FINE AND DANDY: Princeton Day School girls’ hockey player Sammy Dandy, left, battles for the puck in a game earliest this season. Last Wednesday, freshman defender Dandy contributed two assists to help second-seeded PDS defeat top-seeded Morristown-Beard 3-1 in the Librera Cup final at the Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown. The Panthers, now 11-5, will be competing in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Girls’ Ice Hockey State Tournament where they are seeded second and will host a quarterfinal contest on February 26 between the victor of the first round contest between seventh-seeded Kent Place and 10th-seeded Madison. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden
Having lost 6-0 and 5-0 to Morristown-Beard in two regular season meetings this January, the Princeton Day School girls’ hockey team was looking to flip the script when the rivals met in the Librera Cup final last Wednesday.

“We definitely wanted to play more of a possession game, we didn’t want them to have the puck,” said PDS head coach Jamie Davis. “We wanted to keep the puck away from our defensive end and keep it down at our offensive end. We tightened up our roster a little bit, especially on defense.”

Producing a stellar effort at both ends of the ice, the Panthers turned the tables on the Crimson, prevailing 3-1 at the Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown as they improved to 11-5

“It was the all-around effort by every one of these players,” said Davis. “We have the skill, you just have to get the effort. You have got to get to the dirty areas, you have to get rebounds. You have got to crash the net, you have to screen the goalie. If you want to win tough games, you have to play tough hockey. Everyone did their job.”

Davis sensed that his players were ready to get the job done in round three against the Crimson.

“I think in the previous games they were definitely nervous, like “Oh, its Mo-Beard” — not that it is not warranted,” said Davis, whose squad had lost seven straight games to the Crimson coming into Wednesday. “They have won like three state championships in a row or something like that. It is a big deal, so there was nervousness before. The girls were very loose and they were ready to go last week.”

Jumping out to a 1-0 first period lead on a goal by Brynn Dandy gave the Panthers a big boost.

“My other point was that we have to get the first one, we got down to them every time,” said Davis. “Once you play down you lose confidence, and it is very hard to get that back. I said, ‘We have got to get the first one.’ After that, we didn’t change anything. I didn’t want to play passive, I wanted to keep the pressure on. They can pop goals any time they wanted, we didn’t let them get any momentum at all.”

PDS utilized balanced scoring to build a 3-0 cushion as Logan Harrison scored in the second period and Della Gilligan found the back of the net early in the third.

“That was getting puck to the net,” said Davis, reflecting on getting goals from three different players. “Sammy took a shot from the point for that first goal. Brynn scored on her rebound — that was a nice goal. She was hooked up with someone and she broke away from that and got the rebound. Logan had a power play goal, that was clutch. Della’s goal was just getting a shot on net. It took a lucky bounce, it went off the blocker and went in the air and fell into the back of the net.”

The defensive trio of freshman Sammy Dandy, freshman Hark Sandhu, and junior Aerin Bruno held the fort for the Panthers.

“Sammy played amazing, she was not getting tired out there,” said Davis. “She was offensive, she was back-checking. She was not letting anybody get by her that day. Hark works really hard, she earned it out there. Aerin played really great too. She cleared the front of the net, she got pucks out, and she got pucks away from the net. She played with heart. They played really hard. All three of them were just outworking everybody.”

Senior goalie Brigid Milligan put in some good work as well, making 30 saves in the win.

“Brigid played great too, she didn’t have to make too many big saves which is nice,” said Davis. “Everyone kept the shots to the outside, and she made the saves she needed to. She did have some clutch saves as well.”

The Panther players enjoyed a really nice moment after the victory as they mobbed each other in a raucous postgame celebration.

“The girls were hyped, they were going crazy,” said Davis. “It was good to see. For me, I was hyped but I just felt that we had the skill and that there was no reason we shouldn’t be able to beat them.”

PDS will be looking for another title as they compete in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Girls’ Ice Hockey State Tournament where they are seeded second and will host a quarterfinal contest on February 26 between the victor of the first round contest between seventh-seeded Kent Place and 10th-seeded Madison.

“They are fired up; I don’t think they fully believed in themselves and the team,” said Davis. “Having a win like that is great, especially now. It is the best time to peak, you can’t get a bigger win than in the championship. We should keep it rolling right through states, you don’t want to peak too early.”

With Mo-Beard seeded first in the state tourney, PDS could be looking at round four versus the Crimson.

“I hope we get to the Devils arena and get to see them there,” said Davis. “They are going to bring the heat next time, that is what we want. If you want to win, you have to get them feeling uncomfortable. That is what the girls did.”