This weekend, Princeton women’s hockey (16–8–1 overall, 10–7–1 Ivy League) secured back-to-back conference wins, defeating Dartmouth (4–16–3, 2–12–3) 3–2 in an exciting overtime battle on Friday night, and overcoming Harvard (2–20–2, 1–16–1) the next afternoon 2–0.
Defeating Dartmouth
The Tigers are no stranger to overtime, having had five games this season that forced an extra period of play. On Friday night, the team outlasted a strong defensive Dartmouth squad thanks to a late goal from junior forward Emerson O’Leary.
The Big Green were the first to strike, scoring a goal in the opening period in a scramble in front of the net. Going into the first intermission, Dartmouth led 1–0.
But Princeton found their rhythm in the second, dominating possession and earning their first power play of the night. Junior forward Katherine Khramtsov took full advantage, burying a shot to even the score at 1–1.
Just seven minutes later, Dartmouth pulled ahead again, scoring off of a second-chance shot deflected off of the Princeton defense. Entering the third period, Princeton trailed 2–1.
Midway into the final period of play, the Tigers tied the game for a final time. Splitting the Dartmouth defense and skating confidently into a central gap, junior forward Issy Wunder struck a deep shot into the back of the net. The match was tied at 2–2.
“It’s nice when the goals come, because they don’t always come,” Wunder told The Daily Princetonian. “You got to just appreciate them when they do.”
As the clock wound down, both teams locked into a defensive battle, keeping the score tied at the end of regulation.
But Princeton wasted no time in overtime. Less than a minute into the five minute overtime period, Princeton netted their golden goal off of a pass from junior forward Sarah Paul to O’Leary.
After winning the game in overtime, team vibes were at a high.
“Everyone’s really excited,” Wunder said of the win before reflecting on the task of facing Harvard the next day. “We just want to be happy and end the weekend off on a good note.”
Handling Harvard
The Tigers returned to the Hobey Baker Rink on Saturday afternoon to face the Harvard Crimson, beating them 2–0.
The Tigers came out aggressive, keeping the puck deep in Harvard’s defensive zone and pressuring the Crimson from the start. Three minutes into the period, the Tigers took advantage of a sloppy early penalty awarded to the Crimson for having too many players on the ice. Thirty seconds later, first-year right wing Mackenzie Alexander scored a power-play goal, slipping the puck past Harvard goaltender Ainsley Tuffy to put the Tigers up 1–0.
The Tigers doubled their lead just three minutes later, as Alexander set up Wunder, who slotted the puck past Tuffy for her 22nd goal of the season.
“We just have a lot of good chemistry on and off the ice,” Wunder told the ‘Prince.’ “It makes it really easy when we’re having fun and we all know where each other is going to be.”
While the Tigers wouldn’t add to the scoreboard again for the rest of the game, they maintained their dominant play over Harvard, continuing to test Tuffy with scrambles in front of the net as well as shots from far away. While Harvard gained a bit of momentum toward the end of the first period, they were no match for the Princeton defense and were only able to find two shots on goal all period to Princeton’s thirteen.
Moving into the second period up by two, the Tigers suffered an onslaught of Crimson pressure. Harvard found seven shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the second period, forcing saves from senior goaltender Jennifer Olnowich.
Five minutes into the period, Harvard lobbed a shot at Olnowich, who blocked the puck with her shins, keeping Harvard from adding to the scoreboard. Two minutes later, the Crimson tested Olnowich again with two back-to-back shots, which she deftly struck away from the net.
Around eight minutes into the second period, Princeton was charged for their first penalty of the afternoon as first-year center Angelina DiGirolamo was charged for hooking. Harvard’s Ellie Bayard joined her in the penalty box a moment later, called for the same offense for Harvard’s fourth penalty of the game.
The period turned chippy, with both teams exchanging penalties and Harvard’s frustration spilling over when forward Ella Lucia shoved junior center Jane Kuehl after the whistle.
Harvard improved upon their performance in the previous period, testing Princeton by sending 12 shots on goal, 10 more than they had during period one. For their part, the Tigers struggled to find as many chances, putting only seven on goal.
Heading into the third period, the Tigers hoped to stall Harvard’s growing momentum. While the beginning of the period saw the puck traverse much of the ice, both teams failed to get a single shot off during the first few minutes of the period.
Around eight minutes into the third period, Princeton was finally able to find a shot, which was blocked by Tuffy. Princeton found a few more shots during the rest of the period but wasn’t able to crack through.
In a last-ditch effort to salvage the game, Harvard replaced their goaltender with an extra attacker, pressing high with all six players as they lobbed shot after shot. However, their attempts were ultimately in vain as they failed to break through Princeton’s staunch defense, and the score remained at 2–0 as the buzzer sounded, announcing the Tigers’ win.
Despite the win, head coach Cara Morey was frustrated with the gameplay. “I mean we did fine, we won, we didn’t let any goals in, but I felt like we should have dominated the whole game,” she told the ‘Prince’ in a post game interview.
“I thought we were cheating the game offensively,” she explained to ‘Prince.’ “But a win’s a win, and they’re finding a way to get the points we need.”
Wunder provided a more optimistic perspective. “This was a big weekend for us to get a hot streak going heading into playoffs.”
Going forward, Princeton is looking to build on the momentum of two important wins as they play four final games before entering the playoffs.
“I think if we can use the next four games to sort of sharpen up and make sure that we’re using every second and every minute to try and win,” Wunder explained, “that’ll help us when it comes down to it.”
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Leila Eshaghpour-Silberman is a Sports contributor and contributing Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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