The women's hockey team struggled through its season, coming up short at crucial points and failing to reach its major goals — an Ivy League championship and a berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament.
The top eight teams secure spots in the ECAC tournament. The Tigers hovered around the cutoff point through much of the season, dropping down to eighth in a 5-2 loss to St. Lawrence on Feb. 19.
"If we had put in the extra effort against them, we would have won," forward Andrea Kilbourne '02 said.
Losses to Cornell, Northeastern and Harvard over the next weeks dropped the Tigers down past the cutoff point. The losses were appeased only by a 2-1 upset of Providence College on Feb. 26. Even that, however, was not enough to lift the Tigers back into eighth place.
Final opportunity
Princeton had one final chance to claw its way back into the tournament in its last game of the season. That chance came against Brown — the No. 1 team in the ECAC.
The Bears dominated the Tigers in the early going, forcing them into a 4-0 deficit. A late pair of goals by defender Annamarie Holmes '01 and forward Nikola Holmes '03 proved to be too little too late. Princeton lost the game 4-2 and watched its final chance to make the playoffs disappear.
The loss kept the Tigers in ninth place — just one point behind Niagra. It was the first time in seven years that Princeton — which finished 11-13-5 overall and 9-12-3 in the ECAC — did not qualify for the ECAC quarterfinals.
"We expected to do very well and be in every game," Kilbourne said. "We played very consistently but we had a few lapses.
"We kind of died out around exam time."
The Tigers peaked early in the season — streaking past foreign competition during a trip to Europe over winter break. Playing four games in three countries over a seven-day period, Princeton swept its competition by large margins and looked ready for the remainder of the season. The victories were so decisive that head coach Jeff Kampersal '92 instituted a new rule — if the team was ahead by six goals, no one was allowed to shoot until all five players had touched the puck.
On Jan. 9, Princeton carried the momentum home with them, beating Dartmouth, which went on to finish second behind Brown in the ECAC tournament.
"That was the high point of the season," defender Jen Neil '03 said.
"We were on a high, so when we came home, everybody was pumped and ready to play."
Princeton finished fourth, however, in the Ivy League behind Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth.
Just desserts
Despite falling short of its team goals, Princeton was not deprived of individual accolades. Kilbourne and Annamarie Holmes both received second-team ECAC honors. Nikola Holmes was also named to the ECAC All-Rookie team.
Despite a disappointing year, the Tigers are setting a similar set of goals for next season. To prepare in the off season, the players are doing drills to make themselves quicker and stronger. Several freshman recruits — including a new goaltender — should also help Princeton move closer to achieving its dreams next year.
"Our new goalie will help push the other goalies," Kilbourne said. "She'll make them earn their spots.
"We're going to come back next season with passion."
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