By Bill Alden

Taylor Davidson didn’t waste any time setting the tone for the Princeton High girls’ hockey team as it hosted Newark East Side in its last action of 2024.

Racing up the ice at Hobey Baker Rink, sophomore defender Davidson blasted the puck into the back of the goal to give PHS a 1-0 lead 1:50 into the December 20 contest.

About 11 minutes later, Davidson struck again, tallying her second goal as the Tigers doubled their lead to 2-0.

“It is a nice mood booster when anyone gets goals in the beginning,” said Davidson. “It makes it easier to have confidence in the rest of the game.”

Late in the second period, Davidson tallied again to achieve a natural hat trick as PHS built a 3-0 lead and never looked back on the way to a 6-2 victory and its first win of the season.

“Today was one of our better games, we didn’t have Cassie [Speir] and I feel like a lot of people were touching the puck,” said Davidson, who added a fourth goal midway through the third period as the Tigers improved to 1-2. “The difference from last season is that everyone is understanding the game more. It is more fun, you can pass it around a little more.”

In Davidson’s view, PHS was primed for a win after a tough 7-6 loss to Randolph two days earlier.

“Even thought we were 0-2, we had close games,” said Davidson. “Last year, it was a bigger difference in scores. Now we are coming close, it is more of an even game.”

Davidson is looking to make a difference this winter from her defenseman spot.

“I have improved a lot as a player, I am trying to work on my defense this year,” said Davidson. “I am playing only defense, that is something that I am not used to from club. I never play defense there so it is nice to be able to do both.”

Playing for the Princeton Tiger Lilies club program outside of school has helped Davidson hone her skills.

“I think just having control of the puck and not throwing it away just overall,” said Davidson. “I have become a little more confident in terms of the game.”

PHS head coach Christian Herzog sensed that his squad was poised for a breakthrough.

“We had a real close one with Randolph, we were up 5-3 or something and ended up losing,” said Herzog. “It was a real close one to the end, a few bad bounces and there goes the game. We were leading most of the game so I think we brought the positives out of that game coming into this game.”

Herzog saw a lot of positives in the way his players stepped up in the absence of senior star Speir.

“Obviously not having Cassie is a disadvantage to us but we have also got Taylor and we have some other people that can play together,” said Herzog. “Taylor is a workhorse similar to Cassie. She put in some goals. Maya [Hagt] also put in two. We got some good quality saves out of Genevieve [Ritchie] today (13 saves). She is coming along nicely, she is still kind of green but she is working hard. It is interesting to see that when you are missing certain players, other girls step up and fill those voids.”

Davidson’s production in the win was not surprising to Herzog.

“Taylor was a gamer from day one,” said Herzog of Davidson, who now has five goals. “When I spoke to her in September in her freshman year before hockey tryouts, I asked her what kind of player are you — when you play against the boys, do you leave your pony tail out? She said I let them know who I am. I was like you are going to fit in great. It is hard to say she is coming around because she has been a great player the whole time.”

Senior captain Hagt has been coming on, having scored three goals this season.

“Maya has been more consistent in terms of points, she has been putting some goals in the net this season compared to the previous seasons,” said Herzog. “She is the team mom, she has great leadership skills.”

The play of Sophia Lee and freshman Sophie Blejwas has given the Tigers a great boost.

“Sophia Lee has stepped up, she has double-shifted a lot on the first line,” added Herzog. “We have some newer players, Sophie Blejwas, she skates pretty well. We are waiting for her to put some pucks in the net. She has to find her way, it will come with time.”

With PHS starting the 2025 portion of its schedule by hosting Madison on January 7 at Hobey Baker Rink, Herzog is looking forward to seeing what his squad can do in the new year.

“Compared to previous seasons, this is the best overall skating team we have had,” said Herzog. “We still have some much higher at the top and a few at the bottom but the mid group is much more closer together so practices are a little more uniform and we can get a little more out of it.”

Davidson, for her part, is confident that the Tigers will be piling up more victories this winter.

“We are going to keep seeing wins in the close games the rest of the season which is nice,” said Davidson. “It is more fun because everyone is getting to be part of the game. We are doing good.”