MAC ATTACK: Princeton University women’s hockey player Mackenzie Alexander fires a shot last Friday as Princeton hosted St. Lawrence in its home opener at Hobey Baker Rink. Freshman forward Alexander tallied a goal in a losing cause as Princeton fell 6-2 to the Saints. The Tigers, who lost 6-3 to Clarkson on Sunday to move to 2-4 overall and 0-4 ECAC Hockey, play at Harvard on November 8 and at Dartmouth on November 9. (Photo by Shelley Szwast, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

By Bill Alden

As Mackenzie Alexander made her debut at Hobey Baker Rink last Friday evening when the Princeton University women’s hockey team hosted St. Lawerence, she was pumped up.

“It was incredible with all the fans that came out, it was really cool to see,” said freshman forward Alexander, a native of Etobicoke, Ontario. “The atmosphere was really fun to play in. I really appreciate them coming out.”

After No. 8 St. Lawrence jumped out to a 2-0 lead before a crowd of 1,065, Alexander gave the Baker Rink fans something to cheer about as she tallied a goal with 3:14 left in the first period to narrow the gap to 2-1.

“Izzy [Wunder] made an incredible pass to my back door, all I had was the entire net wide open,” said Alexander. “I was lucky enough to just tap it in. Izzy did all of the work.”

Alexander’s line did some good work as Wunder scored a second  period goal on an assist by Emerson O’Leary but it wasn’t enough as Princeton fell 6-2.

Playing with juniors Wunder and O’Leary has helped Alexander make an immediate impact for the Tigers.

“They are great mentors for me, they are always making sure that I have enough confidence to play with them,” said Alexander, who has nine points on four goals and five assists to tie Wunder for the team lead in points “They do a great job of moving the puck around. They are two really good players and I am really excited to play with them.”

In making the jump to college hockey, Alexander has focused being smarter with the puck.

“It is definitely a big jump, coming from junior to college; it is a lot faster, a lot more physical,” said Alexander, who had an assist as Princeton finished the week by losing 6-3 to No. 6 Clarkson in moving to 2-4 overall and 0-4 ECAC Hockey. “The players are a lot stronger. In juniors, I am used to having the puck a lot more with a lot more time and space to make plays. Here as soon as I get the puck there is someone on me. I just need to learn to make sure I know where the next play is and move the puck there.”

Competing for Hockey Canada’s Development Team this summer helped Alexander get up to speed.

“Playing against the best players in the summer was a really fun experience,” said Alexander. “I think it helped me adjust going from junior to college a lot easier.”

Being on the Canada squad along with Princeton junior forward Sarah Paul also helped Alexander adjust to playing for Princeton.

“It was fun because she is my mentor here,” said Alexander. “It was really cool to meet her there and get comfortable with her so I am more comfortable coming to the team.”

Alexander is also developing a comfort level playing against high-powered ECACH competition.

“It has been really fun and really challenging,” said Alexander. “I am really excited because I think it will help me develop, playing against all of these strong players. It has been really good.”

Princeton head coach Cara Morey saw some good things from her squad against St. Lawrence despite the final score.

“I was encouraged by a lot of the stuff I saw in there, what people don’t realize is that it is a lot of young kids logging minutes,” said Morey. “There were some unfortunate bounces and some of the goals were really weird. That is an emotional game, it is hard to bounce back from those. I felt pretty good seeing what they did while they were losing. That matters.”

The Tigers clearly have a promising young star in Alexander.

“That was a great goal, that was one of the nicest power play goals I have seen,” said Morey of Alexander’s goal against the Saints. “Our power play is really buzzing and pretty lethal. There are just so many threats out there. She did what we wanted her to do and that is tap those in on the back door.”

The combination of Alexander and Wunder is becoming lethal.

“Izzy has been singlehandedly, creating a ton,” said Morey. “She is a passer, that is why we put Mac there to finish. It has been going really well, that line generated quite a bit.”

Although things haven’t been going well for the Tigers so far this season, Morey believes staying the course will get the squad on the winning track.

“We have just got to keep doing what we are doing, it is hard when you are trying to do things and the results don’t come but you have to stick with it,” said Morey, whose team plays at Harvard on November 8 and at Dartmouth on November 9. “That is the thing with most sports, hockey, life, you can throw your hands up and change or you can stick with it. You know it might be hard at the beginning but it is going to work. We have got a team that has a lot of talent and a lot of potential. Once we clean up some of the stuff the young kids are going to do, I think it is going to be a really scary team.”

In Alexander’s view, Princeton has what it takes to put a scare into its foes going forward.

“We just need to come together and play with a lot of grit, that is what we always talk about,” said Alexander. “It is our team identity and I think we just need to stick to that and play some good d-zone and hopefully put a few in the net.”