Princeton University Athletics
Huskies, Tigers and Black Bears
November 07, 2003 | Women's Ice Hockey
Nov. 7, 2003
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton women's hockey team will continue its early season non-conference schedule this weekend at Northeastern's Matthews Arena. On Saturday, the Tigers will face Maine at 4 p.m. in a neutral site game and on Sunday, Princeton faces Northeastern at 2 p.m.
The Games... For the second weekend in a row, it's the ECAC vs. Hockey East as Princeton's take on Maine and Northeastern. Both games will be played in the nation's oldest college hockey rink, Northeastern's Matthews Arena.
Last Time Out... Princeton earned a pair of convincing wins last weekend at Connecticut. On Saturday, the Tigers began the 2003-04 season with a 6-0 shutout of the Huskies, a day later the Tigers walked away with a 6-1 triumph.
Princeton vs. Maine... The Black Bears are 1-3-2 this season and have played five one-goal games this season. After a season-opening sweep at the hands of Wisconsin, Maine earned a tie and a 2-1 win against Colgate. Last weekend, Maine fell 1-0 and tied Yale in New Haven. The Series with Maine... The Tigers have never lost in their nine meetings with Maine, holding a 7-0-2 record. The first meeting between the two came on Nov. 6, 1998 at Baker Rink and was 6-0 Princeton win. Last season, the two met at Baker Rink and played to a 2-2 tie.
Princeton vs. Northeastern... The Huskies are 3-1-2 this season and all three of their wins were shutouts. The Huskies fell at St. Lawrence in their season opener, but rebounded with a win at Vermont the following night. They then had a league weekend in which they tied New Hampshire and topped Quinnipiac. Last weekend they hosted Niagara and earned a 2-2 tie and a 3-0 win.
The Series with Northeastern... The Huskies hold a decisive edge over Princeton in the all-time series between the two schools. Princeton is 10-23-2 all-time against Northeastern and is 3-12-1 at Matthews Arena. Last season the two teams met at Baker Rink and the Tigers pulled off a 6-2 victory.
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, but the Tigers swept them in the opening weekend of this season.
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 ranked 10th in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll and was a team receiving votes in both the USCHO.com poll. The Tigers were ranked as high as ninth in both polls 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... Princeton's season-opening win at Connecticut was the 100th win of head coach Jeff Kampersal's career. Now in his eighth season, Kampersal is 101-92-16 in his time at Princeton.
A Balanced Attack... The Princeton scoring was a balanced attack with 16 players registering points. Of that, nine players posted multiple points. The scoring leader was senior Gretchen Anderson who a goal and two assists on Saturday and a goal on Sunday to lead the team with four points.
Three-Pointers... Senior captain Lisa Rasmussen led a group of Tigers that tallied three points. Joining her were sophomore Sarah Butsch, who has a shorthanded and a power-play goal this young season, sophomore Heather Jackson, who posted three points on Saturday, and junior Becky Stewart who has three assists.
Awards Please... Senior Megan Van Beusekom backstopped Princeton in both wins over Connecticut. Monday she was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Week. On Friday night, she stopped all 18 shots she faced to earn her eighth career shutout, and it was the second consecutive time that she opened the season with a shutout. On Sunday, UConn was able to sneak one past her, but she still made 17 saves and has a .972 save percentage.
Early Contribution... Four Tigers tallied their first career points this weekend. Freshman Liz Keady was the only to score as she scored twice in Sunday's win. Freshmen Dina McCumber, Kim Pearce and Laura Watt all tallied assists.