Princeton University Athletics
Women's Hockey Set to Drop Puck on New Season
October 29, 2003 | Women's Ice Hockey
Oct. 29, 2003
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton women's hockey team drops the puck on its 2003-04 season Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., for a two-game non-conference series against Connecticut. The Tigers enter the season off the heels of the most successful season in school history and look to build upon that in the upcoming campaign.
Last Time Out... Princeton has had two outings so far this season, both exhibition games. Last Friday, the Tigers defeated the North York Aeros 7-0 and on Saturday, they won an exhibition contest over Yale 4-1.
The Series... Princeton and UConn have met three times with Princeton claiming all three wins. The last meeting came during the 2001-02 season when Princeton earned a 3-2 overtime triumph at Baker Rink.
Dec. 7, 1979 - Princeton 6, Connecticut 0 (Storrs, Conn.)
Feb. 14, 1987 - Princeton 8, Connecticut 1 (Storrs, Conn.)
Nov. 25, 2001 - Princeton 3, Connecticut 2* (Princeton, N.J.)
*Overtime
Tigers vs. Huskies... Seven current Tigers played in Princeton's last meeting with UConn. In that game, senior Susan Hobson scored a power-play goal in overtime to give Princeton the win. Senior Gretchen Anderson had a goal and an assist in the game, while senior Lisa Rasmussen had an assist. Senior Megan Van Beusekom made 22 saves for the win. Senior Angela Gooldy and juniors Katharine Maglione and April Brown also played in the game. Scouting the Huskies... Connecticut is 1-2-3 so far this young season, but has been in ever game they've played. They began the season with a tie and a win at DI independent North Dakota, then lost 2-1 and tied No. 9 Mercyhurst. Last weekend, the Huskies fell to No. 8 New Hampshire 4-2 at home before earning a 1-1 tie two days later at New Hampshire.
Princeton vs. Hockey East... The 2002-03 season was the first season that Hockey East sponsored women's hockey. Although the Tigers have played the teams in Hockey East for many years, for brevity, we'll just look at last season. In 2002-03, Princeton was 3-2-1 against the league, defeating Boston College, Northeastern and Providence, tying Maine, and falling to New Hampshire twice. UConn was the only league team the Tigers didn't face a season ago.
The Waiting Game... Because of Ivy League rules regarding the length of the season, Princeton and the five other Ivies have had to wait until this weekend to officially begin the season. In fact, when Connecticut opened the season at North Dakota on Oct. 11, Princeton was still four days away from officially being allowed to practice.
Rankings Game... The weekend Princeton was team receiving votes in both national polls. The Tigers were ranked as high as ninth earlier in the season.
Looking Ahead... Princeton will play six games against five of the members of Hockey East before its first league game of the season. The Tigers' ECAC schedule begins on Nov. 21 at ECAC preseason favorite Dartmouth.
Give Me 20... The 2002-03 Tigers became the first team in program history to record a 20-win season. Princeton completed the season 20-9-4 and appeared in the ECAC semifinals for the first time since 1998.
Century Mark... The next win for Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal will be his 100th win behind the Tigers bench.