Locals ready to cap thrilling finish to hockey year
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Julie Hammond has enjoyed some unique experiences in her life.
The Alaska native knows the thrill of going on a moose hunt. And after the Princeton Tigers Lilies 19-and-under girls ice hockey team captured the Atlantic District championship, the Montgomery High School senior compared it to making her first trip to the USA Hockey National Tournament.
”Going to nationals,” Hammond said. “It’s not even a question.”
Hammond is one of 12 high school seniors on the Tiger Lilies that heads to Rochester, N.Y. to play in the nationals that begin Wednesday. She is one of the seven returning from last year’s 19U team that missed out on that chance due to a heartbreaking tiebreaker, but has made up for it in her last chance.
”I felt like last year we all wanted it, but this year we didn’t want it as much,” said Hammond, who plays both forward and defense for the Tiger Lilies. “We only had four seniors last year. We all have that same mindset. It seemed like we wanted it more.”
Samantha So enjoyed a trip to the nationals last year — with the Tigers Lilies 16U team. The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South senior is one of the six players to move up from that championship team to help raise its level of play.
While she is one of the youngest players on the Tiger Lilies, she isn’t the youngest. That honor belongs to Kelsey Gallagher, a Hun School freshman, who is playing up because there is not Tiger Lilies 16U team this season.
”I think we play really well together,” So said. “We all have our own individual skills. As a team, we mesh really well. Other teams may have one or two really good players, but all our skills blend together well. It’s blended well throughout the year.”
All season, however, one team seemed to stand in their way. The New Jersey Rockets won four of five meetings, including the Mid-Atlantic Women’s Hockey Association title, 2-0. That background set the stage for quite a district final.
”I think it just motivated us more,” Hammond said. “We had nothing to lose. This was our last game — let’s just give it our all. We obviously had more heart than they did.”
The Tiger Lilies needed it when the Rockets jumped out to a 2-0 lead again, this time after just one period. The Tiger Lilies began the game nervous, but showed how far they had come in fighting back over the next two periods.
”I think they enjoyed being the underdog,” said Tigers Lilies head coach Lorna Gifis. “But they still kept their confidence.
”That feeling in the locker room between the second and third that they were going to come back, earlier in the year, they would have gone down 2-0 and had a hard time feeling they’d get back in the game. You couldn’t tell this time. The attitude on the bench was always positive.”
Princeton scored once in the second period, then scored twice in the third period for a 3-2 win that secured the district title and a trip to nationals.
”It was so nerve-wracking,” So said. “We had one period and we were down one. It was so intense. And then scoring with 1:15 left made it a great game. That’s like a win only seen in the movies.”
So isn’t sure that things can get much better for the Tiger Lilies, but they’ll give it a shot in nationals. It will be her last big game before she determines where she plays in college next year. Reaching nationals isn’t satisfaction enough for the departing seniors.
”We had a week to celebrate,” said So, a forward who scored two goals in the 3-0 district run. “This week of practice, we’re focused on actually practicing hard. It’s great to go to nationals, but what’s the point of going and not playing to your potential? We’re definitely taking it seriously.”
It’s a chance to continue a special ending to the season. It’s one they all considered possible, but had to fight to the final minute to earn.
”Ending my senior year with a trip to nationals caps off my four years of high school hockey,” Hammond said. “It caps off my previous years. It makes me think that everything I worked for paid off. It definitely means a lot.”
No one has come farther than Hammond, who has been selected to participate in the individual skills competition at nationals, for the chance. She moved to Montgomery from Anchorage, Alaska, as a sophomore, in large part to play hockey on the East Coast where she hoped to play in college. Instead, she will continue her career at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. They reached the Division III quarterfinals this year.
The move worked out well because it gave her a chance to play with the Princeton Tiger Lilies. They hope to make the most of their last skates together in the national championships.
”We think we measure up,” Gifis said. “The girls know it’s going to be tough competition. They’re excited about the opportunity.”
As far as excitement goes, there’s nothing that compares. Not even moose hunting.

