SUDDEN IMPACT: Princeton University women’s hockey player Karlie Lund, left, gets position in the crease last Saturday against visiting Dartmouth. Freshman star Lund tallied a goal and two assists in a five-minute stretch in the second period as the Tigers rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Big Green 4-1. Lund, the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month for November, leads the Tigers with 16 points on seven goals and nine assists. Princeton, which has posted four straight wins in improving to 9-4-1 overall and 5-4-1 ECACH, hosts Penn State for a two-game set on December 11 and 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In the span of five minutes of action last Saturday, Karlie Lund of the Princeton University women’s hockey team displayed the skills that have made her one of the top rookies in ECAC Hockey this winter.

With Princeton trailing Dartmouth 1-0 midway through the second period, the 5’10 freshman forward from Eden Prairie, Minn. fired a pass that Morgan Sly buried in the back of the net to knot the game at 1-1. A little more than 30 seconds later, Lund got the puck on a rush and fired it in to put the Tigers up 2-1. Later in the period, she helped set up a goal by Cassidy Tucker as Princeton extended its advantage to 3-1 with 4:50 remaining in the frame.

Closing the deal in the third period, Princeton added an empty net goal by Hilary Lloyd in the waning moments to earn a 4-1 victory and post its fourth straight win in improving to 9-4-1 overall and 5-4-1 ECAC Hockey.

In reflecting on the second period outburst, Lund said it was the product of some juggling by the Tiger coaches.

“We changed the lines up a little bit in the middle of the period and right when we did that, we got two goals in one shift,” said Lund, who was matched up with Molly Contini and Sly.

“Right when we got put out together we scored two back to back goals. Putting a new line together with new chemistry really helped us with energy and getting some goals.”

In Lund’s view, knotting the game with that initial goal changed the tone of the contest for the Tigers.

“Getting the tying goal was a huge step for us,” added Lund. “We were so close, we were on the goal line a couple of different times. So just seeing back-to-back goals and taking the lead really helped us.”

Lund took matters into her own hands on the go-ahead score. “Right before it, Morgan Sly shot it on the low left side so when I was going across I just wanted to shoot it there again to see if would go in and it did,” said Lund.

In the third period, the Tigers were outshot 15-9 but they held the fort and put the game out of reach with Lloyd’s late goal.

“We just stuck with it, we never slowed down or anything throughout the period,” said Lund.

“Then at the end when we got the penalty, we had faith in our penalty kill to get the job done for us and they did so it was a great team effort all the way around.”

Having pulled out a dramatic 2-1 overtime win against Harvard on Friday night, coming through against Dartmouth made it a special weekend for the Tigers.

“We had a rough stretch there,” said Lund, noting that the Tigers went 1-4-1 after a 4-0 start.

“So to just come back here and get two huge Ivy League wins says a lot about our team and our character and our determination to show that we do have a good team and we can be at the top this year.”

Lund, who tallied her first career goal in the second game of the season and was named the ECACH Rookie of the Month for November, has surprised herself with her early production.

“I don’t think any rookie comes up expecting to have this kind of start; I am really grateful for it,” said Lund, who leads the Tigers with 16 points on seven goals and nine assists.

“I know that most of my points are a team effort, either they set me up with a great assist or they are driving the net which allows me to take the shot. A lot of it just comes from the upperclassmen on the team, they have done a great job getting all of us freshmen up to speed in practice, always pushing the pace to help us.”

While her transition to college hockey has been a success, Lund knows that she has to keep pushing hard to keep pace.

“It is a lot more physical this year than it was back in my Minnesota high school league,” said Lund.

“So just getting used to that physicality and trying to stay on my feet more and play through all of it. It has been tough but we are battling through it and getting better every day and getting stronger in the weight room, all of that really helps.”

Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal acknowledged that Princeton didn’t get off to the strongest start against Dartmouth.

“We were awesome yesterday, there was probably a little letdown today,” said Kampersal.

“We were still grinding but our execution wasn’t great. We weren’t as on as we were on the day before so we had to get our mojo back in the second period.”

Changing the lineup around helped the Tigers get that mojo. “We haven’t really switched around lines too much but Molly (Contini), Lund ,and Sly are having good offensive years so for whatever reason, it was like magic in a bottle there for five or six minutes,” saids Kampersal.  “We got those three goals which obviously changed momentum.”

Lund has emerged as a game changer for the Tigers. “Karlie has been great; she is so smart,” said Kampersal. “She has unbelievable vision, she makes passes that you might not think she could make, She finishes and she is poised. She still needs to be faster and stronger. If she cranks it up this summer, she could be one of the more dominant players in college. The game changes when she has the puck.”

The Tiger defense produced some dominant play this weekend, spearheaded by senior goalie Kimberley Newell, who made 25 saves against Harvard and then recorded 30 stops in the win over the Big Green.

“Kimberley played great all week, the defense played great all week,” said Kampersal, whose team killed seven of eight penalties in the wins. “It was a good team effort.”

In Kampersal’s view, the Tigers are headed in the right direction “It is huge; that win last night was incredible and such a good feeling and it would have been a little nullified if we had lost today,” said Kampersal, whose team hosts Penn State for a two-game set on December 11 and 12.

“We have a couple more games before break; our season is always tough because we start, we stop three different times. Hopefully, we play solidly next weekend and get a little break and come back strong.”

Lund, for her part, is confident the Tigers can keep up their strong play.

“Next week we have Penn State coming twice and we are home again so that is big for us,” said Lund.

“If we just carry this through there we will have a nice Christmas break and then it is right back to Brown and Yale. We are trying to carry this momentum to the next weekend and then get some rest and start right back up again and never take the foot off the pedal.”