STICKING WITH IT: Princeton University women’s hockey player Kiersten Falck, left, goes after the puck in a game this season. Last Saturday, senior captain and star forward Falck contributed an assist in a losing cause as Princeton fell 3-2 to No. 8 St. Lawrence in overtime. The Tigers, now 11-12-4 overall and 9-10-1 ECAC Hockey, play at Yale on February 16 and at Brown on February 17. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Kiersten Falck, getting honored on her Senior Night last Saturday as the Princeton University women’s hockey team hosted St. Lawrence was a bit surreal.

“I remember our seniors, when it was their senior night and I was a freshman, just how exciting it was for them and how excited we were for them,” said senior captain and star forward Falck, a 5’5 native of Ham Lake, Minn. “Now, in the blink of an eye, I am sharing the same spot three years later.”

Coming off a thrilling 2-0 win over top-ranked and defending national champion Clarkson on Friday, the Tigers found themselves in another exciting contest against the No. 8 Saints. Princeton rallied from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 only to lose 3-2 in overtime.

“St. Lawrence is a completely different team than Clarkson. It is definitely tough; they are quick,” said Falck who assisted on Princeton’s first goal in the loss to the Saints.

“We put in a lot more emotion today; a little bit more poise would have been awesome. You get what you get. Senior Day is always tough because sometimes there is a little bit too much emotion.”

While some tears flowed after the loss to St. Lawrence, Falck believed that the win over Clarkson showed Princeton how good it can be.

“After the win over Clarkson last night, it felt like everyone was together,” said Falck.

“Everyone came to out to play; it felt like one of our best efforts. It is certainly a positive coming out with two points, especially against the No 1 team. We broke their 15-game win streak. Everyone has a sense that we can do this; we can play with any team that we really want to.”

With Princeton having gone 7-3-1 in its last 11 games to move to 11-12-4 overall and 8-9-1 ECAC Hockey, Falck believes the squad is headed in the right direction.

“We definitely picked it up after Christmas. I am not sure what it was,” said Falck, who now has 18 points on three goals and 15 assists this season.

“People make the argument that we have a younger team and they needed a little push, a little oomph, and a little time. I think the time was good for us so hopefully we are moving on to do better. I think that is what everyone wants. We have got our last weekend of the regular season and then on to playoffs.”

Princeton head coach Cara Morey will be sad to see Falck and the team’s other senior, backup goalie Alysia DaSilva, move on.

“Falck is a leader on and off the ice; she brings so much passion and energy,” said Morey of Falck, who has 60 points in her career with 13 goals and 47 assists.

“She is a difficult kid to play against and it is just sheer speed and grit. Sils has been there every time we have needed her. Any time her number is called, she has stepped up and performed. It is a really tough role to be a goalie that is competing for ice time and being a really supportive teammate to her other goalie partners. She has had to deal with adversity and she did a really good job with it.”

The Tigers dealt with adversity well against St. Lawrence as Keiko DeClerck notched a goal to make it a 1-1 game early in the second period and then Claire Thompson fired in a one-timer on a power play to knot the contest at 2-2 with 2:27 remaining in regulation.

“We did rally twice. I am very proud of the girls because they don’t give up,” said Morey. “They keep going and they keep fighting so that was huge.”

DaSilva got the start between the pipes and made some huge stops as she recorded 30 saves.

“Sils played very, very well,” said Morey. “You can’t really blame her for those goals. She did what she needed to do.”

In Morey’s view, Princeton is in a very good place with ECACH quarterfinals around the corner.

“We are playing some of our best hockey right now so we just have to know that we can play with anybody,” said Morey.

“This weekend really proved that, which is the most important thing. I think that we are probably one of the most feared teams coming into the playoffs. We are going to have to go on the road and I am pretty sure that there is nobody in the ECAC that wants to face the Tigers right now.”

Falck, for her part, has relished the winding road she has taken over her college career.

“Princeton was somewhere where I wanted to put in my hard work that I done previously and keep pushing and challenging myself,” said Falck.

“I can’t say enough good things about it. It is about the accomplishments and things you come out with. Right now I am writing a thesis and it sucks during it, but I can post pictures after I finish showing that I wrote a book.”