The women’s hockey team will look to end its six-game skid this weekend when it takes on the Yale Bulldogs and the Brown Bears on the Tigers’ first Ivy road trip of the season. The Tigers (4-7-1 overall, 3-4-1 ECAC) began the season with a strong 4-1-1 record but have since lost six straight and fallen to a tie for sixth in the ECAC.
In their first meeting of the season at Baker Rink, the Tigers decisively defeated the Bulldogs (1-12, 1-5) by a score of 7-1. They also squeezed out a 1-0 win against Brown (3-3-5, 1-2-3), and the Tigers lead the all-time series with both programs.
“We have familiarity with Yale and Brown, but a lot has changed for all of us since we played last,” head coach Jeff Kampersal said. “It’s a big league weekend. We respect both programs, but we are focusing on the Tigers this week.”
Specifically, he emphasized the importance of discipline and cutting back on penalties if they hope to repeat the sweep.
“We need to get better,” Kampersal added. “The coaches need to coach better, and the players need to execute all phases of the game better.”
In their last meeting with Yale, six different Tigers scored goals and eight different Tigers contributed assists en route to the win. Princeton outshot the Bulldogs 40-28, and senior goaltender Rachel Weber once again played all 60 minutes in goal. However, as seems to be the theme of the season, the Tigers suffered eight penalties, allowing the one Yale goal on a power play.
In 67 all-time meetings, the Tigers have only lost to Yale 11 times. Yale is also ranked last in the ECAC and is on a five-game losing streak, so the Tigers will look to use Friday night’s game as a catalyst to get back on the winning track.
Brown is coming off of a 3-1 loss to Boston College, its first loss since falling to the Tigers on Nov. 4th. In that first meeting, the Tigers outshot the Bears by an exceptional 39-9, but a second period power-play goal by sophomore forward Olivia Mucha was the only point of the game as Bears’ goalie Aubree Moore made 38 saves.
“We’ve been working on our regroups and making sure that we support each other well in all three zones,” sophomore forward Sally Butler said.
While Weber has a solid .915 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average, the key difference in the last few games for the Tigers has been the power play. Two games ago, in a 6-1 loss to Boston College, Princeton suffered four extra-man goals as BC converted on four of six power-play opportunities. On the season, the Tigers have converted only five of 54 power-play opportunities, while their opponents have netted a goal on 12 of 65 chances.
“Our power play needs a sense of urgency ... [in] executing what we are trying to do,” Kampersal said. “We have had good looks and chances, but an errant pass here and a missed pass reception there and 30 seconds are gone.”
Butler currently leads the Tigers with six goals and six assists to combine for 12 points. Fellow sophomore forwards Mucha and Denna Laing have 10 points apiece, and Laing posted two goals and two assists in the previous game against Yale. Freshman defender Ali Pankowski and senior forward Paula Romanchuk follow with seven points apiece, and both had three points in the Yale game. However, Laing and Pankowski also lead the team in penalties with nine each.
Despite the losing streak, Butler said the Tigers will have to continue to do the basics to win.
“Keep working hard, create traffic in front of the net, and get shots,” she said.
“We need to improve all technical aspects of our game, but playing disciplined and being mentally tough is paramount,” Kampersal added.
The Tigers’ discipline will be tested tonight at 7 p.m. at Yale and again tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Brown.
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