TITLE CHASE: Princeton Day School girls’ hockey player Lauren Chase, right, goes after the puck in recent action. Last Thursday, junior defenseman Chase scored a goal to help fourth-seeded PDS edge top-seeded Morristown-Beard 3-2 in the state Prep semis. Two days later, Chase tallied two goals and two assists to help the Panthers defeat Holton Arms (Md.) 11-1 in a regular season contest and improve to 9-4. PDS was slated to go for the title by playing at second-seeded Oak Knoll on February 8. PDS will also host Princeton High on February 10 and Madison High on February 11 in regular season action. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Coming into this winter, Lauren Chase was determined to be a more well-rounded player on defense for the Princeton Day School girls’ hockey team.

“When I started playing for this team, I was going in thinking I was going to be scoring a lot,” said PDS junior defenseman Chase.

“I have learned to play a more defensive game, covering the blue line better. I always think that is important for a defenseman to be both offensive and defensive. If you are just standing back and playing defense the whole game, then the forwards don’t have a lot of help in the offensive zone. You need all five players there.”

Displaying that versatility last Thursday, Chase tallied a goal and helped spark a stingy defense as fourth-seeded PDS upset top-seeded Morristown-Beard 3-2 in the state Prep semis.

“Our seniors were talking that as long as they were here we had never beaten Mo-Beard so it was a really big win for us to beat a team that we hadn’t beaten in a while,” said Chase.

With PDS slated to play at second-seeded Oak Knoll in the Prep title game on February 8, Chase is hoping that the Panthers can bring the same intensity to that game that helped them overcome Mo-Beard.

“I think we deserved that win, we really outworked them,” said Chase. “We went out there thinking if we worked as hard as we could, we could beat that team. Once we saw that we were outshooting them and we scored that first goal, we knew it was within our reach. It was definitely a big breakthrough considering we had lost 5-1 to them before.”

Last Saturday, PDS tuned up for the title clash by cruising to an 11-1 win over Holton Arms (Md.) as it improved to 9-4.

“It was a great opportunity to work on some more complicated plays that we might be able to work on against better teams,” said Chase.

“We could work on our power play passing and things like that will help against Oak Knoll.”

Chase worked on her offense against Holton Arms, tallying two goals and two assists in the victory.

“I haven’t been scoring a lot this year so I was glad to get the two goals,” said Chase, who now has 19 points on the season with eight goals and a team-high 11 assists. “I am getting back in the scoring groove.”

Chase initially got on the ice under the influence of her father, Tim Chase, a former hockey star at Brown University who went on to play in the pro ranks and is currently the director of  hockey at ProSkate and director of Girls Hockey Northeast Region for Black Bear Sports.

“He wanted me to play hockey from the moment I started skating,” said Chase of her dad, who also coached the Princeton High boys’ hockey team.

“He had me go on the ice at ProSkate to do all of these lessons and stuff. He always pushes me to be the best player I can be. Even when I play a good game, he comes in and tells me all of the things I should have done.”

PDS head coach John Ritchie believed his squad was primed for a good effort against Mo-Beard.

“Since the turn of the year, we have played Portledge tough, we played Mo-Beard tough, and we played Summit really tough,” said Ritchie.

“We were due for ourselves to get a signature win and I thought that came at Trinity Hall (3-2 on January 25). We built on that with the win at Pingry (5-4 on January 31 in the opening round of the Prep tournament) who we scrimmaged in the preseason and lost to them. So we were alright we can beat them and I think our confidence was high going to Mo-Beard.”

Combining that confidence with a work ethic paved the way for the upset of the Crimson.

“I think they are definitely a stronger team, they are the best team in the state and they have been forever but we outworked them,” said Ritchie.

“I don’t want to undersell what we did because of how good they are. I feel like we just played a solid, strong, hardworking game. I thought we should have been seeded a little higher. We played with a little chip on our shoulder. We are young enough that we were a little naive to the situation so they just kept their head down and worked hard. I thought they deserved it, they did a great job.”

Chase has been doing a great job along the blue line this winter for the Panthers.

“Lauren is phenomenal in terms of her size and strength and her ability to carry the puck,” said Ritchie. “She can break out by herself and create offense and I think that is a huge help. In order for us to be successful, she has to set the tone back there. I think she has done a really good job this year. We are proud of the growth that she has had, but I think she still has more room to grow and become even better.”

The growth of the squad’s young players has sparked the surge for PDS.

“The compete level is the No. 1 difference,” said Ritchie, who got three goals from sophomore Logan Harrison against Holton Arms with sophomore Emily McCann adding two goals, sophomore Lily Ryan chipping in three assists, and freshman Eibhleann Knox contributing two assists.

“At the beginning of the year, we still had a lot of our underclassmen who are some of our more skilled players. They were still deferring to the older players. They needed to realize for us to be successful, they had to step up and carry the offensive load. Logan, Eibhleann, Lily, and Emily have all done that.”

Chase, for her part, believes that the Panthers will keep stepping up.

“As we keep working hard, we will keep improving our game,” said Chase. “I think passing is something we could work on. Our defense is strong, we have some very strong forwards that can  shoot the puck and make the plays in front of the net. As long as we can learn how to activate those forwards from the neutral zone, we will keep beating those good teams.”