UNION JOB: Princeton University women’s hockey player Brianne Mahoney goes after the puck in recent action. Last Saturday, senior defenseman Mahoney helped Princeton top Union 3-0 as the Tigers improved to 8-8-1 overall and 6-5 ECAC Hockey. Princeton was slated to play at No. 5 Quinnipiac on January 6 before hosting Yale on January 9 and Brown on January 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Coming off the holiday break by playing at Rensselaer last Friday, it quickly became clear that the Princeton University women’s hockey team wasn’t up to speed.

“It was tough because they scored 20 seconds into the game,” said Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal, whose team fell behind 2-0 to the Engineers in the first 2:33 of the contest. “Our starts haven’t been the greatest and we dug that hole. We didn’t execute well in that game and they put our mistakes into the net.”

Sophomore forward Hilary Lloyd tallied two straight first period goals to make it a 2-2 game but Rensselaer tacked on a late tally to take a 3-2 lead into the second. Junior Molly Contini tallied for Princeton midway through the second to make it 3-3 but Rensselaer responded with a goal minutes later to forge ahead 4-3 and neither team scored after that.

Kampersal credited Lloyd with helping to turn the contest into a nailbiter. “Hilary was gritty; she is tough to play against,” added Kampersal. “She uses her body and gets position. She kept us in that game.”

A day later, the Tigers played a much better game as they topped Union 3-0.

“The pace and energy were so much better,” said Kampersal, whose team outshot Union 35-16 in the victory which improved Princeton to 8-8-1 overall and 6-5 ECAC Hockey. “We played really well.”

Freshman goalie Alysia DaSilva got a rare start and made the most of it, making 16 saves in earning her first college shutout.

“DaSilva played great, she wasn’t tested a ton but she stepped up and made the saves she needed to make,” said Kampersal.

The pair of star defenseman Brianne Mahoney and sophomore Kelsey Koelzer sparked the Tigers on the blue line. Koelzer assisted on Princeton’s first two goals in the win over Union while Mahoney was on the ice for all three goals.

“They made some good D-to-D passes,” said Kampersal, who got goals from Lloyd, Morgan Sly, and Fiona McKenna against the Dutchwomen. “They are good defenders but they also both like to get into the play. Kelsey is our leading scorer (18 points on 5 goals and 13 assists) so she has been doing well.”

While Kampersal is happy with the scoring he is getting from his top line, he is looking for a more balanced attack.

“The line of Jaimie (McDonnell), Molly (Contini), and Hilary (Lloyd) has been setting the tone,” asserted Kampersal.  “They are playing well but we need secondary scoring.”

The Tigers will need to play well this week as they were slated to play at No. 5 Quinnipiac on January 6 before hosting Yale on January 9 and Brown on January 10.

“We play at Quinnipiac on Tuesday,” said Kampersal. “That is a tough game, they don’t allow many shots or take many penalties. Yale is playing well and Brown is gritty.

With Princeton going on a 16-day hiatus for exams after the Brown game, the team needs to take as many points as possible to keep pace in ECACH action.

“We are ahead in games played right now,” said Kampersal. “We don’t want to fall two or three spots when we come back and everyone is even. We need to get points, losing two points at RPI was tough.”