This weekend, the No. 7 women’s hockey team will venture on the last road trip for the semester that, according to head coach Doug Derraugh, will be one of the toughest of the season. The Red (5-3-0, 5-1-0 ECAC Hockey) will first face the No. 10 Princeton Tigers (5-2-1, 4-1-1) tonight at 7 p.m., followed by a game at Quinnipiac (6-4-2, 4-1-1) tomorrow at 4 p.m.

The Red and both of its opponents are coming off of split weekends. The Red had a great first game last weekend, defeating No. 2 Clarkson, 2-0, to take the lead in the ECAC Hockey league. However, this dominance was short-lived, as the team lost to St. Lawrence the following day, 3-2. Both Quinnipiac and Princeton played Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend, with Quinnipiac defeating Dartmouth and Princeton winning over Harvard. Evidently, both teams have the potential to win, which is what will make this weekend such a grueling one for the Red.Crossing swords: Senior Mel Jue (6) grapples with a Toronto player in the 5-5 tie between the two teams on Oct. 18.

“Princeton is obviously off to a very good start and the records show that,” Derraugh said. “It’s a strong team with really experienced defensemen and quick forwards. They’re also good in net, making a strong team from top to bottom.”

The game against Princeton will be a good one, with the Red hoping to uphold a tradition of Friday night shutouts against top-10 teams, which sophomore goaltender Amanda Mazzotta has managed to accomplish against Clarkson and Dartmouth.

The Quinnipiac Bobcats, too, will be a challenge for the Red, and will most likely keep the game close, as they have done in the past during this season. The Bobcats will be anticipating the Red to come to their rink in TD Banknorth Sports Center, where they will have played Colgate’s Raiders the night before.

“They’re a very disciplined team. If teams were ranked on being a team — as in playing a good team game — Quinnipiac would be the best. They don’t give up many chances, and they make it tough to get to their net,” Derraugh said.

It is evident that all three lines of the Red’s players have made major contributions at both ends of the rink, exhibiting strong goaltending and team defense. Still, the Red will keep its opponents’ strengths in mind as it goes into the games this weekend. The team will try to defeat these two ECAC Hockey opponents by focusing on bettering areas it feels it could improve slightly.

“Last weekend we needed to generate more shots on goal, reestablish the forecheck, and better possess the puck,” Derraugh noted. “Those are some things we’ve been working on.”

Derraugh said that the practices have been pretty strong, though, and that the energy is very high and good. The Red hopes that this will help take them to success this weekend.

“Both of these games this weekend are ECAC, with tonight’s being Ivy League, and every single one of those games count,” said senior forward Melanie Jue. “We’re all just really excited and looking to win both nights after the split last weekend.”