Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Visits Wayne State in Women's Hockey
December 07, 2006 | Women's Ice Hockey
No. 9 Princeton at Wayne State
GAMETIME: Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.
SITE: City Sports Arena (Detroit, Mich.)
RECORDS: Princeton (8-4-2, 8-2-1 ECACHL); Wayne State (5-9-0, 0-0-0 CHA)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads 3-0-1, is 0-0-0 at Wayne State
LAST MEETING: The teams tied 2-2 on Dec. 10, 2006 at in Princeton
STREAK: The last meeting was a tie, Princeton is unbeaten in four (3-0-1)
The ninth-ranked Princeton women's hockey team closes out the first part of the season this weekend as it looks to get back on track with a pair of games at Wayne State. Princeton has dropped its last four games after opening the season unbeaten in 10 games.
Princeton now stands 8-4-2 overall and 8-2-1 in league play. The Tigers were swept last weekend at top-ranked Mercyhurst, dropping the opener 6-1 and the second game 1-0 in overtime. Princeton fell the previous week to both Dartmouth and Harvard and has lost four-consecutive games for the first time in more than five seasons.
Princeton remained ninth in the USA Today poll and climbed to ninth in the USCHO.com poll after one week at 10th. The Tigers sit a spot behind Minnesota-Duluth and one in front of Ohio State in both polls.
The Tigers lost the first game at Mercyhurst 6-1 in a game that was close for most of the first two periods. Mercyhurst led 2-1 with three minutes left in the third before scoring a goal with the two-player advantage and a shorthanded goal in the final 2:20 of the period to pull ahead for good. Freshman Melanie Wallace scored the lone Tiger goal and senior Dina McCumber and freshman Stephanie Denino assisted on it.
The following afternoon the score was considerably closer as Princeton freshman goaltender Brittany Parisi made 47 saves to blank Mercyhurst through the 60 minutes of regulation. The Lakers eventually broke the scoreless tie with 37 seconds left in overtime on their 48th shot of the game.
The Tigers continue their non-conference schedule this weekend with two games at Wayne State. Princeton's flight to Detroit will be its first regular-season trip needing a plane since the team went to play at St. Cloud State in the 2000-01 season. The Tigers did fly to play Minnesota last season in the NCAA tournament.
Princeton and Wayne State meet for the second-straight season as the teams played a series last year at Baker Rink. Princeton leads the all-time series 3-0-1, posting a 5-2 win and a 2-2 tie in last year's series between the two teams. All four games between the two teams have taken place in Princeton, with the Tigers winning in January of 2001 and November of 2002 as well. In last year's game, Princeton won the opener 5-2 as Annie Greenwood, Kim Pearce, Marykate Oakley and Sonja Novak all recorded multiple points. The next day Heather Jackson and Pearce scored for the Tigers in a 2-2 tie with the Warriors.
Wayne State is 5-9 overall this season and is yet to have played a league game. The Warriors have lost their last three games, falling to Clarkson, new Hampshire and Boston College. Wayne State has wins this season over Rensselaer, two against Cornell, Minnesota State and Clarkson. The Warriors are 4-4 this season against ECACHL competition.
Princeton is off for 21 days following the Wayne State series before returning to action on Dec. 30 against 10th-ranked Ohio State at Baker Rink. Princeton hosts Ohio State for two games as the team's play on Dec. 30 and 31 at 1 p.m. The two games complete the Tigers' non-conference schedule.