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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Displaying Its Relentlessness and Heart, PHS Girls' Hockey Rallies to Nip PDS
By Bill Alden
When the Princeton High girls' ice hockey team found itself trailing at Princeton Day School 3-1 after two periods last Wednesday, it would have been understandable if PHS suffered a discouraging vision of deja vu.
Having not beaten PDS since December 2002, PHS had endured some distressing losses to their crosstown rivals over the last two seasons.
But determined to turn the tables on the Panthers, PHS seized the momentum in the third period as senior star Vicki Chen scored three goals to give the Little Tigers a 4-3 lead. A late equalizer by PDS freshman Emily Cook put the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Chen struck again as she found the back of the net to give PHS a sweet win and trigger a raucous post-game locker room celebration.
In reflecting on the come-from-behind triumph, PHS head coach Matt Becan said he wasn't overly concerned about the deficit heading into the third period.
"We did outshoot PDS over the first two periods so we were getting chances," recalled Becan, whose team improved to 4-1-1 with the win.
"We just weren't getting quality chances. We focused on that and building momentum. They had momentum and we had to change that."
Becan's confidence in his squad was boosted by the fact that a few weeks earlier they had overcome a 3-1 deficit in their season opener against Holton Arms to pull out a 4-4 tie.
"This team is relentless," said Becan. "They put their hearts into this and they never give up. They have such a passion for the game. We have a lot of depth and we got contributions from a lot of players."
PHS, however, got the greatest contribution from Chen, who scored all five of PHS' goals in the win over the Panthers.
"She is absolutely the most amazing player I've seen," declared Becan of Chen. "She is so selfless; she doesn't think of herself on the ice. She'll get on the ice and just carry the team and put it on her back. She got in a zone against PDS. She kept finding openings on the ice."
Chen's scoring feats, though, wouldn't have been possible without the aid of linemate Blair Thompson. "She and Blair work so well together, they have a lot of chemistry," said Becan of the freshman who assisted on three of Chen's goals last Wednesday.
"They are a great one-two punch. The other teams can't just focus on one player. They complement each other, we don't know which one is going to be the leading scorer from game-to-game. Some games it's Vicki and other games it has been Blair."
A key constant for PHS has been the rock-solid play of its defense. In the win over PDS, the Little Tigers put the shackles on Panthers' star Meg Kerwin, holding her to a goal and an assist.
"We put our key defenders on Kerwin," said Becan, whose team not only slowed Kerwin but outshot PDS 28-16 on the night. "We told the players that they had to slow her down and keep her off the puck. We worked hard on getting the right matchups. I give PDS credit, they spread the scoring around, other players stepped up. We knew it would be a shootout."
In Becan's view, the win last Wednesday should give PHS a lift as it faces the shootouts ahead in the inaugural season of the Mid-Atlantic Girls Hockey League.
"It was one of our best games ever," said Becan, whose team is next in action when it plays Summit on January 15 at ProSkate.
"It's the kind of win that really brings a team together. It's absolutely something we can build on. It was unbelievable in the locker room. They were screaming, it was like they had won a championship. It was neat to watch, I was thrilled."
If his squad can keep up its relentless ways, Becan could be having a lot more thrills this winter.
