After a weekend of non-conference action and the following weekend off, the women’s hockey team looks ahead to two strong games against ECAC opponents this Friday and Saturday.
November 22 and 23 saw the team face off against the Robert Morris University Colonials.
“The team is more than ready for ECAC opponents,” said junior Whitney Naslund. “It is important for teams to take a few days off to regroup mentally every once in a while, and Thanksgiving always comes at a great time for this to happen. So, we are fresh and ready to come this weekend.”
Following their road trip against the Colonials, the Engineers now sit at 8-5-2 overall, while Robert Morris dropped to 5-8-1 after the 2-2 tie on November 22 and the 2-0 RPI victory the next evening.
Game one of the matchup saw Colonials sophomore goaltender Brianne McLaughlin make 56 saves though three periods and an overtime session of play. After an evenly matched first frame, the Engineers came out firing in the second, outshooting the Colonials 24-0. Senior Melissa Boik netted her third of the season to tie the game at one, with assists from Naslund and sophomore Sydney O’Keefe.
Freshman Alisa Harrison was able to pull the Engineers ahead early into the third period with her third goal of the season at 4:11. Classmates Laura Guillemette and Amanda Castignetti assisted on the play. The Colonials came back to tie it up once again as they pulled McLaughlin in favor of the extra skater, and senior Kristen Miles added her second goal of the game with 16 seconds remaining in regulation.
Despite outplaying Robert Morris during the overtime session and outshooting their opposition 3-0, the Engineers were unable to place the puck in the net for the win.
“We played really well together as a team, and made a lot of good plays,” said Boik. “The biggest issue was with penalties. In Friday’s game, Robert Morris’ only goals came from 5-3 power plays.”
Hungry for more than a single point on the weekend, the Engineers broke out of a well-matched, scoreless game Saturday with two goals in the third period for the win. Naslund and Harrison added tallies at 8:25 and 15:07, respectively, to place another notch in the win column for Rensselaer. Guillemette added her second point of the weekend, assisting on Naslund’s goal, while fellow freshman Sierra Vadner added the only helper on Harrison’s mark.
The Colonials outshot the Engineers in the first frame, 11-7. However, RPI came back to outshoot its competition 19-3 in the second. Sophomore goaltender Daneca Butterfield made 33 saves on the night, while sophomore Sonja van der Bliek earned her second shutout of the season with 22 saves.
Returning back home to Troy, the ECAC named Harrison as Rookie of the Week in women’s ice hockey for the second time this season. Through 15 games this year, Harrison leads the team in scoring with four goals and a team-high eight assists for a total of 12 points. Even though it appears Harrison has made a smooth transition from playing with the Washington Pride in the Junior Women’s Hockey League to NCAA Division I, it is not without the help of her teammates that Harrison has seen such success. “At first the transition to D-I was tough; I struggled a little at the beginning of the season,” explained Harrison. “But, like anything, it just took time to get acclimated and gain confidence. My teammates have also helped me out a lot to adjust.” Harrison is also ranked 16th nationally and sixth within the conference among rookies in points per game, with 0.80.
Also receiving honors for the weekend was van der Bliek, who was named to the ECAC Honor Roll for the fourth time this season. In 13 games as starting goaltender, she has a 7-4-2 record and 0.910 save percentage. In addition, van der Bliek also holds a 1.76 goals against average, placing her 12th nationally and fifth in the ECAC.
This weekend, the Engineers return to action, as they hit the road again to face off against the Quinnipiac University Bobcats Friday and the Princeton University Tigers Saturday. Both teams are currently ranked in the bottom half of the ECAC, while RPI remains in the top four. “With the way our season has started, I have a good feeling about this weekend, and it will definitely help us stay in the top four in the league. We just have to come out and be ready to work, and not think about who has beaten or lost to whom,” said Boik. Harrison agrees: “We are definitely ready and excited to get back into league play this weekend; especially after a weekend with no games, we are all itching to play. We want to go into winter break with two wins and end 2008 on a high note.”
