Boxscore
PRINCETON, N.J. – A hat trick by freshman Jenna Cunningham (Medicine Hat, Alta.) propelled the No. 6 ranked Dartmouth women's hockey team past No. 8 Princeton in their first of two ECAC contests of the weekend.
The Big Green opened up the scoring just two minutes into the game when senior Cherie Piper (Scarborough, Ont.) found the back of the net on a pass from defender Julia Bronson (Arlington, Va.) to give Dartmouth an early lead.
Just a minute and half later Cunningham scored her first goal of the night beating Princeton netminder Kristen Young for a quick, 2-0, advantage. Bronson and Sue Schmitz (Brookefield, Wis.) were given assists on Cunningham's mark.
The Tigers clawed their way back at 9:52 of the first when Annie Greenwood took a pass from Marykate Oakley and slipped one past Big Green goalie Carli Clemis (Taber, Alta.).
The second period started out in favor of the Tigers, as Kim Pearce netted her sixth goal of the year just 33 seconds into the period.
Princeton ran with its momentum for the better part of the second period out shooting the Big Green 12-5. But at 15:06 of the second, Cunningham squashed the Tigers with her second goal of the night on assists from Piper and Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.)
Cunningham wasn't quite finished, as she kicked off the third period with her third goal of the night just 50 seconds into the final period. The goal marks her first collegiate hat trick.
The reminder of the third period went the way of the Green, as Dartmouth out shot the Tigers 12-7. Senior captain Gillian Apps (Unionville, Ont.) found her way onto the scoring column midway through the third, as she lit the lamp with assists by Parsons and Katie Gray (Calgary, Alta.)
Princeton, in a last ditch effort, pulled their goalie for the extra skater, which ended up paying off when Oakley blasted a shot past Clemis to make bring Tiger's within two.
Piper put an end to whatever comeback the Princeton's squad was conjuring up when she eased in an open net tally for her sixth of the season, giving the Big Green a 6-3 win.
Clemis ended the night making 25 saves and recording her seventh win of the season. Princeton's Young made 17 stops for the Tigers who drop their first game of the year.
Before tonight, the Tigers held the second longest unbeaten streak in the nation, but now fall to 8-1-2 overall with an 8-1-1 mark in ECAC play.
With the win the Big Green jump to 8-1-0 in the league, and will look to improve on that record as they take on Quinnipiac tomorrow night in Hamden, Conn. Puck drops at 4:00 p.m.
