Going Out in Style: Princeton 3, Union 0

From left to right: Danielle DiCesare, Rachel Weber, Paula Romanchuk, Charissa Stadnyk, Julie Johnson, Heather Landry, Anne-Marie Ervin

Barring a series of miracles that would dwarf the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Olympic Games, yesterday was Princeton's last home game of the season. They head into the playoffs as the number seven seed, and thus would only return home if they and the number eight seed, Brown, made it to the finals. Trust me, it won't happen.

But the Tigers ended the regular season with a fine game, and rewarded the large Senior Day crowd. Coach Jeff Kampersal started all six of his seniors in uniform, and each played a role in the victory. Primarily it was goalie Rachel Weber who provided the biggest noise--she stopped 15 saves to get the shutout.

None of the seniors got goals, but they did provide assists to the underclassmen who got them. The first goal was by Sally Butler, who ends the season with the most goals on the team. She was assisted by senior Heather Landry. This goal came after a scoreless first period. The Tiger added a second goal in the period on the power play, and it was two seniors who made perfect passes: Julie Johnson to Paula Romanchuk behind the net, who dished to Ali Pankowski in the slot.

The Tigers added a goal in the third when Denna Laing scored on a power play on feeds from Gabie Figueroa and again Landry.

I had told my friends in the crowd before the game that I thought Weber would get the shutout, and though the dominating Princeton D held Union to 15 shots, some of Weber's saves were cat-like.

During one of the intermissions, the mother of senior Danielle DiCesare had a great idea, and I hope it becomes a senior day tradition. As usual, the team hung the road jerseys of the graduating seniors (including Anne-Marie Elvin, whose career was cut short by concussions but served as the team's manager) on the balcony. Mrs. DiCesare pulled them down and they were worn by the mothers of each of the players. Not only was this a nice family moment, but it enabled us to see who belong to who.

Also as usual, the Tigers held a skate-around after the game for young fans. I'm not young, nor do I skate, but a large crowd headed onto the ice. The kids skated and got autographs, and the adults hobnobbed with parents and players and took photos. Such a lovely way to end the season.

I will not be attending the playoff games in Harvard next weekend. It's an uphill battle; since realignment ten years ago no seed lower than a five has ever won an ECAC quarterfinal. In addition, Princeton has not played well in Harvard for the last few years. But anything can happen. After the end of the season, I'll be back to post a wrap-up.

Just Enough: Princeton 2, RPI 1

Brianne Mahoney

The script looked like the same, grim scenario: Princeton goalie Rachel Weber gave up an early goal, this time 23 seconds into the game, before the notes from the National Anthem had cleared the arena. Already the Tigers were behind the eight-ball; an uphill battle for a team that values goals like pink diamonds.

But the Tigers showed a little resilience, and battled back to tie and then go ahead, winning the game against Rensselaer 2-1. It was an impressive win in some ways, as RPI had everything to play for; their inclusion in the playoffs hanging in the balance, while Princeton is set as the seven-seed. But the Tigers played some smart and vigorous defense, and Weber, after the early misstep, played brilliantly.

I didn't even see the first goal, but I did see the Tigers' two goals. The first, midway through the first period, was by Denna Laing, who recovered a rebound off a slap shot by Brianne Mahoney.

The second and game-winning goal came off the stick of Sally Butler, who was in the right place at the right time, the puck almost falling in front of her as if ordered, and slapped it home.

The Tigers had a lead with more than half a game to play. In the stands we joked that they needed to now kill off a penalty lasting well over 20 minutes. In fact, RPI controlled the action for what seemed an eternity, an almost four-minute forecheck. At one point the puck was loose in the front of the net, Weber was out of position, but two Tiger defenders stood like a phalanx in the crease, and a shot bounced harmlessly off their torsos. After icing the puck, coach Jeff Kampersal was forced to call a timeout just to get his exhausted players off the ice.

With the sterling play of Weber and her blueline protectors, including Mahoney, who shadowed the RPI wings claustrophobically, the Tigers kept RPI off the scoreboard.

No Offense Intended: St. Lawrence 1, Princeton 0

Gabie Figueroa

This is a broken record, one that's been spinning a long time, making the tone-arm bounce for a decade. The Princeton Tigers, being coached by Jeff Kampersal, struggle to score. Through dozens of players, and now a new pair of assistant coaches, the team has always been one that has good goaltending and defense, but to whom goals are like Bigfoot sightings--few and far between.

The latest travesty was against St. Lawrence yesterday. Princeton can get shutout in a variety of ways--this time they almost doubled the Saints shot total, 31-17, yet still lost 1-0. There were several tantalizing moments--Denna Laing missed an open net in the first period, while Corey Stearns and Sally Butler seemed to say, "The hell with this, I'm gonna score come hell or high water," but just couldn't get the puck in the net. There was even a goal waved off, but for unknown reasons. When that happened I turned to my friend and said, "Don't the refs realize we don't get many of these?"

I've never played the game, so I have no real understanding of what this team's problems are. Maybe it's the players--Gretchen Anderson was the last consistent scorer the Tigers had, and she graduated in 2004. But I look at the stats for D-I and see plenty of players with high scoring totals. The Tigers do not have anyone in the top 50 in scoring, a certainty given they now average only 1.96 goals a game. Princeton does not offer scholarships, and they're not a legendary hockey program, so they won't get the best players, but come on!

It's therefore easy to blame the coach, as the story has been the same for several years now. When St. Lawrence scored early in the game--Jessica Hon grabbed her own rebound and lit the lamp--I had a sinking feeling the Tigers would not score. It's not fair to Rachel Weber--by far the Tigers MVP--that she has to pitch a shutout in order to have a chance to win. She would have a spectacular win-loss record on another team, one that can score.

I grew frustrated watching the Tigers' offensive scheme, what there was of it. At some moments, the passing was crisp and effective, but at other times there seemed to be no discipline--players just dumped and chased, seeming to make things up on the fly. At one point four of the five skaters were gathered around a puck frozen against the boards--if it came free, who was the player going to pass to? Kampersal has never believed in one man, one puck--it's like a free-for-all.

At least the defense played well in this game, limiting St. Lawrence to just those 17 shots. I thought Gabie Figueroa had a great game, patrolling the blue line. She seems to have great vision on the ice, and though occasionally a puck will sneak past her out of the zone, she does a nice job. I also admire Ali Pankowski, who has the heaviest shot on the team. In this game, Kampersal employed a different set up on the power play. Instead of two players on the point, he had a sort of "triangle and two," with one player on the point, two at the face-off circles, and two in the slot. Unfortunately, he had Pankowski in close. She should be back on the point, as her shot is the best chance to making it through the crowd. Instead, Kampersal had Charissa Stadnyk back, and her shot isn't blistering enough to make it through.

The regular season winds up next week with two home games. I hope to celebrate a few goals.

Jekyll and Hyde: Clarkson 2, Princeton 1

Corey Stearns

Last weekend's road trip to Dartmouth/Harvard best illustrated the Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of Princeton's women's ice hockey team. Both opponents were in the top ten, far above the Tigers in the ECAC standings. Yet the Tigers hung on for a tough 2-1 over Dartmouth (largely through the efforts of their goalie, Rachel Weber), and then took a 1-0 lead after one period against nemesis Harvard. But then the wheels came off, spectacularly, and Weber allowed seven goals in the second period en route to a 10-1 loss. How could this be the same team?

Last night, back home for the beginning of a season-ending four-game home stand, Princeton played well, but lost to a superior Clarkson squad, 2-1. It has to be disheartening to Weber that she has to be almost perfect to win--Princeton has only scored 2.04 goals per game, which is 29th out of 35 teams in Division I. She played well enough to win last night, but the Tigers just can not mount an effective offense.

After a scoreless first period, the Golden Knights struck first, with Kali Gillanders blasting a shot in from the blue line over Weber's left shoulder. The Tigers knotted the score at one in the same period, when Charissa Stadnyk's slap shot rebounded off Clarkson goalie Erica Howe's pads and Brianna Leahy gathered it and fired it in.

But in midway through the third period, Brittany Styner of Clarkson managed to knock the puck past Weber, who was unable to corral a rebound. Tiger fans were discomfited; they had to score one goal to force overtime, two to win, and that seemed impossible.

The Tigers had their chances. Sally Butler snuck out on a breakaway, but her shot went too high. My game puck goes to Corey Stearns, who was all around the opponent's goal this game, but just couldn't convert. In fact, the Tigers out-shot the Golden Knights, 25-24, but from my eye Princeton had better scoring chances.

Princeton seems locked in the seventh position of the ECAC standings, which means they will go to the playoffs, but will be on the road (likely against Harvard, where Bright Arena has turned into a chamber of horrors). Since the realignment of the ECAC ten years ago, this is the lowest seed the Tigers have had, by two notches. Clearly something needs to be done to address the incompetence in scoring.