On Friday, March 6, Princeton women’s ice hockey (23–10 overall, 16–6–4 ECAC) traveled to Lake Placid to face Quinnipiac (28–8–3, 14–6–2) in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship semifinals. After a hard-fought 60 minutes, the Tigers lost 2–1 in overtime.
“We went into this game knowing it was gonna be a battle. We had to bring everything we had to the table,” sophomore forward Angelina DiGirolamo told The Daily Princetonian.
The game opened with urgency from both teams, with the Tigers winning the initial face-off and Quinnipiac responding by taking the first shot within the first 20 seconds.
Just four minutes into the first period, Quinnipiac had landed the puck in the Princeton net. Bobcat forward Bryn Prier met forward Emerson Jarvis’s rebound shot and put the puck past the Tigers’ junior goaltender Uma Corniea. The Bobcats appeared to be up 1–0.
This goal, however, was challenged by Princeton head coach Courtney Kessel for off-sides play, and, after review, the score was overturned. The teams remained tied at zero.
But, less than ten minutes later, Quinnipiac pulled ahead. Bobcat defender Mia Lopata punched the puck across the ice to forward Taylor Brueske, who finished the motion with a quick wrist shot, putting the Bobcats on the board 1–0.
“[Quinnipiac’s] whole team works really hard and crashes the net hard so we knew that we needed to pick up sticks and pressure them hard,” Corniea said to the ‘Prince.’ “I’m proud of the way our team responded, especially after their goal got called off and then they scored again.”
Princeton maintained defensive pressure on the Bobcats to keep them scoreless in the second period, while continuing pursuit of the net.
“In the first period, we were gripping our sticks a little tight. But heading into the second, we felt like we could win this game, and that’s what we wanted to do,” Kessel said to the ‘Prince.’
In a competitive first two periods, both teams battled for possession and control of the neutral zone, seeing a relatively low number of shots on goal — just 11 and 14 for Princeton and Quinnipiac, respectively.
Halfway through the third period, the Tigers evened the score. Junior defender Gabby Kim won the puck from Quinnipiac and quickly fed it up to DiGirolamo. DiGirolamo received the puck and skated toward the open ice to her left to gain on the Quinnipiac defense. In a controlled shot, she lodged the puck through the back of the net.
“We knew it was coming, we just needed it to go to the back of the net, so when she put it to the back of the net, it was electric on the bench,” Kessel told the ‘Prince.’
“Gabby passed it to me, it was a 2-on-1, I looked for the pass and I shot it,” DiGirolamo said, when asked about the goal post-game. “Everyone was super excited. I think that really gave us a lot of momentum into the third.”
Though Quinnipiac called for a review of the play, the goal was not overturned, and Princeton was back in the game, with the score tied at one goal each.
With a newfound urgency, the Tigers aggressively challenged the Bobcat defense, taking the lead in shots on goal, but the scoreboard remained tied 1–1 as the regulation clock timed out. Now, both teams geared up for an intense overtime period.
A missed backwards pass by senior forward Issy Wunder allowed Quinnipiac defender Zoe Uens to claim possession of the puck in the extra period. Uens passed to open teammate, forward Avery Bairos, who turned towards the Princeton goal. In a quick effort, Bairos crossed into Princeton’s defensive third, only facing one defender in between her and Corniea. Bairos took a shot, under the pressure of Princeton junior defender Maggie Johnson. It was initially blocked by Corniea, but Bairos met the rebound and sent the puck deep into the lower left corner. With a little less than four minutes of overtime underway, Quinnipiac emerged victorious 2–1.
“She’s been the heart and soul of this team all year,” Kessel said when asked about Corniea. “Coming back from some injuries, what a tremendous job she’s done.”
While Princeton will not continue to the ECAC championship round, the Tigers will be back on the ice soon. On Thursday at 7 p.m., Princeton will take on the University of Connecticut (27–8–2, 17–6–1 Hockey East) for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
This season is the first since 2020 that the team has qualified for the tournament.
“I am most proud of the way we came together as a group off the ice and showed up for each other and cared about each other,” Kessel told the ‘Prince.’
“We’re not done,” Kessel concluded.
Siena Sydenham is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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