Team Notes: Princeton Travels to Harvard and Dartmouth
PRINCETON - The Princeton women's hockey team resumes its battle for a top-four ECAC Hockey finish and home-ice playoff series this weekend on the road at 10th-ranked Harvard and Dartmouth. The Tigers are currently tied for fifth in the league standings, a point behind fourth-place Quinnipiac.
Princeton ran its season-long winning streak to eight games last Friday with a 4-0 win over St. Lawrence before Clarkson handed the Tigers their first loss since Dec. 3 on Saturday afternoon. Princeton's eight-game run saw the Tigers outscore their opponents 28-3 and put up six shutouts.
On Friday, Rachel Weber led the Tigers to the 4-0 win, making 37 saves for her sixth shutout in an eight-game span. Heather Landry scored twice in the win, while Charissa Stadnyk notched the game winner and Olivia Mucha had an empty-net goal.
A day later, Corey Stearns scored twice in the 3-2 loss to Clarkson. She gave Princeton a 1-0 lead early in the first period that the Tigers held onto until the third when the Golden Knights scored three-straight goals to take control of the game. Stearns scored again later on the power play with Weber pulled to get back within one, but couldn't get the equalizer. Weber's 41 saves in the loss were a career high, besting the 37 of the previous night.
Princeton, which entered the weekend a point out of fourth place, kept pace with fourth-place Quinnipiac, which also lost to Clarkson and beat St. Lawrence. Both Princeton and Quinnipiac lost two points in the standings to second-place Dartmouth and third-place Harvard. Clarkson's sweep of Princeton and Quinnipiac also vaulted the Golden Knights into a tie with Princeton in the standings. Cornell continues to top the standings with a perfect 16-0-0 league record and 32 points. Harvard is second with 24, followed by Dartmouth's 20 and Quinnipiac's 18. Princeton and Clarkson each have 17 points, and seventh-place Rensselaer is two points back with 15.
Princeton will look to get another winning streak going this weekend when it travels to Harvard and Dartmouth for a pair of Ivy and ECAC games. Princeton managed just a point against the pair in mid-November at home in a pair of games that went to overtime. Against Dartmouth, Princeton led 2-1 before the Big Green drew even with 96 seconds remaining and won in overtime as Dartmouth's Sasha Nanji scored all three goals. The following day against Harvard Princeton led 1-0 and 2-1 but the Crimson drew even with four minutes left in the third and neither team scored in overtime.
Princeton visits Harvard on Friday night looking to snap a four-game skid in the series with Harvard. Princeton trails the all-time series 27-38-4 overall and 22-12-1 in games played in Cambridge. Princeton and Harvard have split the last six in the series though with two Princeton wins, two Harvard wins and two ties. Kelly Cooke and Stearns scored in the tie earlier this season and Weber made 30 saves.
Harvard is 12-7-2 overall and 11-3-2 in ECAC Hockey. The 10th-ranked Crimson has swept its last three league weekends; taking wins against St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Rensselaer, Union, Brown and Yale. Harvard has league losses to RPI, Quinnipiac and Cornell this season.
On Saturday the Tigers make the trip to Dartmouth against the third-place Big Green. Dartmouth and Princeton split in each of the last two seasons and the Tigers will need a win on Saturday to make it three straight. Princeton is 36-28-4 all-time against Dartmouth and 15-16-0 in games played in Hanover. Alex Kinney and Denna Laing scored for Princeton in the loss to Dartmouth earlier this season.
Dartmouth is 14-8-0 overall and 10-6-0 in the ECAC. The Big Green carries a five-game win streak into the weekend, outscoring their last five opponents 21-3 in the span in wins over Vermont, Union, Rensselaer, Yale and Brown.
Following the trip to New England, Princeton will have just two regular season weekends remaining. Princeton hosts Union and Rensselaer next weekend and then closes the regular season at Brown and Yale the following weekend.
