Hockey: Men and women keep playoff hopes alive

After two weeks off, the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams were back in action over the break with three games apiece. Three consecutive wins helped improve the women’s team to 9-12-2 overall and 4-10-2 in the ECAC. The Tigers currently sit in eighth place in the league with 10 points, but Colgate and Yale follow them closely in the hunt for the final playoff spot. The men started off Intersession with a win, but the momentum did not continue as they dropped their next two games on the road, leaving them with a 7-10-4 overall record and a 5-6-3 record in the ECAC. The Tigers are one of five teams currently tied at 13 points.

“With a little over a month left in the season, our team is optimistic about the stretch run and look to gain as many points as possible,” freshman forward Mike Ambrosia said. “The league is very tight, and every game is important in achieving our initial goal of a first-round bye in the play-offs.”

“We are in the midst of a tough battle for the last playoff spot,” junior forward Sally Butler said of the women. “There are a few teams that we are very close with in points. Every game left is very important to our chances of extending the season.”

In their first game of Intersession, the women traveled to Penn State, a first year program, for a nonconference matchup and won with a 3-0 shutout. Freshman goalkeeper Kimberly Newell made 11 saves in the first two periods, and sophomore Ashley Holt earned eight saves when she replaced Newell for the third period. Princeton dominated offensively, outshooting the Nittany Lions (7-19-1) 30-19. Freshman defender Karen MacDonald earned her first career goal with an assist by senior forward Corey Stearns in the first period to put the Tigers ahead, and they never looked back.

“We focused on doing the little things right and played well in all three zones,” sophomore forward Brianna Leahy said. “We focused on getting the puck in deep and forechecked well.”

Back in Baker Rink for the first time in nearly two months, the women hosted two ECAC rivals. After dropping Yale (4-17-2 overall, 3-11-2 ECAC) 3-1 on Friday, they defeated Brown (4-16-1, 3-13 ECAC) by a 6-1 margin on Saturday. The Bulldogs netted the first goal of the game at the end of the second period to earn the lead, but their defense could not hold off the Tiger attack in the third period, when all three home goals were tallied. Butler assisted junior forward Denna Laing for the first, senior forward Alex Kinney and Leahy helped freshman forward Cristin Shanahan on the second four minutes later, and Butler scored the third in an empty net situation with under two minutes to go. Newell recorded 28 saves.

“All three lines were moving the puck well and had great chemistry,” Leahy said. “The puck was finally bouncing our way.”

Against the Bears, Princeton dominated all over the ice. Two goals in the first period helped the Tigers get out to an early lead. Senior forward Kelly Cooke and junior defender Gabie Figueroa assisted freshman forward Molly Contini, who put in a rebound for her first of three goals on the afternoon. The Bears’ only goal of the game came off of a power play in the second period, and the Tigers answered back with three more goals. The first came from Cooke, who beat the goalie one-on-one on a power play. Contini followed with two more, aided by Stearns and Cooke. Princeton added one more goal in the final period as MacDonald and Shanahan assisted Leahy for her second of the game.

“I think that we’ve picked up the pace as a team,” Butler said. “These last two games were must-wins. We’re in a race for the last playoff spot, and our play has stepped up accordingly. There’s no room for error now. We definitely play our best when all three lines are contributing.”

The men’s team started out its three games with similar success, defeating Sacred Heart 5-2 in a nonconference competition. Junior forward Andrew Calof matched his career-high four points, and Ambrosia tallied a career-high two goals and one assist on the night. Calof led the nation in scoring in January and is the first Princeton player to be named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Player of the Month.

“The Sacred Heart game was our first game in a couple weeks due to the exam period,” Ambrosia said. “We wanted to execute our systems well and keep our special team units clicking.”

Princeton dominated the first two periods, netting four goals. Junior forward Jack Berger and senior forward Rob Kleebaum helped junior defender Alec Rush send the puck through a crowd of players and into the back of the net, and Calof connected with Ambrosia on a power play for the second goal. Calof finished a rebound to put the Tigers ahead by three. Sophomore forward Tyler Maugeri later converted on another power play. Sacred Heart’s back-to-back goals at the beginning of the final period were not enough to overcome the score gap, especially after Calof and senior defender Michael Sdao helped Ambrosia send in the fifth and final goal of the game.

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Despite senior goalie Mike Condon’s season-high 39 saves, the Tigers fell to No. 8 Yale 4-2. Usually very successful on the power play, Princeton only converted one of four against the Bulldogs (13-6-6, 9-5-1 ECAC). The Tigers were outshot 42-22, and players and coaches pointed to the eight penalties committed by Princeton as another reason for the loss.

“Special teams win and lose games and lead to big momentum swings throughout the game,” Ambrosia said. “Moving forward, we are focusing on staying out of the penalty box, which will eliminate many of the shots against.”

Maugeri got the Tigers going quickly with a goal in the opening seconds, but Yale answered back on a power play to even the score at one. On Princeton’s one successful power play, Maugeri helped Sdao convert. It would be their last goal, however, and Yale netted three unanswered goals to take the game.

Continuing to struggle on the road, the Tigers dropped Saturday’s game at Brown 5-1. The Bears (8-9-5, 4-6-5 ECAC) outshot Princeton 50-23 and did not allow the Tigers to convert any of their four power-play opportunities. With the game tied, three goals in 61 seconds by the Bears put the Tigers in a hole out of which they could not climb. Princeton has only one win on the road this season.

In the final stretch of the regular season, the women will host Colgate and No. 5 Cornell at Baker Rink, while the men will go back on the road to meet Colgate and Cornell before returning home to face Clarkson on Feb. 15.

“We needed to win both games this weekend if we wanted to give ourselves a chance in making play-offs,” Leahy said. “These next few weeks are very important, especially the Colgate game.”