Off to a Great Start: Princeton 5, Northeastern 3

Sally Butler

The Ivy League teams, which have more restrictive rules on the numbers of games played than other conferences, always get started later in the year. Princeton's opener was against Northeastern, and the Huskies from Boston already had four games under the belt, all wins. The Tigers were also hobbled, with two of their D out of action, including stalwart Gabie Figueroa. Last week Gabie was on her bike and had a collision with a golf cart, getting a bad concussion on knocking five teeth out. Not a great way to start the season.

Thus the Tigers' blueline contingent was relying on two freshmen, Brianne Mahoney, and a converted forward, Julie Johnson. While at times rickety, they held on, and the super work done by the Sally Butler-Olivia Mucha-Denna Laing line bull rushed the Northeastern squad and earned a 5-3 victory.

Last year this trio of freshmen were key in the Tigers' offense, supplanting Paula Romanchuk and Danielle DiCesare as the go-to scorers. If last night's game is any indication, they will be a force to reckoned with by any of the Tigers' opponents. Princeton had only 12 shots on goal, but five of them found the back of the net, and Butler, in particular, displayed some uncanny moves.

The Tigers got off to the early lead when Butler and Mucha rang up first-period goals. Both were of the top-shelf variety, over Huskie goalie's Florence Schelling's left shoulder. Butler's just skimmed the underside of the crossbar and knocked Schelling's water bottle to the ice. I've always thought goalies had more trouble with high shots, but many players aim low. It was good to see both kids aim high.

Northeastern had the only goal of the second period, but the third period saw a lot of action. Princeton netminder Rachel Weber looked to be in mid-season form, making some harried saves, but some defensive breakdowns made things interesting. Princeton had gone out to a 4-1 lead, with another goal by Butler that was textbook, coming off a perfect long pass from Laing (who had three assists on the night) and another goal by Mucha. But Northeastern got two quick goals to make it 4-3.

With time running out, Heather Landry committed a penalty that was not wise, so the Huskies now had an extra attacker, and after pulling the goalie were two up. But the Tigers clawed the puck away and Laing fed it to Kelly Cooke, who had the easiest goal she'll ever have.

To beat a good team like Northeastern with the rust still on shows a lot of promise. The team look well-coached; passes were crisp, everybody hustled. Let's hope they can keep it up this afternoon versus Niagara.