Although the Princeton University women’s hockey team didn’t pull out a victory in its two-game set last weekend at Ohio State, it showed a spirit that should help it post some wins down the homestretch of the ECAC Hockey season.
Getting outshot 86-46 over the weekend in Columbus, Ohio, the Tigers still rallied to pull out a 2-2 tie on Friday and a 1-1 stalemate the next day.
“The compete level was really good; we played hard 65 minutes two straight days,” said Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal, whose team moved to 6-9-3 overall with the two ties.
“We came from behind in both games; there was no letdown in the second game. It was a good sign.”
Coming into the trip to the midwest, Kampersal had a good feeling about his team’s mindset.
“We got back to practice on December 26,” said Kampersal. “It was a travel day so we were a little out of synch. The girls had gotten the rest they need but they have stayed in shape. We practiced hard on Tuesday and Wednesday. When they practice hard like that, they usually play well on the weekend.”
In the opener on Friday, the Tigers played well in spurts. After the Buckeyes scored in the second period to take a 1-0 lead, sophomore defenseman Gabie Figueroa notched her first goal of the season to knot the contest at 1-1. Ohio State scored early in the third period but sophomore forward Sally Butler scored with 3:19 left in regulation on a feed by classmate Rose Alleva to force overtime and the game ended at 2-2.
“The first three shifts on Friday were some of the best we have had in a while; we had Ohio State on their heels,” said Kampersal.
“Ohio State came back and had us on our heels; they have some firepower. We battled back, the kids played hard the whole time.”
It was encouraging for Princeton to see defensemen Figueroa and Alleva firing away.
“Figueroa started off slowly this season with her injury,” said Kampersal. “She and Rose had a really good weekend; they have been both been battling injury. They are starting to look like they did at the end of their freshman year.”
Butler continued to look good offensively the next day as she notched a second period goal that ended up giving Princeton a 1-1 draw.
“Sally has a good nose for the net,” said Kampersal of the 5’9 forward from Etobicoke, Ontario who has a team-leading nine goals on the season. “She knows where the puck is and is strong on the puck.”
The strength of the Tigers, though, continues to be the superb goaltending of senior Rachel Weber, who made 38 saves on Friday and then posted a career-high 44 stops a day later.
“Weber was really sharp, no question,” said Kampersal, referring to Weber who has started all 18 games this winter for Princeton, compiling a 2.11 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.
“She looked like she did during her shutout streak last year. She was even crisper on Friday than Saturday. They had a lot of breakaways and quality shots in that first game.”
With Princeton having gone 5-6-1 in ECACH play to tie St. Lawrence for fifth in the league standings, the Tigers will have to be crisp collectively as they host Harvard (8-4 overall, 6-2 ECACH) on Friday and Dartmouth (6-5-1 overall, 4-3-1 ECACH) the next day.
“It was good for us to get going,” said Kampersal. “We need to pick up some points in the ECAC. There is not a better time than with Harvard and Dartmouth coming in. They have a great tradition. I think the girls always get fired up for the Ivy League games.”