 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
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Kim Pearce wasn't worried when the Princeton University women's hockey team fell behind top-ranked St. Lawrence 1-0 midway through the third period last Saturday.
Minutes after the Saints' tally, Tiger junior forward Pearce used her 5'10 frame to get control of the puck in a traffic jam in front of the St. Lawrence net and bang it home for the game-tying score with 4:06 remaining in regulation.
The eighth-ranked Tigers kept pressing through the end of the period and into the five-minute extra session but were unable to break through again as the teams skated to a hard-fought, entertaining 1-1 overtime tie at Baker Rink.
"I felt like we could play with them the entire time," said Pearce. "It was just a matter of doing it."
Pearce, who leads the Tigers with four goals and nine points, said her goal came down to persistence.
"Annie Greenwood did a good job getting the puck," recalled the soft-spoken Pearce, a native of Ottawa, Ont.
"I was able to throw it on the front of the net. When you put the puck on the net, good things happen. I think it's a matter of constantly shooting."
Pearce views her scoring prowess as the end result of a collective effort. "None of our goals are a single effort, they're all related to the entire team," said Pearce, who is partnered up with classmate Laura Watt and freshman Greenwood on the team's top line.
"Our line has been playing well. I've been playing three years. Annie is coming along well; she's been doing a good job of adjusting. She's stepping it up and playing well for us."
Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal was happy with how his whole team stepped up in battling unbeaten St. Lawrence, which advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four last season."
"St. Lawrence took it to us at different spurts in the game," said Kampersal, whose team was outshot 31-26 as it moved to 4-2-2 on the season.
"Our kids played with a tremendous amount of heart; they just played tough. We just need a little better execution on the offensive end."
The 10th-year head coach credited his core of seniors with helping the Tigers battle back against high-powered St. Lawrence.
"Our seniors Chrissy, Bushy, Roxy, Jacko, and Clarky have got a lot of character," asserted Kampersal, referring to Chrissy Norwich, Sarah Butsch, Roxanne Gaudiel, Heather Jackson, and Tarah Clark. "They've been great leaders for us."
The key senior so far this season has been the acrobatic 5'4 goalie Gaudiel, who has posted a sparkling 1.35 goals against average in play
"Roxy has been playing really well in all of our games," said Kampersal, whose senior netminder made 30 saves against St. Lawrence and 20 in Princeton's 2-1 win over Clarkson last Friday.
"Roxy was great two days in a row this weekend. It gives us confidence to know that we're pretty sound defensively. We can take some chances offensively."
Pearce has been the Tiger finishing the most chances offensively. "She's a horse," said Kampersal of Pearce, who had a goal and an assist in the victory over Clarkson. "She does a lot for us. She can protect the puck really well; she scores a ton of goals."
While Kampersal was heartened by the fight his players showed against the top team in the nation, he knows the club has plenty of work to do if they are to climb into the elite of college women's hockey.
"We'll take the tie; St. Lawrence is an unbelievable team," said Kampersal, whose club hosts No. 7 Mercyhurst on November 25 and 26.
"The road doesn't get any easier. We have Mercyhurst coming in here and they're well-coached. We need to get better on special teams."
Pearce, for her part, believes this weekend's performance gives Princeton hope that it could be heading on a memorable trip this winter.
"It's a good step in the right direction," said Pearce. "We're working hard and finally putting full games together and a full weekend together. We see the progress."
And last weekend, that hard work paid off as Princeton battled the best in the nation on even terms.
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