Little Tigers skate to third straight
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Christine Schulte doesn’t know much about the New York Giants, but she can identify with fast finishes.
The Princeton High School senior has seen the girls’ ice hockey team take big steps toward opening up the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic playoff race. Schulte notched the insurance goal in a 4-1 win over Summit on Thursday as PHS won its third straight game to improve to 5-7.
”We started out a little slow this season,” said the Cranbury resident whose sister Emily started at goalie for PHS from 2004-2006. “It may be towards the end, but we’re finally playing the best we can. I hope we can continue that and be happy with how we played this year.”
Schulte is finding her groove just in time for a strong ending to her career. She skated with a pair of linemates who graduated after last season’s runner-up WIHLMA finish. Now, she is paired with Carly Ray and lately Gabby Vukasin.
”We’ve been mixing it around,” Schulte said. “I’ve been working a lot with Gabby now. That’s been really productive. I guess last year I was on a line with two seniors who left. This year, that took a while to get used to working with new people. I think everyone on our team works well together. It’s been showing in games.”
When the Little Tigers have had their full team, they have been tough to stop. They lost to Summit earlier in the season, 4-1, when both teams were missing some of their top players.
”Most of our games we didn’t do that well some pretty big players were missing,” Schulte said. “It helps to have everyone there. We’ve had that the last couple games. It shows how well we can do together and our true potential.”
PHS was closer to full strength Thursday, and they took advantage of Summit’s deficiencies and some improved Little Tiger play.
”They were shorthanded. They only brought nine girls,” said PHS coach Jeff Schneider. “That was one big difference. There were three differences. They had fewer people. Then this time we had Gabby and Blair (Thompson, who scored the first goal). We didn’t have them the first game. The third big difference has been the play of Christine Schulte. She’s had two or three goals in the last two or three games. She’s come on strong in the last week and a half.”
The Little Tigers are hoping that trend continues as they head into a crucial week. PHS plays at Pingry today, then hosts Hill in its home finale 7 p.m. Wednesday at Princeton University’s Baker Rink.
”I’ve noticed that I’ve been playing better,” Schulte said. “It took a while this season to get used to the new adjustments we’ve made. I got used to playing more. The more I’ve been playing, the better I’ve been getting. Three games per week has helped.”
Especially three wins in a row. PHS has not lost since a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Princeton Day School almost two weeks ago. The third straight avenged an earlier loss that hadn’t sat well with the Little Tigers. They had never before lost to Summit.
”The first time was pretty rough,” Schulte said. “We were missing six of our varsity players. There were a lot of new girls playing. They’re not as used to playing a whole game. That definitely affected the way we were playing. When Thursday came, we wanted to win more because of how badly we lost. That gave us some motivation. It was a pretty disappointing game the first time. No one expected to lose to that game.”
PHS doesn’t want any more losses this season. They are hoping to climb to the final playoff spot in the WIHLMA.
”We were in seventh place after the loss to Princeton Day School,” Schneider said. “We’re working our way up. We’re looking for that four spot. We’d take on the No. 1 team (in the playoffs). The big game will be Hill on Wednesday.”
PHS beat Hill to open the season. Both teams have grown since then with the Little Tigers taking their greatest strides together in the last two weeks.
”I think everyone has been a lot happier with how they’re playing,” Schulte said. “I’ve been noticing a lot of people improving. It definitely shows in the games and results how far we’ve come in just a couple weeks.”
Schulte is part of a senior class that is helping to show the way for the less experienced players. She primarily has played wing, but also has gone back on defense when necessary. PHS figures to lean on its four-year players for guidance as they get into some pressure games, like Hill. PHS would like to see Schulte continue to produce in big spots.
”I saw the potential in her in week one,” Schneider said. “She’s come on. It might be that her role is better defined. We’ve been shorthanded and she’s playing with Carly Ray. It may be the seniors are connecting in the last games of their high school career. Now we’re seeing the results I thought she had in her.”
A few big goals could make the difference as the Little Tigers play for the final playoff spot. The recent run has given PHS confidence it can climb back to the WIHLMA top four.
”I think we’re still trying to pull for it,” Schulte said. “We still have a couple more important games. Hopefully we’ll finish strong and be up there in our league.”
The Little Tigers have adopted an acronym ELM, short for Effort, Learning, Mistakes. Improvements in those areas have put PHS on the right track.
”Their effort since the Upland game has improved,” Schneider said. “They’ve been putting out a great effort. That’s the way you improve. We’ve been working on communication with each other. We’re trying to learn from each other. Communication on the bench and on the ice. And we talk about, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you’re afraid, you’re not trying.”
The Little Tigers have been able to see steady improvement lately. It has helped them move to challenge for a berth in the postseason.
”For the most part,” Schneider said, “when we’ve played a team for the second time, we’ve played them better. We’ll find out this week. Both games this week are against teams we’ve beaten once before.
”I think Hill is in third place,” he added. “If we get into tiebreakers and we can beat them on Wednesday, we’ll be 2-0 head to head. It’s the best we can hope for. It’s kind of like the Giants.”
Schulte might not follow the Giants, but she understands that PHS is coming on, readying for a playoff push.
”I could tell,” she said. “I know that in the past seasons we’ve always started out a little slow. The timing was weird this year. Our practices this year started two weeks later and games started two weeks earlier. And we had all the hard teams to start. I knew we could improve. I think we’ve been building with every game. Hopefully we’ll continue that to the end.”
In the end, maybe those Little Tigers can prove to be just as super as the Giants.