A week of hard workouts was all it took for the Rensselaer women’s hockey team to put the fiascos suffered on January 28 against Clarkson and January 29 versus Vermont out of sight and out of mind. With the lines back in order, life returned to normal for the Engineers, who were battling Sacred Heart in Milford, Conn. The team came together to sweep the two-game set, effectively ending their four-game losing streak.
Although the subject is still closed, players seemed to understand Head Coach John Burke’s disciplinary actions on three freshmen two weekends ago as for the best. During RPI’s battle with the nation’s formerly ninth-ranked team, Clarkson, Burke benched three of the top four scoring players. “I don’t blame him. It was a disciplinary thing, he was just doing what’s best for the team,” reflected junior Ciara Libaridian.
As for the success found by the team this weekend, Libaridian said, “I think it helped that we had everyone—just knowing that everyone was ready to go. We came together as a team.”
It was clear that whatever needed to be fixed was, as the women beat Sacred Heart 2-0 and 6-0 on Friday and Saturday. “We tried to concentrate on our end of the ice. We worked on our defensive positions—which we really struggled on in the past,” explained Burke. “The biggest thing is consistency; you want to be playing your best hockey at the end of the season, not the beginning.”
Although RPI did not blow out the Pioneers as they did to open the season when they outscored Sacred Heart 15-2 in two games, the Engineers did play a controlled brand of hockey. They managed the puck well and were able to secure the shutouts. Freshman goalie Emily Ford, who has not seen much action yet, was able to protect her net both nights as she started Friday’s game and took over after the first period for senior Rosina Schiff on Saturday. “Emily played really well. She stuck out. We haven’t seen her play in a while; she made a lot of good plays,” said Libaridian.
Burke said they are trying to keep everyone sharp, and that “it was nice to see [Ford] get her first shutout when she was so close the other times.”
In a great change of pace from the beginning of the season, the Engineers’ last five games saw RPI score first. In fact, they have been first to the goal in eight of their 10 games after the winter break. Sluggish play plagued the team early in the season. Now, although the record does not show it, the energy of play has increased, and the team is ready to start winning again.
Friday’s game was started off by freshman Jamie Jacquard-Sowa’s goal from freshman Emily Donowick and junior captain Sarah Daniel. The only other goal of the night came from freshman Melanie Guillemette who scored a short-handed goal at 15:25 in the first period. She was actually clearing the puck from her own red line during a power play for a line change when, amazingly, the puck somehow slid underneath Pioneer goalie Stephanie Boulay’s glove.
“Friday’s game was really not our best effort as a team at all,” said Daniel via e-mail. “But it broke our losing streak and reminded us that we haven’t achieved anything yet this year without hard work, so we came much more prepared to play the next day.”
The team did come to play on Saturday, as they were able to take a commanding lead early in the first period. Starting off a productive early game by scoring two consecutive goals was freshman Nicole McDonald, who sat out the Clarkson and Vermont contests. She was assisted on the power play goal by sophomore Ellen McNamara and freshman Jamie-Lynn Stewart, who was also returning from two missed games. McDonald’s second goal at 16:05 was assisted by sophomore Brooke Thompson.
Twenty-three seconds later, Stewart scored and was assisted by McDonald, making it 3-0 in favor of RPI. In an exciting finish to the first period, Thompson managed to squeeze a shot off with just one second left on the clock.
The Engineers’ fifth goal came at 8:38 in the second at the end of a power play. “We broke the puck out. We got into the zone. Kari Rabatin—she was on the wing and she passed it to me. I was trailing and I took the shot … bottom shelf,” was how Libaridian described her goal. Senior Julie Welte was also credited with an assist on the play.
On the next power play, senior Rabatin received the puck from sophomore Kelly Barbera to score at 16:51. The teams skated through a scoreless and uneventful final period.
“Saturday’s game was much better all around,” said Daniel. “I think it puts us in good position for our string of tough home games coming up. The team can’t wait to be back on home ice again to finish up the season.”
The team has a single game left in their lengthy nine-game road schedule before they can finally return to the Field House. They play the final away game in Montreal, Quebec, against McGill on February 10. The McGill team is currently 11-3-3 and ranked fifth in Canada.
Their first game back in Troy is on February 12 against Plattsburgh State at 3 pm. Division III Plattsburgh is still undefeated this season, winning all 12 of their games. Libaridian hopes to “finish off the way we started.”
