Weekend Hockey Update

Halfway through the weekend's games and both the men's and women's hockey teams have been involved in tightly fought one goal games. Here's a weekend update for all you hockey enthusiasts.

The men's hockey team (16-10-2 overall, 11-8-2 ECAC Hockey) battled at No. 14 Rensselaer (19-10-4, 11-9-1) and came away with a 4-3 victory. Freshman forward Andrew Calof added to his team-leading 30 points with an unassisted shorthanded goal early in the first period to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

After the Engineers tied the game a few minutes later, back-to-back goals by senior forward Kevin Lohry and freshman forward Andrew Ammon made it 3-1 in favor of Princeton. Another tally by Ammon gave the Tigers enough for a much-needed 4-3 victory. Freshman goalie Sean Bonar made 27 saves for his seventh win of the season.

Based on the latest results around the ECAC Hockey conference, the Tigers are still in contention for a top-four playoff seed and a first-round bye. They can no longer finish higher than Dartmouth after the Big Green beat St. Lawrence earlier tonight.

Fortunately for the Tigers, Cornell lost a dramatic overtime game tonight against Brown. dropping them into a virtual tie with Princeton. Both teams have the same number of points, the exact same conference record and one win in the head-to-head matchup. Cornell would win the next tie-breaker (record vs. top four teams), however.

If Princeton is able to beat No. 5 Union tomorrow night, it is guaranteed at least the fifth seed going into the ECAC Hockey tournament. The Tigers can move up into the top four if Cornell drops its game against No. 3 Yale. Both of these games are on the road. If neither team records the upset, the Tigers would finish in fifth or sixth depending on the Rensselaer vs. Quinnipiac outcome.

Finishing outside the top four would still give the Tigers home ice advantage, albeit in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals. There are still many scenarios that can play out, but Princeton would draw St. Lawrence, Harvard or Colgate in the first round. They are 5-0-1 against those three teams so far, so past play indicates these matchups would be favorable for the Tigers.

The women's hockey team did not fare as well on Friday. They lost the first game in the best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinals against fifth-seeded Quinnipiac. Senior defender and co-captain Sasha Sherry broke a scoreless tie less than a minute into the second period when she crashed the net and buried home a loose rebound. Sherry now leads the team with eight goals on the season. Quinnipiac knotted the game back up at 1-1 midway through the second period.

The two teams seemed destined for overtime after trading possessions for much of the third period, but Quinnipiac's Brittany Lyons scored the game-winning goal with five seconds left in regulation. Quinnipiac freshman phenom Kelly Babstock fed the puck to Lyons, who slipped it through the legs of junior goalie Rachel Weber.

Quinnipiac now leads the series 1-0 and can wrap it up as soon as tomorrow. The Tigers will try to force a third game and prolong the series to keep their ECAC Hockey championship hopes alive.

The men's hockey team will play its final game of the regular season at Union tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The women's hockey team takes on Quinnipiac again tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Baker Rink. If necessary, the final game in the series will take place on Sunday at 4 p.m. Both games will be covered live by the Daily Princetonian.