Women's Hockey: Upstate New York beckons to Princeton

The Princeton women’s hockey team goes on the road this weekend for two key ECAC showdowns against Colgate and No. 10 Cornell, in a repeat of a double-header from earlier in the season.

The Tigers (10-9-4 overall, 8-4-4 ECAC Hockey) lost 1-0 to the Big Red (10-8-5, 9-2-5) in November and achieved a 3-2 victory over the Red Raiders (8-18-4, 4-8-4).

Cornell, which currently stands three points ahead of Princeton, is looking to close out its season with its first-ever top-four finish in league play. It promises to be a close contest, with Cornell averaging 2.48 goals a game to Princeton’s 2.4.

Princeton has a 40-22-3 all-time record against Cornell, and is 16-11 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Still, Cornell is unbeaten in its last two meetings with Princeton, having beaten the Tigers this year and tied last February.

“They will be a feisty opponent,” senior co-captain and defender Stephanie Denino said.

“The key to winning will be to play an in-your-face type game in which we move the puck quickly and smartly and make them pay for the mistakes they make. There are obviously a lot more components to consider when putting together strong performances — things we have been repeating since the beginning of the year that we want to aim to achieve consistently as we approach the playoffs,” she explained.

The Colgate game should be significantly less challenging, as Princeton leads the all-time series between the teams 19-3-2. At Colgate, the Tigers are 8-1-1 all-time. Princeton won the last two times the teams faced off.

Though Colgate has averaged a respectable 2.5 goals per game, it has also allowed 3.9, almost twice as many as Princeton has.

The Red Raiders have struggled to find the back of the net this season, making only 9 percent of their shots so far.

In a recent match-up with Cornell, Colgate fell 6-0. It currently stands in the sixth position in the ECAC.

The Tigers are coming off of two strong performances, having defeated Union 3-0 and tied Rensslaer 1-1.

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These games propelled Princeton to a third-place tie in the league standings with Harvard and RPI.

Sophomore goaltender Rachel Weber, who played back-to-back games, saved 41 of the 42 shots she faced last time out, bringing her save percentage to an impressive mark of .912.

Each game is crucial as league play progresses.

“At this late point in the season, the race is tighter than it has ever been in the ECAC,” Denino explained.

“Every point matters. The top spots are up for grabs, and we want to see ourselves up there by the end of regular-season play, to both earn home ice and send the message that the Tigers know how to prevail in a tight race,” Denino added.

The Tigers currently find themselves just one point above the Quinnipiac Bobcats and St. Lawrence Saints.

Those teams are tied for fourth in the league, so losses this weekend could be especially damaging to the Tigers’ ECAC hopes.

“Both teams are very strong,” junior defender Sasha Sherry said.

“They have very skilled players that can be game-changers,” she explained.

“Specifically, Cornell’s penalty kill has only allowed two goals all year, an extraordinary feat. We are going to have less time to make decisions because they are quick and aggressive to attack the puck. Both teams have good power plays and solid defenses. We will need to bring our A-game for 60 minutes against both these teams,” she added.