Saints Beat Princeton, Complete Weekend Sweep
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PRINCETON, N.J. -- Sophomore Brittaney Maschmeyer scored her first collegiate goal and fellow classmate Tara Akstull scored in her fourth consecutive game as the No. 5/6 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team earned a weekend sweep to open ECAC Hockey play with a 3-1 victory over Princeton on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints (4-2-0, 2-0-0) out-shot Princeton (1-1-2, 1-1-1) in each of the first two periods, but the Tigers roared back with a 12-3 shot advantage in the third period to finish with a 25-24 edge in the category.
Maschmeyer put the Saints on top at 5:07 of the first period, when the Bruderheim, Alberta native scored on the power play, with assists going to senior Chelsea Grills and junior Alison Domenico. The Scarlet and Brown, who out-shot Princeton 12-9 in the first period, continued to pour on the offense only 3:23 later when senior Kerri Wallace scored her first of the season to put the Saints on top 2-0. First year student Karell Emard found Wallace, and the Saints' co-captain beat Princeton netminder Kristen Young for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Meanwhile, senior goalie Meaghan Guckian was solid for the Saints, stopping each of the nine shots she faced from Princeton 's offense.
After the first intermission, the visitors continued to attack at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton , NJ , as Akstull scored St. Lawrence's third goal of the afternoon only 50 seconds into the second period. The goal, which was the 11 th of the Clifton Park, NY native's young career, put the Saints ahead 3-0, with assists going to both Grills and Domenico again. Grills' helper was the sixth of the season for her, while Domenico's assist was her third of 2007-08.
The remaining 19:10 of the period belonged to the goaltenders, as Guckian and Young kept the two offenses off the scoreboard heading into the second break. Young made eight saves in the period, while Guckian counted with four.
The Tigers, who were out-matched throughout much of the first two periods, came out in the third period very aggressive and looking to claw their way back into the game. Lizzie Keady would get her team one step closer, as the Princeton senior forward scored her first goal of the season on Guckian only 2:48 into the third period, with assists going to Brittany Salmon and Marykate Oakley.
Trailing 3-1, Princeton worked hard and earned their share of scoring chances thanks to three St. Lawrence penalties in the period. However, Guckian was up to the task, keeping 11 of the 12 shots she faced in the final twenty minutes in front of her, and buckling down the Saints' 3-1 victory with a 24-save performance.
The Saints kept Princeton scoreless with a player advantage (0-for-5), while they managed one power play goal on seven opportunities. Guckian's play between the pipes moved her to 3-2-0 on the season, while Young fell to 1-1-2 despite making 21 saves.
The Tigers were able to keep senior forward Sabrina Harbec quiet offensively, as she did not manage to tally a point for the first time this season. She will continue her chase of the University career point record next weekend, trailing Rebecca Russell's mark by two points (176).
After earning their first two conference wins of the season, St. Lawrence will look to extend their current three-game win streak when the visit Wayne State University for a pair of non-conference games next weekend in Detroit, MI. The puck will drop on the Saints and Warriors in the opener on Friday, November 2nd at 7:00pm.
