CAPTAIN’S CORNER: Princeton University women’s hockey player Brianna Leahy goes after the puck in action last weekend. Senior captain Leahy scored two goals on the weekend but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell 7-3 to St. Lawrence on Friday and then lost 3-2 to defending national champion Clarkson on Saturday. Princeton, now 6-3-1 overall and 4-2 ECAC Hockey, hosts No. 2 Minnesota, 12-1-2 overall, for a two-game set on November 29 and 30. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Looking at the final score, it would appear that the Princeton University women’s hockey team was overmatched when it hosted St. Lawrence last Friday.

Although the Tigers dropped a 7-3 decision to the Saints, Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal saw no reason for his players to hang their heads.

“I thought we played decently overall, the score doesn’t necessarily indicate  how close a game it was,” said Kampersal, noting that the contest was tied at 3-3 heading into the third period.

“We played fairly well, both teams made mistakes but they capitalized on the big mistakes we made and that was pretty much the difference.

Trailing 1-0 after getting outshot 11-2 in the first period, Princeton came alive in the next 20 minutes, outscoring St. Lawrence 3-2.

“We didn’t funnel the puck to the net in the first period so we had more hunger to get the puck and crash the net,” said Kampersal, who got goals from Hilary Lloyd, Brianna Leahy, and Molly Contini in the period. “All of our goals were rebound goals. We had guts, we played hard.”

Sophomore forward Contini has shown guts, coming back from missing last year due to hip surgery to lead the Tigers in goals with six.

“Molly is very smart, she has incredible hands and she can set up a goalie,” said Kampersal. “She knows what she wants to do with the puck. She has improved a lot in her skating over the summer.”

The Tigers showed improvement the next day as they battled the defending national champion Clarkson tooth and nail, before losing 3-2.

Princeton fell behind 1-0 in the first period but evened things up on a goal by sophomore defenseman Kelsey Koelzer. After the Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead in the second, the Tigers answered back with a tally by senior captain Leahy. Clarkson scored the decisive goal early in the third period as Princeton dropped to 6-3-1 overall and 4-2 ECAC Hockey.

“We just need more fight,” said Kampersal, whose team hosts perennial power and second ranked Minnesota, 12-1-2 overall, for a two-game set on November 29 and 30. “No matter who we play in our league, everyone is going to be real tough.”

And despite going 0-2 last weekend, Princeton showed plenty of toughness.