Summit Girls Ice Hockey Falls to Princeton Day School

The Summit girls ice hockey team lost a hard fought game 6-1 to Princeton Day School.

"The score doesn't reflect how hard they played," said head coach Matt Stanbro.

The girls went out and played with Princeton Day for the better part of two periods.  The first period ended still tied at 0-0.

Junior Caroline Hurckes scored in the second period off an assist from senior Clare O'Malley, but Princeton Day responded with two of their own goals.

"The other team came out in the third period more aggressive, and skating faster than they had earlier in the game," said Coach Stanbro. "We kept with them for the first two periods, but we lost it in the third.

Princeton Day went on to score four additional unanswered goals in the third period.  The Hilltoppers allowed 30 shots on goal, but only had 10 shots on their opponents.

Still, there were some definite bright spots in the game.  Senior goalie Tory Round allowed six goals, but made 24 saves.   Freshman Jenn Stabler played very well, surpassing even her coach's expectations.  The defense also played a strong game.  Led by senior captains Erika Hartwyk and Emma Lucaci and including junior Hurckes and freshman Anna Johnson, when the defense is playing at their best, the team looks pretty unstoppable.

"They started applying things from practice," said Coach Stanbro.  "We definitely improved our defensive game.  Coverage was right where it needed to be."

Like Stanbro has said in the past, it all comes down to putting it all together for a full game.

"We're going to practice and work on getting out of our own zones," he said. "We need to pressure the goaltender, but we also need to make sure those shot count.  Ideally, I want them to get about 20 shots per game."

The Summit girls play Princeton High School in their next game on Dec. 23 at 3:15 p.m. at the Mercer County Rink.