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Top Three Teams in the ECACHL Meet This Weekend at Baker Rink
November 22, 2006 | Women's Ice Hockey
THIS WEEKEND
No. 6 Dartmouth at No. 8 Princeton
GAMETIME: Friday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.
SITE: Hobey Baker Rink (Princeton, N.J.)
RECORDS: Princeton (8-0-2, 8-0-1 ECACHL); Dartmouth (7-3-0, 7-1-0 ECACHL)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads 34-22-3, is 18-7-3 at home
LAST MEETING: Princeton won 7-2 on Feb. 11, 2006 at home
STREAK: Princeton has won the last two meetings
AUDIO: USCHO.com Game of the Week Broadcast
VIDEO: Tigerzone
No. 7 Harvard at No. 8 Princeton
GAMETIME: Saturday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m.
SITE: Hobey Baker Rink (Princeton, N.J.)
RECORDS: Princeton (8-0-2, 8-0-1 ECACHL); Harvard (7-1-0, 7-1-0 ECACHL)
SERIES RECORD: Harvard leads 31-25-2, trails 12-14-1 at Princeton
LAST MEETING: Princeton won 6-1 on Feb. 10, 2006 at home
STREAK: Princeton won the last meeting
VIDEO: Tigerzone
The eighth-ranked Princeton women's hockey team hosts a pair of tough opponents this weekend in No. 6 Dartmouth and No. 7 Harvard as the Tigers look to extend their 10-game unbeaten streak. The three teams currently claim the top three spots in the ECACHL standings.
Princeton is unbeaten in 10 games (8-0-2) to start the 2006-07 season. That is currently the nations second longest such streak, sitting behind defending National Champion Wisconsin (14 games, 13-0-1). The start is the best in Princeton history as no Tiger team has started a season unbeaten in more than five games. Princeton started 1979-80 with five-straight wins before a loss. The same thing happened in 1980-81, and in 1994-95, the Tigers went 4-0-1 in their first five before a loss.
The streak is also the longest unbeaten streak in Princeton women's hockey history, surpassing the previous best of nine, which was set late last season. Dating back to last February, Princeton is 17-2-2 in its last 21 games, with the only losses coming in the ECACHL semifinals and the NCAA quarterfinals.
Last weekend marked Princeton's third-straight weekend sweep of league opponents as the Tigers defeated Cornell and Colgate. The sweep kept Princeton three points ahead of the second-place tie between Harvard and Dartmouth, which also swept last weekend, defeating Brown and Yale.
Princeton opened last weekend on Friday night with a 1-0 shutout Cornell. Although the shot differential suggested a wider margin, the game was tight and senior Kim Pearce's second-period goal was the only one needed as classmate Laura Watt fed her a breakaway pass for the goal. Freshman goaltender Brittany Parisi made 11 saves for her third win and first shutout of the season.
The next afternoon at Colgate the Tigers won their third-straight one-goal game, downing the Raiders 3-2. Three Tigers scored goals in the game as Princeton broke a 1-1 tie and raced to a 3-1 lead before Colgate scored late to get back within a goal. Junior Sonja Novak opened the scoring with her first of the season and sophomore Katherine Dineen put Princeton ahead for good late in the second period. Junior Brittany Salmon scored the eventual game winner in the third period and freshman Melanie Wallace assisted on two goals in the game. Sophomore Kristen Young made 37 saves.
Princeton is back in action on Friday night against Dartmouth. Princeton is 34-22-3 all-time against Dartmouth and is 18-7-3 in the series at home. Princeton swept Dartmouth last season winning 3-1 in Hanover and 7-2 in Princeton. The sweep was Princeton's first over the Big Green since the 1993-94 season. Tarah Clark's shorthanded goal was the game winner at Dartmouth, while Kim Pearce, Annie Greenwood and Dina McCumber all had three points in the win at Baker Rink.
Dartmouth is 7-3-0 overall. The Big Green dropped its first two games of the year at Mercyhurst before starting league play and is 7-1 since. Dartmouth's only hiccup in league play was a 2-1 loss to Colgate. Dartmouth has wins over both St. Lawrence and Clarkson in league play and swept Yale and Brown last weekend.
Harvard leads the all-time series with Princeton 31-25-2 with Princeton holding a 14-12-1 edge at Baker Rink. The teams split their meetings last season with Harvard wining 3-2 at home and the Tigers winning 6-1 at Baker. Dina McCumber and Sarah Butsch had two points in the loss, while Marykate Oakley and Heather Jackson each had three points in the win.
Harvard is 7-1-0 this season having only played league games up to this point. The Crimson has swept its last two weekends, defeating Colgate, Cornell, Brown and Yale and has only one loss on its record, a 4-2 defeat at St. Lawrence in early November.
After playing 11-straight league games, the Tigers play their next six games against teams from other conferences. Princeton visits second-ranked Mercyhurst for two games next weekend, the visits Wayne State for two. The Tigers are next at home Dec. 30 and 31 against Ohio State.