Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Hockey Makes 11th Straight Postseason Appearance
February 22, 2012 | Women's Ice Hockey
ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Series
Gametimes
Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. (if necessary)
Records
No. 7 Princeton (12-13-4, 10-10-2)
No. 2 Harvard (20-8-1, 17-4-1)
Series History
Began: Jan. 11, 1980
Record: Harvard leads 39-29-4
This Season
Princeton won 3-0 on Jan. 6 at Hobey Baker Rink
Harvard won 10-1 on Feb. 4 at Bright Hockey Center
Playoff History
Princeton and Harvard have played in two ECAC Quarterfinal series
Harvard is 4-0 (2-0 in 2002, 2-0 in 2010)
Links: Live Video $9.95/game l Live Stats
PRINCETON, N.J. (2/19/12) - The Princeton women's hockey team will face No. 2 seed Harvard in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal series this weekend in Cambridge, Mass. The best of three series will held on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. (if necessary).
This Princeton's 11th straight trip to the ECAC Quarterfinals. In Jeff Kampersal's 16-years as head coach he has guided the Tigers to the quarterfinals 14 times.
The other quarterfinal series feature No. 8 Brown at No. 1 Cornell, No. 6 Quinnipiac at No. 3 Clarkson and No. 5 St. Lawrence at No. 4 Dartmouth.
Harvard leads the all-time series 39-29-4. Princeton and Harvard split the season series with each team winning at home. The Tigers earned a 3-0 shutout on Jan. 6 at Hobey Baker Rink before Harvard won 10-1 at Bright Hockey Center on Feb. 4.
The second game would not quite go the same at Harvard. The Crimson still holding on at No. 8, posted a 10-1 win. Junior Corey Stearns opened the scoring before Harvard scored seven in the middle frame and three in the third. Jillian Dempsey scored half of her team's goals and started her team's offensive spurt with three straight for a natural hat trick. Harvard outshot Princeton 42-15 in the game. Weber made 20 saves and Ashley Holt backed her up with 12 in the third period. Laura Bellamy made 14 for Harvard.
The two programs have met in the ECAC Quarters twice before, in 2002 and 2010. Princeton hosted the series in 2002, which saw Harvard win 3-2 and 3-1. In 2010 Harvard won 5-1 and 4-1 in Cambridge.
Princeton enters the weekend with a 12-13-4 overall record and a 10-10-2 mark in the ECAC. After a tough patch in November, the Tigers rebounded with a 6-3-3 stretch. Sophomore Sally Butler sits atop the scoring column with 24 points with 14 goals and 10 assists. Sophomore Denna Laing and freshman defender Ali Pankowski also have 10 assists. Laing adds nine goals for 19 points and Pankowski has scored three times for 14 points. Senior Paula Romanchuk has 13 points as well with a team-high 12 helpers and one goal. Senior Rachel Weber has started in goal in every game and has a .931 save percentage, which ranks third in the league, and a 2.02 goals against average.
Harvard is 20-8-1 overall and has a 17-4-1 record in the ECAC. The Crimson are riding a four-game win streak and haven't lost to an ECAC squad in nine games. Junior Jillian Dempsey is the team's leading scorer with 23 goals and 19 assists for 42 points. Sophomore Lyndsey Fry has 38 points with 19 goals and assists apiece. Sophomore Marissa Gedman leads the defenders in scoring with seven goals and 17 assists for 24 points. Junior Laura Bellamy has played in goal in every game. She has a 1.79 GAA and a .919 save percentage with seven shutouts. Harvard averages 3.62 goals per game and limit teams to 1.79 gpg. It's penalty kill is second in the league (87.5%) and the power play is third (19.8%).
The winner of the series will advance to the ECAC Hockey Championship semifinals on March 2 at the site of the highest remaining seed. The semifinal winners will play for the title on March 3 at the same site.