No. 6 women’s hockey remains ranked second in ECAC standings

Last week, the No. 6 women’s hockey team (17–4–1, 12–3–1 ECAC) entered the final push of its season with three road games in five days, played against Quinnipiac (15–10–3, 7–7–2), Yale (13–10–0, 10–6–0), and Brown (3–18–2, 2–13–1). Princeton swept all three games, winning by a combined 9–4 to maintain its position at second in the ECAC standings.

Senior forward Carly Bullock was a key spark for the Tigers, clinching six points (four goals, two assists) across the three games. She scored all four of her goals against Princeton’s two Ivy League opponents, with a pair against each. Bullock’s four goals moved her to a career total of 83, the seventh highest number in Princeton’s history.

On Tuesday, against Quinnipiac, the Tigers’ three goals all came in the first period. Junior forward Annie MacDonald, assisted by junior forward Shannon Griffin, scored the first goal just over five minutes into the game. Less than four minutes later, sophomore forward Maggie Connors, assisted by Bullock, extended Princeton’s lead to 2–0. The Tigers’ last goal came on the power-play, with less than three minutes to go, when senior defender Claire Thompson scored with assists from Connors and Bullock.

Junior goalie Rachel McQuigge made 23 saves on 25 shots. She maintained a shutout until nine minutes left in the third period — Quinnipiac’s last goal came in the last seconds of the game to make the final 3–2.

On Friday, Princeton headed back to New Haven, this time to face Yale. Bullock scored both Princeton goals, with the first coming on a breakaway in the first period, assisted by sophomore forward Sarah Fillier and MacDonald. Then, in the closing of the second period, Bullock tipped in a shot by Fillier, with Connors setting up Fillier’s shot.

Senior goalie Stephanie Neatby got the win for Princeton with 19 shots on 20 saves. The Bulldogs’ one goal came about halfway through the third period. Neither they nor the Tigers were able to score the rest of the way, leaving the final score 2–1.

In Princeton’s last game of the week against Brown, the Tigers jumped out to a 3–1 lead at the end of the first period. Less than a minute into the game, Brown made the first goal, but Princeton scored the next three goals with two from Bullock and the last from senior defender Sylvie Wallin. Then, after a scoreless second period, Connors scored to stretch the Princeton lead to 4–1. MacDonald, Connors, Fillier, and junior forward Sharon Frankel all had one assist on Saturday.

The Tigers’ third goalie, sophomore Cassie Reale, picked up the win against Brown with 18 saves on 19 shots, her third start and win of the season.

Princeton has six games left in the regular season before the ECAC conference tournament. The Tigers have already guaranteed themselves a playoff position as one of the top eight teams. Now their goals are to qualify for a home quarterfinal by finishing in the top four and to have home-ice throughout the tournament if the team finishes first. Four of Princeton’s last six games will be against the bottom five teams of the league.

The Tigers’ next two games are against Rensselaer (0–27–1, 0–16–0) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Union (5–18–5, 5–8–3) at 3 p.m. on Saturday.