BOX SCORE

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Despite a late goal in the third period from freshman Bryanne Panchuk, the Union College women's ice hockey team fell to Princeton 2-1 on Friday.  After 19 scoreless minutes, Princeton freshman Brianna Leahy scored the go-ahead goal with less than 60 seconds left in the first period.  In their opening League game, the Dutchwomen move to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in the ECAC while the Tigers are now 2-1 and 1-0.

Leahy's first collegiate goal was scored at the 00:53 mark in the first period after the Tigers had just come off of the penalty kill.  Princeton came charging up the ice, and the freshman forward threw the puck in amidst a pile up in front of junior goaltender Alana Marcinko.  With Marcinko screened by several bodies, the puck slyly rolled into the left corner of the net.

From the moment the puck was dropped, a quick pace was set by both squads.  Freshman Christine Valente was a powerhouse for the Dutchwomen, creating several scoring opportunites throughout the game.  At the four minute mark of the first period, the forward nearly put Union on the board by attempting to get a shot off of freshman Alex Tancrell-Fontaine's rebound. 

Minutes later, Valente took a shot from her knees only five feet in front of Princeton goaltender Rachel Weber.  The senior was solid, however, earning a shut out by recording 19 saves.  Marcinko was excellent in the defeat, making 32 out of 34 saves for the Dutchwomen.

Down 1-0 at the start of the second period, Panchuk emerged as a defensive force, blocking shots to regain possession for the Dutchwomen.  Freshman Camille Corbin, who had two shots in the second frame, attacked the net with a hard shot at the 10 minute mark while being taken down in the process.

The Tigers challenged back though, with excellent offense coming from junior Corey Stearns.  The forward dangled through Union's defense and nearly notched another goal for Princeton before Marcinko made the save.  Their momentum continued to grow with another chance coming from Leahy.  The freshman stole the puck stepping out of the penalty box and drove into the Dutchwomen's zone.

With less than 10 minutes left to play in the second period, sophomore Sally Butler scored her third of the season and put the Tigers up 2-0.  After receiving a feed from senior Paula Romanchuk at the middle, the forward buried a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.

Despite the two-goal deficit, Marcinko made vital plays in the final minutes of the frame to keep the Dutchwomen in the game.  After denying a scoring attempt by Leahy, the goaltender immediately slid across the net to her left to make a kick save on a shot from sophomore Denna Laing. In the remaining seconds, Marcinko made back-to-back butterfly saves on shots from Laing and sophomore Olivia Mucha, holding the Tigers to a two-goal lead.

At the start of the third period, junior Rhianna Kurio immediately fired off a shot to regain the Dutchwomen's momentum. Marcinko remained unshakeable in net, fending off advances from Leahy and a great shot by senior Heather Landry.

The Dutchwomen had one of the best scoring opportunites of the night when Kurio charged down the ice to make a centering pass to senior Emilie Arseneault.  Unfortunately, the forward could not get a stick on the puck before Weber jumped out to make the save.

With two minutes remaining in the game, Panchuk put the Dutchwomen on the board to make the game 2-1.  Seniors Molly Kate Devin and Dania Simmonds set the freshman up with an outstanding play after gaining an extra attacker with Marcinko out of net. Panchuk easily made her way down the right side, patiently waiting for the opportune moment, and shot the puck five-hole to cut the Tigers' lead in half.

However, down a player at the 00:35 mark, the Tigers held off the Dutchwomen in the remaining minute to keep the lead.

Union is back at Messa Rink tomorrow, October 29th, to take on Quinnipiac at 3:00 p.m.  The Bobcats are 1-5 on the season.