(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: RAY OF LIGHT: Princeton High girls’ hockey player Olivia Ray goes after the puck in recent action. Senior co-captain Ray’s leadership and scoring production has given PHS a big lift this winter. The Little Tigers, who won their last two games of 2009 to improve to 2-4, play at Portledge School (N.Y.) on January 7 in their first action of the new year.

PHS Girls’ Hockey Ends ’09 With a Bang; Needs to Sharpen Game to Keep Rolling

Bill Alden

It was only the fifth game of the season but the Princeton High girls’ hockey team reached a crossroads.

Starting 0-4 with six goals for and 32 against, PHS badly needed to get on the right track as it played at the Pingry School on December 22.

PHS head coach Christian Herzog made it clear to his players that they needed to show a sense of urgency.

“In so many words, I told them that if they didn’t start hustling, we were going to go 0 and whatever,” said first-year head coach Herzog.

“I was looking at last year and we got off to a similar start losing to the same teams; it seemed like we were following that pattern. It didn’t have to be the same.”

In the game against Pingry, the Little Tigers broke out of their losing patterns, jumping out to a 5-2 lead after the first period on the way to a 10-6 triumph.

Abby Hunter led the way for PHS in the victory, scoring three goals with Yael Davidof and Olivia Ray chipping in two goals apiece. Keely Herring played a big role in triggering the onslaught, adding a goal and five assists.

A night later, PHS built on the win over Pingry with a 5-0 victory over Summit. Herring and Gabby Vukasin scored two goals apiece in the win with senior goalie Allegra Bianchini making 14 saves in earning the shutout.

In assessing his team’s strong finish in 2009, Herzog credited Herring with jump-starting the PHS offense.

Keely was working the ice in the Pingry game,” he said. “She made a lot of good passes; most of our goals in that game had one or two assists. Keely is a powerhouse for us at forward.”

The Little Tigers are also getting a big lift at forward with the return of sophomore Hunter from illness and the development of junior Davidof.

“Abby had mono; it is great to have her back,” asserted Herzog. “Davidof is very coachable. She will ask you a question and you give her an answer and she responds. She is getting comfortable out there. She has scored three goals in our last two games. I am putting pressure on her; I told her I will be leaning on her more.”

Herzog is also leaning heavily on senior co-captains Vukasin and Ray.

“I am putting Gabby back on defense more,” said Herzog. “She can still rush the puck up the ice and gives us strength back there. I told Olivia after the Pingry game how much I appreciate her effort. I told her I appreciate how you work hard and lead by example.”

Herzog needs better work at goalie where his options include seniors Bianchini and Rachel Bozich together with sophomore Tobi Afran.

“Allegra played against Summit,” said Herzog. “She and Rachel are really vying for ice time now. Before it was more friendly; now it is ‘I am going to beat you out.’ That is good for a coach. Tobi has been working hard; she deserves a chance.”

In Herzog’s view, his team has a chance to beat a lot of people with some fine-tuning.

“The focus is always getting on top of our game to get more wins,” said Herzog.

“We need to get our forwards to be better finishers and to work on our passing. We also need to work on defensive positioning and staying out of the penalty box.”

The Little Tigers will need to be on the top of their game as they start the 2010 portion of their schedule on January 7 by playing at the Portledge School (N.Y.).

“We came so close to them last year,” said Herzog, noting that the Little Tigers dropped a 5-3 nailbiter to the Panthers last February. “The girls know that they aren’t the be all and end all.”

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