Women's Hockey: Princeton runs streak to 5 with 2 shutout victories at home over break

“I am very pleased with the team,” head coach Jeffery Kampersal ’92 said. “They enjoyed much-needed time off, but they came back confident and in shape. We competed hard against Boston College and Quinnipiac. Both of those teams are very talented and well coached.”

On New Year’s Eve, the Tigers were not expected to come out on top. Boston College had topped Dartmouth and No. 10 Harvard, teams Princeton had been unable to beat earlier in the season. After a 20-day layoff, the Tigers netted a quick goal at the 8 minute, 25 second mark of the first period. In a two-on-one opportunity, sophomore forward Corey Stearns drew the Eagle defender off junior forward Julie Johnson and then fed Johnson the puck. Johnson put it past the Eagles’ goaltender to grab the lead for the Tigers.

In the second period, Princeton added two more goals to increase its lead to 3-0. Freshman forward Sally Butler roofed a shot on another odd-man rush opportunity for her seventh goal of the season. Just six minutes later, Johnson netted a power-play score. Junior goalie Rachel Weber finished the game with 24 saves.

Both teams’ rosters were depleted for the game because players were attending the USA Hockey Women’s Winter Training Camp in Minnesota. Five Eagles were missing, and senior defender and co-captain Sasha Sherry was not present for the Tigers.

Junior forward Paula Romanchuk explained: “Sasha Sherry is a huge part of our team, so we definitely missed her. She has the best shot in the league and is very solid defensively. In terms of adjustment, some of our defenders had to play a bit more, but they handled it very well, which wasn’t surprising at all.”

The next Monday, the Tigers kicked off the heart of their conference schedule against Quinnipiac, a team that had bested the Tigers 5-2 in early November. The Bobcats entered the game on a four-game winning streak, but the Tigers jumped out to a quick lead when sophomore forward Alex Kinney intercepted a clearing pass and fed Johnson, who scored to put the Tigers up.

Just 37 seconds later, Romanchuk deflected Sherry’s point shot into the top corner of the net, grabbing significant momentum for Princeton. In the second period, sophomore defender Krystyna Bellisario played the puck out of Princeton’s end, allowing Butler to set up junior forward Danielle DiCesare, who converted on her own rebound, putting the Tigers up by three. This margin remained for the Tigers, as Weber recorded her third-straight shutout, with 19 saves, earning her the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week award.

“We were more familiar with Quinnipiac’s style and system of play after having played them earlier in the season,” Romanchuk explained. “But most importantly, we stuck to our game plan and executed our systems well. I don’t think we had a good individual or team effort when we played at Quinnipiac earlier in the year, so this afternoon’s performance was much better.”

The Tigers have 10 conference games remaining on their regular-season schedule. The team will be on the road this weekend, visiting Clarkson (10-6-2, 4-2-1) on Friday and St. Lawrence (9-8-2, 4-3-0) on Saturday.

“The two league points are important,” Kampersal said of the win against the Bobcats. “We are confident but know there is plenty of room for improvement. We are looking forward to Clarkson and St. Lawrence this weekend. It will be good to get on the road.”