Princeton Highlights W. Hockey Road Trip

The Harvard women’s hockey team is on a roll coming into this weekend’s contests against resurgent Princeton and perennial ECAC doormat Yale.

However, last February, an unranked Princeton team shocked the Crimson in their second meeting, so Harvard will not take its ECAC and Ivy League rival lightly this time around.

The No. 9 Crimson faces off against No. 10 Princeton at Baker Arena tonight at 7 p.m. and then travels to New Haven for a game against Yale tomorrow at 4 p.m.

While the Crimson stresses that it is not overlooking Yale, the Elis (5-7-1, 2-3 ECAC North) face formidable obstacles in recent struggles combined with the memory of the Crimson’s 10-1 thrashing of Yale last year.

Yale’s five wins thus far nearly doubles its three-win tally from last season.

Harvard has had a long break to prepare and refine its special teams play, and comes into Princeton well-rested.

Both Princeton and Harvard enter the weekend following victories against higher-ranked schools. On Dec. 14, the Crimson (8-6-1, 3-1-1 ECAC North) triumphed 4-3 over then-No. 6 New Hampshire, a win that boosted Harvard’s national ranking to No. 7.

The Wildcats also fell to Princeton on Dec. 8 in a 1-0 upset.

The Tigers (9-5-2, 5-2 ECAC North) once again showed their skill in exploiting the weaknesses of higher-ranked teams by disposing of then-No. 4 Dartmouth last weekend.

“It definitely turns your head when Princeton upsets Dartmouth,” said sophomore forward Mina Pell, who was recently elevated to the first line after finishing a stellar field hockey season as that team’s leading scorer.

To skate away with another upset, Princeton will need to kill a Harvard power play that is the most potent in the nation with 17 goals in 55 opportunities (30.9 percent).

Harvard also may have an advantage in depth over the Tigers, who heavily rely on only two lines, whereas the Crimson regularly rotates three forward lines.

The Princeton-Harvard game has special import for both Pell and Princeton forward Lisa Rasmussen—especially now that they will face off against each other in their newfound roles as first-line players. The two forwards—natives of Washington, D.C., an area not known for producing hockey talent—grew up within blocks of each other and starred as co-captains of the same high school and club teams.

Princeton is also close enough to the D.C. area that many friends and family will be in attendance to watch the game.

Pell and Rasmussen’s former club team coach, Kush Sidhu, said both women—as well as D.C. native and current Princeton captain Melissa Deland—have inspired girls from the D.C. area to play college hockey.

“They’re the pioneers,” Sidhu said. “Young girls in this area can look at them and say, ‘Hey, this is something we can do.’”

But for Pell and Rasmussen, the game isn’t just a reunion of old friends.

“Although it makes it more fun, we’re definitely both playing to win,” Pell said.