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Tiger Women's Hockey Keeps Its Focus; Produces 6-3 Whipping of No. 2 Harvard
By Bill Alden
If Gretchen Anderson had her druthers, she would have spent last week soaking up some sun after surviving the last round of mid-term exams of her Princeton University career.
But with Anderson and her teammates on the Tiger women¹s ice hockey team facing a visit from second-ranked Harvard last Friday, the senior forward knew that her free time was better spent on the ice at Baker Rink.
With the ninth-ranked Tigers having lost five straight times to the proud Crimson, last year¹s national title runner-up, Princeton knew it could leave no stone unturned in its pre-game preparation.
The hard work paid off as Princeton had its day in the sun, producing a sensational effort in whipping Harvard 6-3 in a testy affair that saw the Crimson pick up 10 penalties while the Tigers got called for 11. Harvard's star player, Angela Ruggiero, was whistled several times and ultimately got ejected.
As Anderson found new bruises during post-game media interviews, she acknowledged that she was glad she hadn't headed to the beach.
"All my friends went away to sunny places," said a giggling Anderson, who put the finishing touch on the win when she scored Princeton's sixth goal on a beautiful solo rush.
"It was a week where it was all hockey ‹ eating, sleeping, and playing hockey just like our coach [Jeff Kampersal] says. We just woke up in the morning and headed to the rink, we knew we had to get the job done."
Keeping their noses to the grindstone gave the Tigers plenty of confidence by the time they hit the ice Friday night before a fired-up crowd at Baker Rink.
"We knew on Monday that we were going to win, it was great² said Anderson, who now has a team-high 20 goals on the season. "We had a great week of practice. We were definitely pumped up in the locker room after the game."
Freshman forward Liz Keady, who scored two goals in the win, said the Tigers relished their underdog role.
"I think we wanted it more than they did, nobody expected us to win," said the soft-spoken Keady, whose classmate Kim Pearce also scored twice. "When you're the underdog, it's easy to want it. We worked hard and got it done."
Tiger head coach Kampersal attributed the win to more than mere hard work. "It was intense," said Kampersal, who explained that the team's game plan revolved around shutting down and frustrating Harvard top gun Ruggiero, a mission that was clearly accomplished.
"I just think that the kids from the seniors down rose to the occasion. Kids were sacrificing their bodies, blocking shots at the hashmark for the good of the team. It got everybody on the bench pumped up."
While the Tigers suffered a letdown on Saturday when they lost 3-1 to Brown to drop to 12-6 on the season, Kampersal believes the team's performance against the Crimson will have long range ramifications.
"We have t-shirts that say something like 'nobody is interested in something you didn¹t do,'" asserted Kampersal, whose club plays a two-game set at Union this weekend with games on February 7 and 8. "This win might turn people on to the fact that we're a pretty decent team."
Anderson, for her part, feels that Harvard certainly learned that lesson.
"We didn't just beat 'em, we clobbered them," asserted the Natick, Mass. native who has played for the U.S. Under-22 women's team and will be vying for a spot on Team USA for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
"We feel great, it was a great win. It's for everything; it's for respect and national ranking. Now I feel like Harvard is going to respect us and they should."
