Women's Hockey: Tigers split visits to ranked foes

The Tigers (10-11-4 overall, 8-8-2 ECAC Hockey) opened the trip with an upset, knocking off No. 10 Dartmouth (15-7-2, 11-5-2) despite a disparaging deficit in shots on goal. The Big Green outshot Princeton 42-19 over the course of the game, highlighted by a 24-4 advantage in the second period. However, senior goaltender Rachel Weber remained a force in the net all night long. She allowed only one goal and posted 41 saves for her second-highest tally of the season.

Even as Dartmouth pulled its goalie for a six-on-five advantage in the final minute of regulation, Weber stood strong to preserve the victory. The Big Green managed two shots on goal with the additional player, but the hosts came up short as Princeton skated away with a 2-1 victory.

All three of the game’s goals came on power plays, as the Tigers capitalized on two of five opportunities and held Dartmouth to one goal in four tries. Junior forward Kelly Cooke opened up the scoring with one minute, 14 seconds left in the first period, redirecting a shot from sophomore defender Gabie Figueroa to beat Dartmouth goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft. Freshman defender Brianne Mahoney was credited with an assist on the play, her first helper of the season, while the score was Cooke’s third.

Junior forward Corey Stearns netted what would eventually be the game-winning goal just shy of the midway mark in the second period. The Big Green responded quickly, however, taking advantage of Princeton’s first penalty of the game. Forward Camille Dumais scored the home team’s only goal less than three minutes later. The third period was scoreless as the Tigers held on to preserve the victory over their ranked opponents.

Princeton would not fare so well on its trip to Massachusetts, however. Seeking their second consecutive victory over a top-10 team — and their third for the season — the Tigers suffered a devastating setback, completely overwhelmed by the Crimson (16-7-1, 13-4-1) in a 10-1 rout. Princeton again faced a substantial disadvantage in shot attempts: Harvard outshot the Tigers 42-15, including a second period that saw a remarkable seven of 17 shot attempts hit home. The period was by far Princeton’s worst of the season — until Saturday, the Tigers had not allowed more than six goals in a game.

The Crimson was led by standout forward Jillian Dempsey, who swiftly erased Princeton’s 1-0 first-period lead with three straight goals. Dempsey didn’t stop at the hat trick, however, netting two more goals in the contest. Stearns had her second consecutive game with a goal, the only Tiger to mark the scoreboard in the contest.

Princeton will look to recover on a four-game homestand to close out the regular season. Baker Rink will host contests against Clarkson and St. Lawrence next weekend before the Tigers finish the regular season with games against RPI and Union. Next weekend Princeton will be looking for some revenge after losing to the Golden Knights and the Saints on the road.