Women's Ice Hockey: Squad to face Syracuse

The women’s ice hockey team is wading into uncharted waters this weekend with two games against Syracuse. The team will have to fight hard, but there are many indications that this could be a match made in heaven for Princeton this weekend.

Princeton (7-6-1 overall, 5-4-1 ECAC Hockey) had a rough two games last weekend, losing to conference rivals Clarkson and St. Lawrence. It looks to turn that around with back-to-back wins against the Orange.

“These are our last games before we go home for about a week,” junior defender Sasha Sherry said. “So it would be great to end the first half of the season with two wins.”

This season, the Orange has been much stronger offensively during the second and third periods, while Princeton tends to go out strong in the first period. If the Tigers can capitalize on this advantage and not let up in the second and third periods, the game could certainly play in their favor.

Syracuse and Princeton have opposite strengths, and the Tigers will also need to take advantage of Syracuse’s weaknesses.

The Orange has taken more penalties than its opponents, and this plays directly into the Tigers' hands. Princeton has been excellent on the power play, and it has played disciplined hockey.

The Tigers will have to watch out for Syracuse forward Stefanie Marty, who has posted nine goals and nine assists.

Though these distinctions will be important for this weekend's games, Sherry also recognizes the need for the Tigers to connect as a team.

“Judging by our performances thus far this season, it doesn't seem to matter who we are playing because we have been our own worst enemy,” Sherry said.

The team knows it will be key to not only understand its opponent but also change from the team it was last weekend.

“We need to play better in the defensive zone and get more quality shots on net to create scoring opportunities,” Sherry said. “Just getting shots is not enough. The shots need to be stronger and coming from the center of the rink.”

This is clear from the Tigers' game against Clarkson, in which Princeton had seven more shots on goal than Clarkson but still lost by three goals. It is apparent that there needs to be more of a connection between the defense and the offense.

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Clearly this is a rebuilding weekend --- a chance to look within the team and find out what has going wrong to result in the recent losses. “The lines might be switched up this weekend in an effort to spark some offense,” Sherry said. “The fact that these games are non-conference is good for us because we can move players around and try new things heading into the second half of the season.”

If Princeton can effectively switch up its lines and capitalize on its particular strengths over the weekend, it will be successful.

The dedicated Tigers will be back the day right after Christmas to begin practicing again for an intense and challenging lineup after break.