With the start of the New Year came another milestone for the women’s ice hockey team as the women competed in their first tournament, the Easton/St. Cloud Showcase, held in St. Cloud, Minn. Despite losing the first game in a close match against the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, the Engineers came back to dominate against the St. Cloud State University Huskies before returning home to Troy, N.Y., for more ECAC action.
With 29 seconds elapsed in overtime, North Dakota freshman Alyssa Wiebe scored to give the Fighting Sioux a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in the first game of the Easton/St. Cloud Showcase. The loss snapped the Engineers’ three-game winning streak, beginning with their last loss back on November 8, 2008 against Dartmouth College. Sophomore Sonja van der Bliek made 21 saves in the loss that now puts North Dakota 11-7-1 overall on the season.
Following a scoreless first period, RPI took the lead at 12:32 of the second with freshman Alisa Harrison’s sixth goal of the season. Within the next minute, the Fighting Sioux tied the game at one as sophomore Marie-Michelle Poirier tallied her first of two on the night.
Freshman defenseman Amanda Castignetti pulled the Engineers ahead once again at 2:45 of the third, with assists going to classmate and fellow blue-liner Sierra Vadner. Poirier would strike again in the final minutes of the third frame, as she grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and sent it past van der Bliek.
In the overtime period, North Dakota regained the puck in their own zone, as freshman goaltender Stephanie Ney sent the puck to senior Randi Motsko, who found Wiebe streaking down the wing for the game-winner. Ney, who had 22 saves on the night, also recorded her first collegiate point with an assist on the goal. Van der Bliek finished the game with 21 stops.
After the close-fought match against the Fighting Sioux, the Engineers came out firing against the St. Cloud Huskies. The 2-0 win saw van der Bliek collect her third shutout of the season with 38 saves, including 17 in the first period alone. The Huskies are now 9-9-2 overall on the season.
RPI capitalized on two power play opportunities in the first period to take the lead and never look back. Junior Laura Gersten added her fourth goal of the season, with helpers going to classmate Allysen Weidner and sophomore Kendra Dunlop. Junior Whitney Naslund would tally her seventh goal of the season 31 seconds later.
St. Cloud freshman goaltender Tayler VanDenakker made 22 saves on the night for the Huskies’ fourth-straight loss.
“St. Cloud really put on a first-class event, and it was great to play against some WCHA teams,” said Head Coach John Burke. “Our game against North Dakota was one of our best, despite what the scoreboard dictated. A couple of crazy bounces in our end and a couple of great saves by their goaltender led to the overtime goal.”
He continued, “It was great to come out with the win against St. Cloud. They’re a great team, and even if you lose the first game in a tournament it’s good to win the second so you can go home happy with the results.”
“It was pretty fun to be able to play a couple different teams from a different division,” said Castignetti. “We got to play teams that we might not see normally, and they were able to see how our game from out east differed from in the Midwest. The game was the same, but the ice surface was wider and we had to change our game to fit the rink.”
“It was really exciting to play in a tournament setting,” explained Weidner. “The whole team was excited to play teams from the WCHA, since we don’t get to do that often. It is always exciting to play different teams that are outside of our league.”
Returning to Troy, the Engineers played two strong games against ECAC opponents. Following a loss to the nationally-ranked Princeton University Tigers and a tie against the Quinnipiac University Bobcats, Rensselaer is now 11-7-3 overall and 6-2-2 in league play.
While the Engineers played host to the No. 9 Tigers, Princeton took the lead at 12:08 of the first, off sloppy puck control in front of the net. Junior Stephanie Denino blocked a shot off her stick that, after passing through many hands in front, eventually made its way to freshman Paula Romanchuk, who was able to backhand the puck over van der Bliek’s shoulder.
Naslund came back to tie the game up at one, as she added her eighth goal of the season. Weidner chipped the puck to Gersten, who was in the far slot. Gersten found Naslund streaking down the wing, and was able to sneak the puck under Princeton senior goalie Kristen Young at 11:39.
Tied 1-1 after two periods of play, Tiger junior Maddie Endicott netted the game-winner at 5:04, followed by an insurance goal by Denino at 12:08 to give Princeton the 3-1 victory. The Tigers are now 10-8-1 on the season and 7-5-0 in the ECAC, as Young made 24 saves in the win. Van der Bliek finished the night with 19 stops of her own.
“I thought we played a great game against Princeton,” said Burke. “Again, there were a couple of crazy bounces in our end that led to goals, but we also had many opportunities of our own, hitting the pipes and net. I think we played better in this loss than in our win against St. Cloud.”
Finishing out the weekend of league play, RPI skated with the Bobcats to a 3-3. Quinnipiac junior Janine Duffy scored with 3:25 remaining in the game to force the overtime session, in which neither team was able to score.
Leading the team in goals with 10, Naslund scored her second goal of the game at 6:14 of the third for the 3-2 lead. Vadner gave RPI a 2-0 advantage at 9:56 of the second, as minutes later the Bobcats responded with their first of the game off the power play, at 11:37.
With seven seconds remaining in the second frame, Quinnipiac tied the game at two with a goal by senior Trudy Reyns, who was able to roof the puck over van der Bliek.
Bobcat sophomore goalie Tia Wishart made 22 saves, while van der Bliek had 29.
“The hockey gods were just not on our side this weekend,” explained Castignetti. “We had many opportunities but just could not put away the game.”
Saturday’s game was also Youth Hockey Night at the Houston Field House, as many youth hockey players throughout the Capital District gathered to meet-and-greet with the team following the game for both off- and on-ice activities. “Youth day was great! There were quite a few little kids there wanting autographs,” said Weidner. “Some we see at most games and there were some new faces as well. It’s great to know that little girls look up to us, and we love seeing them at all the games.”
The Engineers return to action this weekend, as they travel west to face off against Colgate University and Cornell University on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, respectively. “Colgate has been on a roll lately, having recently swept Cornell this past weekend,” said Burke. “They are a couple of tough teams, with skilled forwards and strong D-cores. It should be a lot of fun, as some of our hardest games this season will be coming up in the coming weeks.” Friday’s game begins at 7 pm, while Saturday’s game is at 4 pm.
