60 minutes of hockey.”
In preparation for the difficult games this weekend, Princeton has been focusing on improving its overall defense.
“We all need to be certain of our role in any situation presented to us on the ice,” Sherry said. “We must work as a cohesive unit with everyone on the same page, [and] we must play with purpose. Every shift needs to be to the best of our ability. We can’t afford to have mental lapses, because good teams will take advantage of every mistake,” Sherry said.
Kampersal added that his team also must work on puck control, both in the offensive and defensive zones.
The Tigers are expecting that St. Lawrence and Clarkson will play tough hockey. Kampersal said that both teams are “very well coached and disciplined.”
St. Lawrence is coming off a 3-2 victory over Ohio State (6-7-3). The Saints dominated offensively in that game, outshooting the Buckeyes by a decisive 41-21 margin. Forward Michelle Ng leads the Saints with five goals and five assists on the season.
Last weekend, Clarkson dropped two games to No. 2 Minnesota (13-2-1), being held scoreless in both matchups. Forward Dominique Thibault, who paces the Golden Knights with 10 goals and seven assists this season, was held scoreless by a tough Gopher defense.
Both Clarkson and St. Lawrence have strong offenses, and the Tigers are preparing to defend well against them.
“They are dangerous [teams], but nothing we can’t handle,” Sherry said. “Ever since the season has begun, we’ve known what we need to do as a team—it has just been a matter of executing. To win this weekend, we need to make the big plays when we have the opportunity. We also need to make our own opportunities by playing aggressively and winning the one-on-one battles.”
Kampersal said he is expecting two strong games this weekend.
“I expect us to battle and give them our best 60-minute effort,” he said.
Above all, Sherry said, she believes that her team is ready for the challenge.
“Every team in our league is beatable,” Sherry said. “So far in our league, a lot of unexpected things have happened. At the end of the day, we can only control our own performance. If we perform the way we are capable of, we will put ourselves in a great position to ride home on Saturday night with big smiles.”
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