CREASE CONTROL: Princeton University women’s goalie ­Kimberly Newell guards the crease in a game earlier this season. Last weekend in a two-game set against No. 2 Minnesota at Baker Rink, junior Newell starred in a losing cause, making 42 saves on Saturday in a 2-1 loss to the Golden Gophers and then recording 47 stops in a 5-2 defeat the next day. The Tigers, now 6-6-1 overall, play at Harvard on December 5 and at Dartmouth in December 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Kimberly Newell takes a business-like approach to playing goalie for the Princeton University women’s hockey team.

“My goalie coach [John Zdunkiewicz] calls it going to work,” said Newell. “We talk a lot about what I need to work on and we make sure that the drills we do are tailored specifically to what I need to work on for the next game.”

Last Saturday in the first game of a two- game set against No. 2 Minnesota, Newell had a very good day at the office, making 42 saves in a losing cause as the Tigers fought the powerful Golden Gophers tooth-and-nail before falling 2-1.

Hitting the ice, Newell and her teammates were fired up to face Minnesota.

“I just came into the game thinking I am going to do the best that I can,” said Newell, a 5’9 native of Vancouver, British Columbia.

“I think our team was ready, we practiced hard this week. We came off a couple of losses that were close. We were in the game and I think we are feeling pretty confident.”

Newell displayed plenty of confidence in the first period as she turned away all 19 shots fired by Minnesota.

“All you are thinking about is the next shot, you are not thinking about, oh my gosh, they are getting so many shots,” said Newell.

“You are focused on doing your best, making sure that you are in position, that you are seeing the puck and that you are making the stops that you need to make.”

Newell made 13 saves in the second period as the teams were deadlocked in a scoreless stalemate heading in the third. Minnesota broke through with two goals early in the third period as the Tigers made a costly turnover and Newell was handcuffed when a teammate’s stick got caught in her pads.

Princeton, though, kept fighting and got on the board with a Brianna Leahy goal with 4:42 left in regulation.

“I am proud of the team that they didn’t give up,” said Newell. “Even though we were down two goals, we came back. We put one in and I think we battled hard right to the end.”

Although the Tigers are battling through a tough stretch, Newell believes the team is gaining some valuable experience.

“I think our team has come out hard in each one of them,” said Newell, who made 47 saves on Sunday as Princeton fell 5-2 to Minnesota in dropping to 6-6-1 overall on the season and losing its fifth straight contest.

“The fact we have only been losing by one or two goals is giving our team confidence, knowing that we can play with anyone in the nation, not just our league.”

Newell has worked hard to play better between the pipes. “It is a continuous process to get better, just focusing on off-ice strength, working on doing some juggling, working on some balls and working on tracking the puck,” said Newell, who has also been helped by competing in Team Canada camps.

“I work a lot with my goalie coach, he helps me out a lot. We have a lot of dialog, a lot of one-on-one conversation. We take some video and we call it goalie world.”

Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal credited Newell with making a strong effort against Minnesota.

“She was outstanding, she gave us a chance to win,” said Kampersal of Newell, who currently has a goals against average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .920. “That is what we need out of her every single day. When we break down, she needs to be our best player.”

Kampersal acknowledged that some breakdowns doomed the Tigers against Minnesota, negating the team’s good work.

“They competed hard, it was a solid effort but it wasn’t solid enough,” said Kampersal.

“Minnesota is obviously awesome, they are really talented and they come at you with different flurries. But as it was, we gave them both of their goals with a bad pass on the first one and then we had a player dive into our goalie. We have to let our goalies make saves and the players need to defend.”

With Princeton having come up just short throughout the losing streak, Kampersal is looking for his players to show more of a killer instinct.

“I love our kids because they fight until the buzzer blows and the refs tell them they can’t play any more,” said Kampersal.

“I really appreciate that about them and I respect them for that. Sometimes we play not to lose instead of playing to win. At times in the third period, we played to win and that’s how we have to do it.”

Playing top teams tight will benefit the Tigers down the road, according to Kampersal.

“I think it creates a resolve, it is a bummer because of the result,” said Kampersal, whose team plays at Harvard on December 5 and at Dartmouth in December 6. “We have one more weekend and then we have breaks; I wish it could stay continuous.”

Newell, for her part, believes the Tigers have made a continuous effort so far this season.

“I think our team is really coming together this year; I think we have good leadership,” said Newell.

“Our team is really buying into the systems. We are really putting in 100 percent effort. We are just raring to go for each game; knowing that we can come out and take it to the other team every single time.”