FINISHING STRONG: Princeton Day School girls’ hockey player Julie David heads up the ice in recent action. Last Thursday, senior forward David ended her career on a high note, scoring a third period goal as PDS defeated Mater Dei 5-2 in its season finale. The win lifted the Panthers to a final record of 15-11-1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After playing her first two years of high school hockey at the Pomfret School (Conn.) as a boarding student, Julie David returned to New Jersey in the fall of 2015 and joined the Princeton Day School girls’ program.

It didn’t take long for David to find a comfort level upon starting to skate with the Panthers.

“It was easy because of club hockey, I knew a lot of the players,” said David, who had played several years with the Princeton Tiger Lilies before heading to New England.

“I came in as a junior and I had classes with freshmen and sophomores so I got to know all the underclassmen. It was all welcoming.”

It did take David a while to get up to speed on the ice for PDS as she recovered from a knee injury.

“I had ACL surgery at Pomfret; last year I had to wear a brace and this year I didn’t have to,” said David.

At full strength this year, David has emerged as a steady contributor at forward, helping the Panthers advance to the state Prep championship game and then take third in the WIHLMA (Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic) playoffs.

Last Thursday, David was excited to end her career on a high note as PDS hosted Mater Dei in its season finale and held its annual Senior Night celebration.

“I was extremely nervous and ready to go,” said David, reflecting on the pregame ceremonies as the five senior players and their families were introduced one by one with their away jerseys hanging at one end of the rink to signal the occasion.

“I was emotional, but probably not as much as Kiely (French), Kristi (Serafin), Annika (Asplundh), and Allison (Klei).”

Emotions ran high for David as she scored a third period goal to put the finishing touch on a 5-2 win for the Panthers.

“I honestly thought I was going to miss the puck from Kristin,” said David with a laugh, reflecting on her tally which came on a breakaway that saw her swoop to goal and flick the puck past the Mater Dei goalie.

David, for her part, is going to miss competing for PDS. “We progressed well; it could have been a lot worse with all of the injuries,” said David, who ended the season with 13 points on five goals and eight assists as the team went 15-11-1. “It was definitely uphill. We went all out last weekend at the WIHLMA.”