Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – Sophomore netminder Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros) turned aside all 32 shots she faced, including 13 in the second period, to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's ice hockey team to a 1-0 victory over Princeton University and a sweep of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series, 2 games to 0.

“This was a great series against a great team,” said head coach John Burke. “Sonja was outstanding in goal for us and really kept us in the game with a number of key saves.”

The series win, RPI's first at the Division I level, advances the sixth-seeded Engineers (18-13-4) to the ECAC Hockey semifinals on Saturday at top-seeded Harvard.  Gametime has yet to be determined.  Princeton, the third seed, finishes 18-11-2.  The Tigers have now lost in the quarterfinals in each of the last three seasons.

Much like in Game 1, the Engineers jumped out to an early lead on the seventh tally of the season by senior captain Melissa Boik (Allen Park, MI/Michigan Capitals). Skating with the man-advantage, RPI moved the puck into the Tigers zone and passed the puck back-and-forth just inside the blueline.  Freshman Sierra Vadner (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Thoroughbreds) slid the puck from the left point across to Boik on the right side, and she sent a slapshot through traffic and past Princeton goalie Kristen Young (Calgary, AB/Bowness Bruins) at 10:38 of the opening period.

Although the second period was scoreless, Princeton carried the momentum, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots during the period. van der Bliek and the Engineers' defense was especially stellar midway through the frame as the Tigers sustained heavy pressure after a tripping penalty to RPI's Jamie-Lynn Stewart (Cambridge, ON/Cambridge Jr. Fury).  van der Bliek made a number of saves and the skaters blocked several shots to keep the score 1-0 in favor of Rensselaer heading into the final period.

The Tigers refused to give up in the third period as they continued to send shots toward the RPI net looking for the equalizer. Freshman Julie Johnson (Calgary, AB) and senior Christine Foster (Burlington, ON) had two solid chances within seconds of one another, including a point-blank shot by Foster, who was right in front of the goal.

Princeton pulled Young with 2:25 left in the contest but could not come up with a tally despite the 12-4 advantage in shots.

In addition to the 13 shots she saved in the second period, van der Bliek also made seven saves in the first and 12 in the final period for her 32 saves. Young posted 11 stops in the loss for the Tigers.