After the Princeton University women’s hockey team fell 3-2 to Quinnipiac in a triple overtime marathon last Friday in the opening game of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series, Kelsey Koelzer was sore but not discouraged as she hit the ice at Baker Rink a day later.

“There are obviously bumps and bruises with six periods, there were a lot of blocked shots but that is something we pride ourselves on,” said Princeton senior star defenseman and captain Koelzer, a 5’9 native of Horsham, Pa.

“I think overall we know all the work we put in throughout the year, all the skating we do and all the conditioning and all the extra stuff that we do. It is for that type of moment. It didn’t go our way yesterday. We know we are in good shape and we would be able to take it to them today.”

The Tigers took it to the Bobcats early on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead as Koelzer assisted on a goal by Kimiko Marinacci with 5:51 left in the first period.

“It was a garbage goal, which is what we knew it was going to take,” said Koelzer.

“We needed to be grinding out in the corners, moving the puck to the open areas, hitting the point, and then taking advantage of the space we were given.”

Nearly two minutes later, Princeton doubled its lead as senior Cassidy Tucker ripped a shot into the top of the net.

“Getting that goal was huge, it gave us a little bit of a cushion,” said Koelzer.

“We had to just keep playing this style of game, it is going to come. We had to keep battling and funnel pucks to the net.”

Over the rest of the contest, the Princeton defense held the fort as the Tigers prevailed 2-0, forcing a decisive Game 3.

“It starts all over; it starts on the backcheck to the dump ins and just taking pride in our systems, in our forechecks and our backchecks,” said Koelzer reflecting on Princeton’s defensive effort.

“Ultimately in the d-zone, it is making sure that we are being aggressive and picking up the second kid and picking up the slot people. They definitely had some good chances in the third period but Neatby (freshman goalie Steph Neatby) was up to the task. It was really good defense from the defensemen blocking shots and the forwards blocking shots. Molly Contini had a huge block at the end of the game.”

A day later, Koelzer seized an opportunity to make history, scoring her 100th career point on a first period assist as Princeton topped the Bobcats 2-1 to win the series and advance to an ECACH semis matchup at top-seeded and No. 3 Clarkson on March 4.

“You read the articles and they mention things like that,” said Koelzer, reflecting on the 100-point milestone as she now has 39 goals and 61 assists and is just the third Princeton defenseman ever to reach the 100-point mark in a career.

“I really think that in the game, it is just doing whatever needs to be done to pick up the loose pucks and give that extra effort and just make sure we are winning the game. It is more ‘if I can help the team and if it happens, it happens.’”

While Koelzer relished her final weekend at Baker Rink, she wants to keep playing for a lot longer.

“It is a little bit surreal; it is bittersweet,” said Koelzer. “We get to play hockey up at Clarkson and maybe go to the NCAA tournament. All of our attention is on winning the game and keeping the season going.”