The women’s ice hockey team is looking to redeem itself against No. 2 Cornell after being blown out 5-1 by the Big Red in their first meeting of the year. In that Oct. 30 game at Baker Rink, Cornell (6-1 overall, 4-0 ECAC Hockey) put the pressure on Princeton (3-5-1, 3-3-1) right out of the gate, scoring a goal in the first two minutes.
The Tigers quickly fell behind 3-0 by the end of the first period and scored their lone goal in the third period, after the Big Red had already taken a commanding 5-0 lead.
While that game was by far the Tigers’ worst loss of the season, the team actually felt that it had played fairly well.
“Though the score to our last game against Cornell was lopsided ... we actually played very well through most of the game,” junior forward and co-captain Paula Romanchuk said. “When you play a team as skilled as Cornell, they are going to capitalize on a majority of your mistakes, so this weekend we’re looking to eliminate those.”
The Tiger defense will certainly have its hands full against the high-octane Big Red offense that has not let up since its last game against the Tigers. Cornell averages nearly five goals per game and has never scored fewer than three in a game. Princeton, on the other hand, averages fewer than two goals per game and has not netted more than three goals in any game this season. Furthermore, Princeton has failed to create much offense in its last three games against the Big Red, losing by a combined score of 12-1.
Romanchuk said she is looking for junior goalie Rachel Weber to step up and help the Tigers contain the Cornell offense, something that they definitely had trouble with at the last meeting.
“Weber ... had two good games against Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend,” Romanchuk said. “I look to see her gain some confidence from those performances and elevate her game even more. We need her to come up with big saves here and there, which she’s capable of doing.”
In their most recent games — a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 9 Dartmouth (6-1, 5-1) and a 2-2 tie with Harvard (2-2-2, 2-2-2) — the Tigers were unable to capitalize, scoring no goals on a combined five power plays. And in their last game against Cornell, the Tigers did the same, failing to score on four power-play opportunities. Princeton hopes to turn around its dismal power-play performance against the Big Red.
“This week we’ve focused a lot on our power play. I think it’s under 10 percent, which is not good,” Romanchuk said. “Special teams is a huge part of the game, so we need to start executing and finding ways to put the puck in the back of the net.”
In the games against Dartmouth and Harvard, Princeton almost came away with two big wins against tough opponents. The Tigers led by a goal with just a few minutes left in the third period in both games, only to give up goals in the final minutes that forced both games into overtime.
Despite the final results, head coach Jeff Kampersal ’92 said he was satisfied with the team’s overall play.
“We can take from the games this weekend that we played well for the most part and battled hard,” Kampersal said.
The Tigers hope to translate this solid play into a big victory against Cornell on Friday.
Princeton looks to stay concentrated, especially on defense, where the Big Red have hurt them before.
“We will alter our system just a bit in order to help us keep their players to the outside and away from the scoring area,” Romanchuk said. “We give them some respect considering their skill. However, we will still play aggressively as we do against any other team.”
When asked what the key to victory is for the Tigers, Kampersal said, “We need to stay out of the penalty box and play well in the middle of the rink. No turnovers.”
“On paper, Cornell may look like the better team,” Romanchuk admitted. “But if we take things one play at a time and do the little things right, then we’ll have a shot.”
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