ON BOARD: Princeton Day School girls’ hockey player Julie David goes after the puck along the boards in action last season. Senior forward David figures to add depth and experience to the Panther offense this winter. PDS opens its 2016-17 season by hosting Pingry on December 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

There is a buzz surrounding the Princeton Day School athletics program these days in the wake of a successful fall that saw the PDS boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, and field hockey teams all win state Prep B titles.

As Panther girls’ hockey team looks forward to starting its season this week by hosting Pingry on December 1, Lorna Cook is hoping her team can tap into the competitive fervor around the school.

“Something I am really excited about our team this year is how many of these kids play other sports,” said PDS head coach Cook, who guided the program to a 15-8-1 record last year on the way to taking third place in the WILHMA (Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic) tournament.

“We have so many athletes and the ones that play other sports come into hockey season so excited because they haven’t been on the ice for a while. There is that energy of something new and different from what they have been doing.”

Cook is excited to have two senior stars, Kiely French and Kristi Serafin, leading the PDS defensive unit.

“They are the key to the breakout, we want them to move their feet, start to push up ice, and look for what they have; they get everything going for us,” said Cook, noting that French was the team’s leading scorer last winter with 31 points on 14 goals and 17 assists.

“Kristi brings a lot of high energy for us and some offensive punch too. She sets the tone for anything we are doing the way that she always has that extra gear. I think that helps bring everybody else up to that level.”

Sophomores Maddy McCaw, a soccer star, and Val Radvany, a field hockey standout, are geared up to help the Panthers along the blue line.

“They have come on and they are just so excited to be playing hockey again,” said Cook.

“Maddy spends so much time playing soccer and she is still playing soccer now and for Val, it is the same thing with field hockey. Coming on the ice is their chance to do something different but they have been doing it for a long time too so there is confidence there. I expect both of them to have really good sophomore seasons. They had good seasons for us last year and they are picking up right where they left off last year.”

The PDS defensive corps figures to benefit from the addition of freshman Caroline Haggerty, a field hockey standout this past fall.

“Caroline is a competitor, she sees the ice really well,” said Cook. “She plays defense in field hockey, she played defense for us. She is always trying to take it all in and make the right plays. We expect her to improve a lot just from being on the ice every day.”

Senior goalie Annika Asplundh has stamped herself as one of the squad’s top competitors, having been a star since her freshman season.

“The other players feed off of her; she is going to be expected to keep us in every game we play and give us a chance to win,” said Cook of Asplundh, who gave up only 22 goals last season and posted a sparkling save percentage of .954.

“The thing that has impressed me the most about her watching her career is how much her mental game has improved. She has obviously improved on the ice as well. She is as competitive as anybody I have been around. The way that she prepares for games, the way that she comes in with the same mindset every day, the way that she is so competitive but she is able to turn a switch whenever she does let a goal in. It doesn’t faze her; it always amazes me the way that she competes.”

Two other seniors, Julie David and Allison Klei, give the Panthers a solid approach at forward.

“Julie is pretty consistent, the puck tends to find her and she gets good opportunities that way,” said Cook.

“Allison battles as hard as anyone on our team. She started playing hockey last year and she has come a long way. She has become a reliable winger just because she works so hard. She has been really great because she sets the example for all of our less experienced players, look if you work hard, you can contribute.”

PDS is expecting good work on the offensive end from juniors Sam Dwyer and Emma Latham.

“Sam is a very reliable center; she knows the game and she knows where she should be,” added Cook.

“For her, it is just a matter of putting it all together and getting a little more confidence with her skill work. Emma had a big season for us last year; I would say she had a breakout year. She has got a distinct role on the team now where she is one of our wingers who has been at it a while and has a good idea of where she is supposed to be. She has gotten stronger and stronger skating wise and on her stick so we expect her to keep that going this year.”

The Panthers boast a strong group of sophomore forwards, headlined by Sasha Sindhwani and Julie Patterson.

“Sasha is back, she had a great season in field hockey; she has that similar mindset on the ice for us, she wants to score goals and get to the net,” said Cook, noting that three other sophomores, Gwen Allen, Maddy Birch, and Flynn Gorman will also see time at forward.

“Now it is getting better and better on her skates. Julie Patterson is more of a natural goal scorer. For her, it is a matter of making good decisions and picking her moments when she should be trying to make something happen versus just making sure that we are protecting the puck. She will be one that we expect to put up pretty big points, she had 10 goals and six assists last year so it is just getting her to even that out a little more to find her teammates a little better.”

There are some freshmen joining the program who should make things happen at forward this season, led by Gia Massari and Brianna Astbury.

“Gia Massari stands out all over the ice, she is going to come in and infuse our offense right away; she plays for the Tiger Lilies U14s and is their captain “ saids Cook, who also has freshmen Ellie Schofield and Charlotte Haggerty at forward.

“Brianna is a pretty new hockey player, you see her toughness from soccer on the ice. It will be cool to see how she progresses. She plays forward in soccer and she plays forward for us and you can see that she moves off the puck really well because she is used to trying to look for lanes and to get open.”

It has been cool for Cook to see how quickly her players have come together in the preseason.

“Everyone has been really good as far as getting along with each other, supporting each other and that starts with our senior class,” said Cook. “They genuinely like spending time together and you see that on the ice.”

With the blend of athleticism and chemistry, Cook believes her squad is poised to do some big things on the ice this winter.

“I think we can surprise some people with the way that they compete and the way that they want to work together,” asserted Cook, noting that PDS defeated perennial power Morristown-Beard last winter for the first time in her tenure to secure third place at the WIHLMA tourney.

“This year, more than any other year, we are really focusing on that process of trying to get better every day because there is a lot of potential. It is going to be a lot of individual player development, everyone has to get stronger. As long as everyone keeps pushing themselves to get better as a team, that is the key.”