PDS hockey shows improvement
By: Justin Feil
The third time was a charm for the Princeton Day School girls’ ice hockey team.
PDS topped Hill, 2-0, Wednesday in the teams’ third game of the season, and there could be a fourth contest if they meet up in the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic playoffs at the end of the season. Chances are, it would be another close one.
"It’s always tense before we play them," said Emily Cook, who scored the second goal for the Panthers on Wednesday. "I guess we’re pretty much matched. They beat us once in the Canterbury Tournament in a shootout. We won (Wednesday). We tied earlier."
In their first game, PDS and Hill tied, 3-3. When the two met at the Canterbury Tournament, they tied again in regulation, 1-1, but had to get a winner for the tournament format. Hill won in a shootout.
Wednesday, PDS held a 39-16 shot advantage and made a first-period goal by Georgia Travers and a second-period goal by Cook stand up. Elisa Cichonski saved all 16 shots she faced. With the win, the Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 5-8-2, 3-2-1 in the WIHLMA.
"This year, hockey-wise it’s turned out so different," Cook said. "Considering the people we have we don’t have any huge girls we’ve done so much with what we have. We’ve been working really hard. I didn’t expect anything so this is all very exciting."
The Panthers graduated their leading scorer of a year ago, Meg Kerwin, which left a void in the offense. Cook has found it to be an opportunity.
"Everyone was really nervous and scared at first," Cook said. "We’ve gotten over it. It was an opportunity to gel more."
The sophomore forward has done her part to pick up the scoring. She has six goals to go with 12 assists, putting her second on the team in points in just her second season of varsity.
"Last year, we had Meg Kerwin who was a central component," Cook said. "There was a huge jump from the rest of the girls to her. This year, there’s more of an equal group. We’ve gelled more. We have not relied on certain people to do things."
The Panthers showed in their last loss, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of WIHLMA leader Morristown-Beard on Monday, just how quickly they were improving. PDS had lost just two weeks earlier, 5-0, to Mo-Beard.
"They beat us by a lot the first time," said Cook, who missed Monday’s game. "We played them really well and we almost tied them at the buzzer. That got everyone so motivated to play (Wednesday). I think they were all excited. Everyone was super aggressive. When you get so excited about a game, it shows."
PDS found a benefit even in its recent losses. The Panthers had come up on the short side in four straight before Wednesday’s win, but had learned a little in each game. They lost to Millbrook, 4-0, then to Lawrenceville, 7-0, then to Wyoming Seminary, 4-1, and finally Mo-Beard, 3-1, with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.
"Mo-Beard is stronger than we are and Lawrenceville is stronger than us and Wyoming Seminary had these three really good girls," said PDS head coach John Cook, whose team faces Stuart on Monday. "Getting through that made us a tougher team.
"We’ve played three tough teams," he added. "We’re picking it up a little. I’m proud of my girls. They had good offense going and good defense (Wednesday)."
Not only is John Cook a proud coach, but he also is a proud PDS parent. Cook is the father of Emily. He has liked what he’s seen out of her this season.
"She took some time off from hockey," the elder Cook said. "She got back in it three years ago. She improved fast. She’s a good hockey player. I see her athleticism around the net. Tonight, she made some good passes up the ice. She understands pass plays. I don’t let her not understand pass plays. That was my specialty when I played."
Emily Cook definitely has hockey in her genes. She started playing at age 7, but didn’t enjoy the 5 a.m. sessions after a while. She picked the sport back up as a PDS seventh-grader and has improved every year since then. She was solid Wednesday, as were the Panthers at both ends of the ice against Hill.
"They have a girl from Newfoundland," John Cook said. "She’s excellent. Tonight, they shut her down. I think the difference was having Katie Briody or Leah Lefebvre on her and one backchecker too. They kept her away from the net.
"Elisa made some good saves. Their goalie played pretty well. My defense, they were able to move it back and forth and get shots and then we were going for rebounds. They played pretty well. There were nine penalties and we got five of them. We were playing aggressively. I like to see them working that hard, not that penalties are good. But it shows they played hard."
It led to a big improvement in results against Hill, and improvement is a big theme for the Panthers. It may have been the biggest difference in PDS’ more convincing win over Hill on Wednesday.
"Our team got a little stronger during the year and Hill stayed the same," John Cook said. "You look for the girls to move the puck quickly on their way up the ice. You look for them to make plays around the net. We want to get two people in deep and one person around the net. We had that today. It’s a long process. I’m very happy with them."
The Panthers know they can keep improving as they prepare to go into the tournament portion of the season. Emily Cook doesn’t want PDS to rest on its big win Wednesday.
"I think we still have to work on getting back and back-checking and helping our D’," she said. "Especially after a game like today. You don’t want to get too confident. You have to work even harder after a win like this."
And there’s still some time before they face the prospects of a fourth meeting with Hill. It will be yet another chance to prove how far they have come. Wednesday’s win was an encouraging barometer of the Panther girls’ ice hockey team’s improvement.