Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Hockey Team Hosts Quinnipiac for ECAC Quarterfinal Series
February 23, 2011 | Women's Ice Hockey
GAMETIMES:
Fri., Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 26 at 4 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. (If Necessary)
RECORDS:
Princeton (16-12-1, 13-8-1 ECAC)
Quinnipiac (20-11-3, 12-9-1 ECAC)
SERIES HISTORY:
Princeton leads 10-1-2 overall and 6-0-1 at home.
PLAYOFF HISTORY:
The teams have never met in the postseason.
2010-11 SEASON:
The teams split the season series 1-1-0.
Nov. 2, 2010 at Quinnipiac: Quinnipiac 5, Princeton 2 (Recap | Box)
Jan. 3, 2011 at Princeton: Princeton 3, Quinnipiac 0 (Recap | Box)
STREAK: 1 Princeton win
PRINCETON (2/23/11) - The Princeton women's hockey team closed out the regular season with two wins to jump Quinnipiac in the ECAC Hockey standings and finish fourth in the final league rundown. This weekend Princeton opens up the postseason at home hosting Quinnipiac in a best-of-three ECAC Quarterfinal series at Hobey Baker Rink.
The series begins on Friday night at 7 p.m., and continues on Saturday at 4 p.m., and will conclude on Sunday at 4 p.m., if necessary. Admission to all three games is free of charge.
Princeton climbed into a top-four finish with a terrific stretch run, going 13-2 in its last 15 games and winning its last four to secure a home-ice playoff spot. Princeton completed its 22-game league slate with a 13-8-1 record and 27 points to finish fourth. Princeton finished sixth in the league standings last season and was also picked to finish sixth in the ECAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Princeton entered the final weekend of the regular season a point out of fourth and in need of some help to earn home ice. Princeton took care of its own business, sweeping Brown and Yale, and got the help it needed on Friday night when Yale stymied Quinnipiac 1-0.
On Friday night Olivia Mucha scored two goals and Rachel Weber made 24 saves as the Tigers took a 4-2 win at Brown. Gabie Figueroa also tallied her first collegiate goal in the win and Kelly Cooke's second period tally proved to be the game winner. On Saturday Denna Laing scored twice, while Sally Butler and Julie Johnson each contributed three points in a 4-1 win at Yale.
Mucha, Butler and Johnson led Princeton with three points each over the weekend. Mucha was the only one of the three to have points in both games and she now leads the team with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points, one ahead of Sasha Sherry. Mucha and Butler share the team lead with nine goals.
Weber continues to anchor the Princeton defense and has helped Princeton surrender just 20 goals over its last 15 games for a 1.33 average. Princeton has allowed two or less goals in 16 of its last 20 games. Weber now holds a 1.60 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.
Princeton is one of four Ivy League teams that is hosting an ECAC quarterfinal series. The other four series feature top-seed Cornell hosting eighth-seed Rensselaer, second-seed Harvard hosting seventh-seed St. Lawrence and third-seed Dartmouth hosting sixth-seed Clarkson.
The Tigers earned the right to host a playoff series for the second time in three years and the fifth time in seven years. Princeton will look to advance to the league semifinal for the first time since the 2005-06 season when Princeton swept Colgate in the quarterfinals and faced Brown in the semifinals.
Princeton and Quinnipiac split their season series with each team winning at home. Princeton leads the all-time series 10-1-2 overall and 6-0-1 at home, including a 3-0 win at Baker Rink in early January.
The teams' first meeting this season came on Nov. 2 in Hamden, Conn. Princeton scored twice in the game's first five minutes as goals from Sherry and Alex Kinney gave Princeton a lead, but Quinnipiac answered twice in the first and two more times in the second on its way to the 5-2 win. Regan Boulton of the Bobcats had two goals to lead all point-getters in the game.
The second meeting came on Jan. 3 at Baker Rink and was a 3-0 Princeton win, part of Weber's long midseason shutout streak. In the win Johnson and Paula Romanchuk scored less than a minute apart midway through the first period to give Princeton a lead it would never relinquish. Danielle DiCesare capped the scoring in the second period and Weber finished with 19 saves.
Quinnipiac finished the regular season 20-11-3 overall and 12-9-1 in the ECAC. The Bobcats have not lost back-to-back games since October and enter the weekend 2-1-2 in their last five games. Last weekend Quinnipiac was blanked 1-0 at Yale, as the Bulldogs were fighting for the eighth and final playoff position, and tied 3-3 at Brown despite badly outshooting the Bears.
Quinnipiac is led offensively by freshman Kelly Babstock's 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points. The Bobcats have four players with 20 or more points and three with at least 10 goals. Quinnipiac is also strong in goal as the Bobcats have held opponents to less than two goals a game all season. Goaltender Victoria Vigilanti has a 1.68 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.
After this weekend's series are completed, the remaining four teams will be reseeded, with the top two remaining seeds hosting the bottom two in the semifinals next Thursday night at 7 p.m.