EVEN KUEHL: Princeton University women’s hockey player Jane Kuehl controls the puck last Friday against Stonehill. Senior forward and assistant captain Kuehl scored three goals in the game to help Princeton prevail 8-1. The Tigers topped Stonehill 10-0 a day later to sweep the two-game set. The No. 9 Tigers, now 13-4 overall, play at Union on January 9 and at RPI on January 10. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
As the Princeton University women’s hockey returned to work last week after a winter break, Jane Kuehl was determined to make the most out of her time on the ice.
“It is my last season here and I worked really hard over break and this week in practice,” said Princeton senior forward and assistant captain Kuehl, a 5’6 native of Edina, Minn. “I don’t know how many more practices I will have here. I am really trying to dial it in for the second half of the season.”
On Saturday, Kuehl was dialed in, scoring three goals to help No. 9 Princeton defeat Stonehill 8-1 to start a two-game weekend set in its first action of 2026 after having last played on December 6 when it topped Cornell 3-2.
After scoring her first goal of the game in the second period, Kuehl tallied two straight goals in a five-minute span of the third period as the Tigers outscored the Skyhawks 5-0 in the frame.
“In between periods we were just saying let’s have fun, let’s not overthink it,” said Kuehl. “I think that gave me confidence to hold on to the puck for a little longer and bury some.”
It was the second career hat trick for Kuehl, who now has seven goals and six assists on the season.
“I haven’t scored a hat trick since my freshman year,” said Kuehl. “My first hat trick came when I scored my first career goal. I picked up my first, my second and my third career in one game. So then when I scored my third today, the girls were, do we grab the puck, what do we do? I was actually no, it is not my fist career hat trick. Any time it happens, it is fun.”
Kuehl is having fun with her line which includes fellow senior Katherine Khramtsov and freshman Riley Sorokan.
“Me and Katherine have played together for a while, she is a lefty, I am a righty; we click pretty well,” said Kuehl, who has totaled 22 goals and 31 assists in her Tiger career. “Riley has been a super great player in the middle. She has been so much more confident these past couple games. Today she had a huge game. I think when the three of us are going, our team does really well.”
The Tigers were fired up to get going collectively as they got back on the ice, looking to pick up where they left off in 2025 as they rose to the top of the ECAC Hockey standings and into the Top 10 nationally.
“You get back here in January and you have no classes going on,” said Kuehl. “We see all of the girls after Christmas and holidays. It is super fun to come back and play a game, especially at home. I think that is awesome. We were really excited to play. After having such a great first half of the season, we really wanted to continue it on to the second half.”
Following in the footsteps of her older sister Annie ’24, a former Tiger standout, Kuehl has developed into a great leader for the squad.
“I think having an older sister in the team, she was such a big role model,” said Kuehl. “It is someone that we could always go to and now that she is gone, I want to be like that to other girls on our team. We do our mentor-mentee program here. I am Angelina DiGirolamo’s mentor so I try to be that older sister to her. I try to be like that to everyone too. I think Annie really helped me figure out how to be a leader out here. I like to think I am doing it.”
Developing that sisterhood has been a key to the program’s success.
“If we are up by five or down by one, we are always having fun in between periods,” said Kuehl. “We are always trying to keep it simple and not overthink it and enjoy what we have here. This is such a special moment. We want to be a family, winning or losing. Having fun is how to come together.”
Princeton head coach Courtney Kessel has enjoyed seeing Kuehl’s development.
“Jane is a tremendous leader, first of all,” said Kessel, who served as an assistant coach for the team from 2019-23 before returning this summer to take the helm of the program. “Off the ice, she has been fantastic. It is just the growth. I was with her in her first year and now to be able to see her as a senior it is really fun. She was on fire this whole week at practice scoring goals. It was nice to see that translate into the game.”
Kuehl’s line has caught fire as the season has unfolded. “They are doing well,” said Kessel. “Riley is just a young. smart hockey player. Jane is using her speed which I think is key. She is so fast and explosive. Katherine is a very smart hockey player too. It is really fun to watch the three of them continuing to develop.”
Kessel liked the vibe around her players as they came back from break.
“Their energy has been great, they are excited to be back and ready to play again,” said Kessel, noting the Tigers resumed practice on December 29. “I think the important thing was that we stuck to our habits. We had good backchecks, we had good stick lifts. We were committed to play defense.
The team’s top line of sophomore Mackenzie Alexander, senior Issy Wunder, and senior Emerson O’Leary got the scoring parade started on Friday as Alexander and Wunder tallied first period goals to help the Tigers jump out to a 2-0 lead. A day later, Alexander tallied three goals and three assists while Wunder had four goals and two assists and O’Leary chipped in four assists as Princeton topped Stonehill 10-0 to sweep the two-game set and improve to 13-4 overall.
“The way those three move the puck, they had some great success last season and this season,” said Kessel, whose team has now won nine straight games. “They hold down the fort for us. We count on them but it was really nice to see some others put the puck in the net.”
Two of the team’s freshman defenders, Ellie Dimatos and Megan Healy, notched their first career goals on Friday.
“It was really nice, Ellie and Meg are just tremendous young defenders who are coming up through the USA hockey program,” said Kessel. “You always want that first one, you may want it a little bit sooner. It was really nice to see them score.”
The trio of veteran defenders — sophomore Rosie Klein, junior Gabby Kim, and junior Teja Gatfield — have been providing some nice play along the blue line.
“I think on the back end with Rose, Gabby and Teja, they have developed so well,” said Kessel. “It is exciting to know that we have a d-corps that can break pucks out.”
With the Tigers, who currently sit atop the ECAC Hockey standings with an 8-2 conference mark, returning to league action by playing at Union on January 9 and at RPI on January 10, Kessel is confident that the team can keep rolling.
“We are excited, we are looking forward to this next half,” said Kessel. “We have to stick to our habits. We have to be smart, we have to be detailed on face-offs, lifting sticks, and having good back checks but having a lot of fun while we are doing it. Heading into break we had some really big wins so that is really nice for this team. To see that they can win, I think that is the important part, believing that you can do it. If you don’t believe it, you are never going to do it. The belief is there so we are just trucking along.”
Kuehl, for her part, believes the Tigers can do some great things this winter.
“I think keeping it simple — having fun at practice, never taking a day off and sticking to our habits,” said Kuehl. “Our coaches talk about habits, habits, habits. Before the game today, they showed a highlight reel of all of the great habits we had in the first half. I think if we stick to that, we will be great the rest of the season. We are playing our best hockey right now and I think we can get even better. We are really confident in what we have and what we can get to.”