Something has changed for the women’s hockey team over the past few years, and its record of late proves that good things will come to those who wait.
As the Engineers recognize their first group of Division-I skaters to graduate, they also look to their return to the ECAC playoffs, where the team has placed the highest in the conference since its induction into the league. “This was our goal at the beginning of the year—to make playoffs,” explained senior Nicole McDonald. “Once we achieved this, every girl on the team knew that we had a chance to make RPI history, and we wanted to place as high as possible in the playoffs.”
Friday night’s game—also Pink at the Rink night for the Engineers—pitted RPI against the Cornell University Big Red. With each player sporting special pink-wrapped sticks to later be auctioned off for cancer research, the Engineers trounced Cornell by a score of 3-1. The loss placed the Big Red at 11-12-5 overall and 7-9-5 in the ECAC to take the eighth and final playoff position.
Rookie defenseman Jill Vandegrift put RPI on the board first for her fifth of the season, just 1:45 into the game. Sophomore Sydney O’Keefe initially took the shot that deflected off Cornell junior goalie Jenny Niesluchowski; however, Vandegrift was there to bury the rebound. It didn’t take long for the Big Red to respond, as freshman Catherine White took advantage of a scrum in front of the net to gain control of the puck and send it past sophomore goaltender Sonja van der Bliek at 3:46.
Both teams fought to a deadlocked second period before RPI broke out again in the third to take the lead to the end. Junior wing Whitney Naslund skated the puck to the right of Niesluchowski and roofed it over the goaltender’s shoulder at 4:53 for her 13th of the year, with assists going to senior Melissa Boik and junior Laura Gersten.
With less than a minute remaining, Cornell pulled Niesluchowski twice in favor of the extra skater. However, RPI was able to retain control of the puck in its offensive zone and took advantage of the open net. Naslund’s shot—with 38 seconds left on the clock—was blocked by a Cornell defender and rebounded to junior Allison Wright. Wright made a crisp pass to freshman Alisa Harrison in the high slot, who buried the puck for her 12th goal of the season.
Van der Bliek stopped 26 shots on the night, while Niesluchowski blocked 32.
Boik, who added two more assists to her collegiate record, didn’t want to single herself out as a key performer: “I really don’t pay attention to what I personally do, but it was just a great game all around to be a part of.”
Prior to the start of Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Colgate University Raiders, Rensselaer recognized members of the 1993–94 women’s hockey club team, which took home the national championship 15 years ago. In addition, the Engineers congratulated six seniors and their families for their contributions to the program over the past four years, and its final transition to Division-I hockey. Those players included Boik, McDonald, Jamie-Lynn Stewart, Jaime Jacquard-Sowa, Ashley Mayr, and Emily Ford. It was an emotional night for all, as the team bid farewell to its graduating class but also clinched the sixth-place seed in the ECAC tournament.
The Engineers took the early lead after sophomore Sydney O’Keefe notched her second of the year at 1:06 of the first period. The rest of the frame would remain scoreless, before McDonald added her first of two on the night at the start of the second period. Receiving a behind-the-net pass from sophomore Kendra Dunlop, McDonald’s shot from the low slot went beyond the reach of sophomore goaltender Lisa Plenderleith at 2:11.
Although the Raiders rallied back midway through the period to add a goal of their own, it would be the only one of the night, as minutes later McDonald scored her second of the evening. Plenderleith was able to block two shots by Stewart, but McDonald swooped in for the rebound at 17:06 for her sixth of the season, putting the Engineers ahead 3-1.
Closing out the game, Dunlop converted on a pass from freshman Amanda Castignetti at 7:16 to bring the score to 4-1 RPI.
The win brought RPI to an overall record of 16-13-4 on the season and 11-8-3 in the ECAC, while the Raiders fell to 18-12-3 overall and 12-7-3. Van der Bliek made 30 saves to garner her 15th win of the year, while Plenderleith’s 21 saves marked her sixth loss of the year. “We definitely just came out and had fun this past weekend and clicked together,” said Boik. “It was definitely one of our best weekends this season.”
This weekend is the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament. RPI will face off against the Princeton University Tigers, who are ranked third in the league and No. 9 in the nation. In the best-of-three format, the Engineers will take on the Tigers Friday at 7 pm and Saturday at 4 pm. If needed, a third game will be played Sunday at 4 pm. “We worked really hard to get this opportunity to play Princeton because we know that if we play our game we can beat them,” explained McDonald. “We had a lot of energy and drive this past weekend, and we plan to bring that into the first round of playoffs.”
