Engineers Defeat Princeton to Win Series
/Rensselaer/Sonja_vanderBliek2.gif?max_width=360)
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer (18-13-4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Princeton (18-11-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 10:38 | PP - Sierra Vadner (Rensselaer) |
| Rensselaer | Princeton |
|---|---|
|
G:
Melissa Boik - 1
A: Sierra Vadner - 1 Sh: 4 Players (#11, #18, #20, #24 - 2) Sv: Sonja Van der bliek - 32 |
G:
N/A
A: N/A Sh: Danielle Dicesare - 6 Sv: Kristen Young - 11 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Rensselaer | Princeton |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 3 | 0 for 7 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 7 (14) | 3 (6) |
| Shots on Goal | 12 | 32 |
| Face Offs Won | 15 | 43 |
PRINCETON, N.J. - Sophomore netminder Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros) turned aside all 32 shots she faced, including 13 in the second stanza to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's ice hockey team to a 1-0 victory over Princeton University and win its first-ever ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series to advance to next weekend's semi-finals.
The sixth seeded Engineers improve to 18-13-4 on the season and will face top-seeded Harvard in the conference semi-finals on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass. Times for those games are to be determined. The Tigers wrap up their season with an 18-11-2 record, falling for the third straight season in the quarterfinal round.
"This was a great series against a great team," said head coach John Burke. "Sonja was outstanding in goal for us tonight and really kept us in the game making a number of key saves."
Much like last night's game one victory, the Engineers jumped out to an early lead on the seventh tally of the season by senior captain Melissa Boik (Allen Park, MI/Michigan Capitals). Skating with the man-advantage, RPI took it into the Tigers zone and set up with back-and-forth passing just inside the blueline.
Poised at the left point, rookie Sierra Vadner (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Thoroughbreds) slid the puck across to Boik on the right side, who sent a slapshot through traffic in front and past Princeton goalie Kristen Young (Calgary, AB/Bowness Bruins) at 10:38 of the opening period.
Neither team lit the lamp in the second stanza, but Princeton carried all the momentum, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots during the period. The Engineers defense played stellar mid-way through the frame as the Tigers nearly gained ground on the scoreboard after a penalty to RPI's Jamie-Lynn Stewart (Cambridge, ON/Cambridge Jr. Fury), who was called for tripping.
Princeton sent a barrage of shots at the RPI net, but van der Bliek and the Engineers defense was up to the task, making a number of saves and blocks to keep the score, 1-0 in favor of Rensselaer heading into the final period.
The Tigers refused to give up in the third stanza as they continued to send a number of shots into the RPI zone, looking for the equalizer.
Freshman Julie Johnson (Calgary, AB) and senior Christine Foster (Burlington, ON) had two solid chances within seconds of one another, including Foster's point-blank shot right in front.
Princeton pulled Young with 2:25 left in the contest and sent several shots at van der Bliek, but could not come up with a tally despite the 12-4 advantage in shots.
In addition to the 13 shots she saved in the second stanza, van der Bliek also made seven saves in the first and 12 in the final period for 32 total saves. Young posted 11 stops in the loss for the Tigers.
