Women's Hockey: High-powered offenses to test Weber’s protective prowess

The Tigers were on an eight-game win streak that included notable victories over ECAC teams Brown, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence, but they fell to Clarkson 3-2 in Baker Rink last Saturday, ending the streak.

Princeton’s strong defense has been a huge part of the team’s winning formula over the last several games. Junior goalkeeper Rachel Weber has notched an impressive six shutouts in her last 10 appearances with the help of the team’s strong, aggressive defense, holding opponents to an average of less than a goal per game.

“Rachel Weber has been unbelievable in net for us,” junior forward Paula Romanchuk said. “It’s great to see her come up big, but at the same time we need to play better in front of her. That’s a big thing we’re looking for this weekend.”

Harvard and Dartmouth may offer a real challenge because both boast strong offenses that have been especially effective in recent games. In its last three games Harvard has outscored opponents 13-3, and Dartmouth has similarly outscored opponents 11-1 in the same span of time.

The Tigers faced both Harvard and Dartmouth once already in the season at home. Princeton ultimately lost to Dartmouth 3-2 and tied Harvard 2-2. Both games went to overtime and were intense, fast paced and evenly matched throughout.

The game against Dartmouth began slowly with a scoreless first period in spite of three power play opportunities. Dartmouth struck first in the second period when sophomore Sasha Nanji followed her own shot, but goals by sophomore forward Alex Kinney and freshman forward Denna Laing gave the Tigers the lead at the end of the second period. Dartmouth was physically unrelenting during the third period, and with less than two minutes left in the game, Nanji found the goal for the second time to send the game to overtime. Nanji was also responsible for the game-winning goal, scoring two minutes into the overtime period.

Sophomore forward Kelly Cooke delivered the first goal for the Tigers against Harvard in the opening period. Princeton began to fade during the second stanza, though, and Harvard found an equalizing goal. Sophomore forward Corey Stearns regained the lead for the Tigers in the third period, but just as in the previous game, Princeton gave up a second goal with four minutes left in the period to send the game to overtime. The five minute extra period was frantic, but neither team was able to produce the game-winning goal.

Whether Princeton succeeds against Dartmouth will depend extensively on its ability to neutralize Dartmouth’s goal-scoring threats such as Nanji, sophomore Camille Dumais and senior Amanda Trunzo. Nanji is fast and strong, but what makes her dangerous is her ability to shoot effectively from range.

The Tigers face a similar danger with Harvard. Harvard seniors Liza Ryabkina, Kate Buesser and Katharine Chute are mature and consistent forwards and it will take patience and diligence to monitor all of them.

“Harvard is a very skilled and fast team,” Romanchuk explained. “They have been this way for the past couple years and we expect no different this weekend.”

Although the team has performed slightly better at home than on the road this season, Romanchuk was not concerned about the team’s ability to perform while away.

“I think playing on the road is sometimes a good thing,” Romanchuk said. “We get quite a few fans at Harvard because we have a couple Boston kids on the team so it’s a fun atmosphere. The Dartmouth rink is personally my favorite to play in, too, aside from Baker.”