Box Score SCHENECTADY, NY – Princeton used goals from four different players in the opening period to race out to a comfortable lead after twenty minutes and then cruised to a 5-0 ECACHL win over Union Friday night at Messa Rink. The Dutchwomen were unable to muster any offense against the nation's fifth-ranked team, falling to 3-21-1 overall, 0-17-0 in league play.
The visiting Tigers' offense wasted little time kicking into gear, as it scored just forty-five seconds into the contest on a mark by Kim Pearce to take the 1-0 lead. Brittany Salmon made it 2-0 just over five minutes later off a feed by Pearce. Freshman Annie Greenwood and Marykate Oakley closed out the scoring in the first period with goals at 12:19 and 9:11, respectively.
Rookie goaltender
Alex Zirbel (Clearwater, FL) made 10 stops in net for Union in the first period, but was spelled by junior
Amanda Hanson (Brainerd, MN) for the final 8:17 of the period. Hanson made five stops, while keeping the high-octane Tigers off the scoreboard.
Hanson continued her solid play between the pipes in the second period, stopping 12 shots and keeping it a four-goal deficit for the first 19:49 of the period. The Tigers' Sarah Butsch scored the period's lone goal, which came short-handed, in just in front of the crease off a gorgeous feed from behind net by Tarah Clark.
Each team had another serious scoring opportunity during the middle stanza. Heather Jackson's near miss slammed hard off the far post at 13:35 for Princeton, while freshman
Josie McDermott (Unadilla, NY) had perhaps Union's best scoring chance of the night when she found her self on a breakaway with 4:50 remaining in the second period. Her backhander caught Princeton goaltender Kristen Young's left shoulder and bounced just wide left.
Both teams were held scoreless in the final period. Union's
Elise Nichols (Pittsfield, MA) managed to break free of the Princeton defense at the top of the zone at 15:18 and put a shot on net.
Linnea Edwardson (Duluth, MN) came crashing in from the left wing, but was unable to put home the rebound on Young. The Dutchwomen never put together another serious threat to Young thereafter.
The Tigers' netminder stopped all 16 shots in her second win of the season in goal for the victors. Hanson excelled in net for Union despite the loss, collecting 36 shots on the night.
The Tigers held a clear edge in shots for all three periods, bettering Union 51-16 in scoring chances overall. Neither team was able to capitalize on the power play as they combined to go 0-for-13 on the night. Union's 0-for-8 power play included two 5-on-3 opportunities that yielded just 2 shots on net.
The Dutchwomen will seek a weekend split with Princeton (16-6-4, 12-3-2) in a 4:00 p.m. rematch tomorrow at Messa Rink for "Senior Day."
