TRIPPED UP: Princeton University women’s hockey player Kelsey Koelzer, left, gets stymied by a foe in recent action. Last Saturday, senior defenseman and team captain Koelzer and the Tigers fell 4-0 to eventual champion Clarkson in the ECAC Hockey semifinals. The defeat left ninth-ranked Princeton with a final record of 20-10-3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
It took loads of energy and heart for the Princeton University women’s hockey team to outlast Quinnipiac in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals as the Tigers overcame a triple overtime loss in the opener to pull out two nailbiters in winning the best-of-three series.
Surviving that ordeal took a toll on the fourth-seeded and ninth-ranked Tigers as they prepared to play at top-seeded and second-ranked Clarkson in an ECAC Hockey semifinal contest last Saturday.
“They were emotionally tired and spent; we actually hired a couple of masseuses on Tuesday so the kids could try to flush their legs with 20 minute sessions,” said Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal.
“We did practice but we didn’t go crazy hard. We went about 40 minutes and that was good.”
While Princeton played hard, it couldn’t overcome Clarkson, falling 4-0 as it ended the season with a 20-10-3 record.
“I just thought that Clarkson played a lot better; they were just stronger, there are no excuses,” said Kampersal.
“At the same time we were still battling. We would make plays and then we would give them second chances, so to speak. We would end a rush, make a play but couldn’t make a clear finish so they would get second chances. We took three penalties on our power play so that didn’t help our cause.”
The Tigers only trailed 1-0 entering the third period as some stellar work by freshman goalie Steph Neatby kept the game close.
“Steph made a couple of big saves to help it along,” said Kampersal of Neatby, the ECACH Goalie of the Year, who ended up with 36 saves as Princeton was outshot 40-26 on the day.
“I wish we performed a little better than we did in terms of capitalizing. We never really got a lot of offense going.”
Kampersal wished that his senior stalwarts Cassidy Tucker, Morgan Sly, Audrey Potts, Fiona McKenna, Kelsey Koelzer, Molly Strabley, and Molly Contini could have kept playing.
“We appreciated what the seniors have done from where the program was to where they left it, particularly the last two years, they had great years,” said Kampersal, whose team narrowly missed out on getting an at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA tournament.
“It is a big group; it is a really good group. They are really good players and they are really good kids.”
The Tigers came a long way this season, bouncing back from a 5-6-1 start to go 15-4-2 in the last 21 games.
“It is definitely an awesome season; we struggled a little bit at the beginning with trying to figure out positioning and what not,” said Kampersal, noting that the return of Neatby from an early season injury and the move of senior Fiona McKenna to center helped jumpstart the Tigers.
“Things definitely came together and to win that playoff series against Quinnipiac after losing the way we did in that first game was huge. I am really proud of the group overall.”
Looking ahead, Kampersal believes that Princeton is in a good position to remain on the winning track.
“The young kids we are returning are definitely a solid group,” said Kampersal, who will welcome back such stars as junior Kiersten Falck, sophomores Karlie Lund and Stephanie Sucharda, along with freshmen Carly Bullock (the ECACH Rookie of the Year), Claire Thompson, and Neatby.
“I think they have learned a lot from the last two seasons; what they can do to be successful and what they need to do to get better. We do have some good freshmen coming in but our group will be smaller in terms of numbers. We are going to have to be in great shape and be focused during the spring and summer and hopefully have another run.”