Showing marked improvement over last weekend, the women Engineers traveled to Quinnipiac and Princeton, and came home with their first league win in program history and a close-fought 2-3 loss against a top 10 team.
“The win was important,” said junior forward Julie Aho, “It’s a sign that we are progressing and of more good things to come. The weekend as a whole was successful. We gave the 10th ranked team in the nation a run for their money. We’ll use this weekend as a stepping stone to build the rest of our season from.”
“It was big,” said Head Coach John Burke. “Nice to be a part of a history-making win.”
“We put together a really good 60 minutes for the first time this year,” said Burke. “Most importantly, we won the third periods in both games.”
Friday night was the team’s third ECAC hockey game and the team was focused and ready for the victory. After letting Quinnipiac net one just over five minutes in, the Engineers didn’t wait long to secure the victory, tying the game less than five minutes later. Freshman forward Allysen Weidner took a pass on a power play from classmate Whitney Naslund and sophomore Melissa Boik, and hit the twine at 9:52.
A pair of goals in the second period put RPI up 3-1. Aho scored first off an assist from senior captain Sarah Daniel. Then just 18 seconds later, junior Brooke Thompson scored from assists by Weidner and Naslund.
Aho would score again, this time at 8:15 into the third period. Her goal was not only unassisted, but also short-handed. Aho also had the assist on freshman Laura Gertsen’s goal, bringing the final score of 5-1.
“If we play like that we’re giving ourselves a chance to win every weekend,” said Burke of the team’s play.
Sophomore Ashley Mayr stayed strong in the net, posting 29 saves. “She played very well again and has been very consistent,” said Burke. “She’s been solid for us doing the things that are giving us a chance to win hockey games.”
The Pep Band, along with groups of fans, made the trip to Friday’s game, providing a unique and intimate atmosphere for the team, “The presence of the Pep Band gave us the extra edge we needed against Quinnipiac,” said Aho, “I’ve never walked into an opponent’s rink and felt like I was playing at home. Taking the ice to the sound of our fight song—in our opponent’s rink—was one of the best feelings I’ve had since I’ve been here. The atmosphere was electric. I’ve never heard instruments reverberate off an arena’s walls the way that theirs did.”
Saturday’s game in Baker Arena against ninth-ranked Princeton didn’t go as well on the scorecard, but a 2-3 loss against a nationally ranked team is hard to complain about. Although RPI again gave up an early first goal just 1:43 into the game, they again tied it up before the period was complete. Sophomore Jamie-Lynn Stewart scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season unassisted at 12:56.
Princeton scored twice in the second, making it 3-1.
The Engineers were not ready to go down without giving the Tigers a scare, taking control of the third period and bringing the game back to within a goal when sophomore Emily Donowick scored midway through the final period. The Engineers were not able to take the game, but came away with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.
Mayr had 21 stops in the game, and gave the team a chance to win. “Ashley Mayr came up huge for us this weekend,” said Aho. “She kept the score close with Quinnipiac until we got our offense going and had another strong performance Saturday versus Princeton.”
Burke said that they’ll “keep working on doing the little things that make us successful and give us a chance to win the rest of the year.”
The team next matches up against 0-6 Sacred Heart University, on the road on Friday at 7 pm and Saturday at 2 pm. Then, it’s back to the Houston Field House for the Engineers’ first home ECACHL games against Cornell and Colgate.
