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Women's Hockey Rallies For Tie, Shares Fourth Place With Four Games Remaining
February 07, 2009 | Women's Ice Hockey
It was Senior Night for the women's hockey team Saturday at Baker Rink; fittingly, a pair of seniors made sure the Tigers would hit the road next weekend with a share of fourth place in the ECAC standings. Senior Annie Greenwood evened the score at 2-2 against Cornell, and classmate Kristen Young made several key saves to ensure Princeton a tie against the Big Red.
Princeton moved to 14-9-2 overall, 11-6-1 in the ECAC, while Cornell went to 11-10-4, 7-7-4. The Tigers needed at least a point to keep pace with Colgate, whom they defeated at Baker Rink Friday night. The Raiders defeated Quinnipiac Saturday to improve to 23 points in the league standings; Princeton also moved to 23 points by gaining the tie, despite trailing twice in the game. Both teams lead Clarkson, a 2-1 loser against Rensselaer on Saturday, by two points. On Friday, Feb. 13, Princeton will travel to Potsdam to take on Clarkson in a crucial game for playoff positioning.
Getting fourth place is key because the top four teams in the league will host ECAC playoff series. St. Lawrence, Dartmouth and Harvard have some breathing room for the top three spots, while Princeton, Colgate and Clarkson will battle throughout the next two weeks for the final position.
Princeton had to work the full 65 minutes Saturday to earn a point, as Cornell played a tough, determined game. The Big Red took a 1-0 lead 5:43 into the game when Chelsea Karpenko knocked in a rebound off a Rebecca Johnston shot to open the scoring.
Tiger freshman Charissa Stadnyk positioned herself in the right place to even the game nearly five minutes later. After freshman Heather Landry chipped the puck in, classmate Paula Romanchuk got in deep and fired a shot from the left circle that Amanda Mazzotta was able to save but not secure. The puck bounced in front of the net, where Stadnyk easily pushed it into the open goal for her sixth of the season and a 1-1 score.
Cornell went back ahead late in the period with one of the prettiest goals Baker Rink will see all year. The play started with Cornell's Canadian Olympian Rebecca Johnston, who broke free with the puck and brought it down the right side of the ice on a 2-on-1. She dished it to Catherine White, who made a brilliant move with the puck to get past the lone defender and found a small opening over Young's left shoulder.
It gave Cornell a 2-1 lead, but it would be the last time the Big Red would get one past Young, despite dominating play for the first half of the second period. Young made seven saves in the middle period to keep the game close, and Greenwood made sure it would pay off. Sophomore Caroline Park found senior Christine Foster behind the Cornell goal with nearly two minutes left in the second; Foster connected with her four-year teammate, Greenwood, who buried a one-timer into the left side of the goal for a 2-2 tie.
Princeton carried the play for most of the third period and outshot the Big Red 12-2, but solid goaltending and timely defensive clears kept Cornell even. Both teams would have good scoring opportunities the rest of the way, but neither could take advantage.
For the Tiger Class of 2009, it was a wild end to their final regular season game at Baker Rink. But the six seniors (Greenwood, Foster, Young, Monica Brennan, Katherine Dineen and Megan Murray) have four games left to make sure it won't be their last game ever at their home rink.