AHEAD OF THE PACK: Princeton Day School girls’ hockey player Layla Klapak, right, heads up the ice in a game earlier this season. Last Wednesday, Klapak scored a goal in a losing cause as PDS fell 3-2 to Morristown-Beard in a clash of the top two girls’ teams in the NJ.com rankings. The No. 2 Panthers, who defeated Kent Place 4-3 on Monday in improving to 9-2, host Oak Knoll on February 5 and then start play in the Librera Cup tournament on February 10. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Living in the East Stroudsburg, Pa., area, Layla Klapak doesn’t have many options near home to further her hockey career.
“I come from a public school with no hockey nearby,” said Klapak. “The closest rink is 45 minutes away.”
Klapak got a chance to join the Princeton Day School girls’ hockey program and jumped at the opportunity even though it involved a 70-mile commute.
For freshman forward, Klapak making the move to PDS has worked out very well.
“This team has been the light of my year, this was the best switch ever,” said Klapak. “I love the team, the energy is amazing. The girls are so nice. It has been the best part of my high school. It is a really amazing start.
Last Wednesday, Klapak and her PDS teammates brought plenty of energy to the ice as they hosted Morristown-Beard in round two this season between the top two girls’ teams in the NJ.com rankings.
Having getting outshot 40-16 when it lost 1-0 to No. 1 Morristown-Beard on January 12, No. 2 PDS was fired up to turn the tables on the Crimson.
“This game I feel like we wanted more offensive time, last time, we didn’t have many shots on net,” said Klapak. “In the locker room before the game we were talking — we wanted more forechecks, more angling, definitely more shots and it paid off. We got two goals off of those shots.”
The first Panther goal came when Alexis Moslin tipped in a shot by Sammy Dandy midway through the second period. Mo-Beard answered back with a goal in the last second of the second period to knot the game at 1-1 and then took a 2-1 lead early in the third period.
Klapak got the second goal for PDS as she blasted in a one-timer into the back of the net with 8:16 left in regulation.
“I was ecstatic, at first I saw it come off of the net and I thought did it hit the post,” said Klapak. “But as soon as I heard the whistle, I was with my teammates right away and celebrating.”
Mo-Beard, though, responded with a tally less than a minute later to go up 3-2 and held off the Panthers as they went on a power play and then played with an extra attacker in the final minutes of the contest.
Klapak was proud of how the Panthers kept pressing forward to the final horn.
“It was back and forth the whole time,” says Klapak. “I feel like on power plays you are always hoping for goals. You never really know, it is an iffy situation. We would have loved a goal.”
While the defeat stung, Klapak saw a lot of positives coming from the effort.
“The girls worked hard, it was an amazing game,” said Klapak.“We played amazing, Mo-Beard played amazing. We had some good plays, some good opportunities. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, but that is how it happens.”
As Klapak has emerged as a top scorer for the Panthers, leading the squad with 15 goals, she has enjoyed a lot of big moments this winter.
“In the beginning of the season I was really shy to the girls, I feel like my confidence on the ice has picked up and I have been able to carry it to my club,” said Klapak, who plays for the New Jersey Colonials outside of school. “The girls motivate you 100 percent. They are so supportive. They are the best teammates I could wish for.”
Competing against some of the top teams in the state has helped Klapak sharpen her skills.
“Playing these games, especially Mo-Beard, they push you,” said Klapak. “When I am playing these teams, I feel more motivated and pushed to show my full game.”
PDS co-head coach Jamie Davis sensed that his players were motivated for the rematch with Mo-Beard.
“Every time we play them, it is a battle,” said Davis. “It has always been tight the last few seasons. We definitely had a few more chances today. We are home, that helps. They were fired up. It was a good game. We had our chances to win the game. They buried the last one, that’s how it goes sometimes.”
After PDS yielded the goal just before the end of the second period, Davis urged his players to keep battling.
“It was don’t hang your heads, it is a hockey game,” said Davis.
“It is back to 0-0, let’s get it going. The girls stepped up, they were working hard in the third, We had our chances. They got a jam in front and it went in.”
Davis wasn’t surprised to see Klapak bury her scoring chance in the third period.
“That was a great goal, that is what you need,” said Davis. “You need players to step up and push it that much harder. We needed some players and she has really been picking up.
She has got a lot of points for us, a lot of goals.”
Senior goalie Kelly Stevens stepped up, as usual, making 31 saves against the Crimson.
“Kelly is great every game, she is one of the best, if not the best, goalies in our league,” asserted Davis. “She keeps us in every game. With Kelly in net, we can win any game.”
Junior forward Della Gilligan exemplified the intensity the Panthers brought to the Mo-Beard game.
“Della worked super hard,” said Davis. “She takes care of the middle of the ice, she back checks hard. Everyone really stepped up noticeably.”
With PDS hosting Oak Knoll on February 5 and then starting play in the Librera Cup tournament on February 10, Davis is confident his team will bounce back from the loss to Mo-Beard.
“We are not upset about it, obviously we want to win,” said Davis, whose team topped Kent Place 4-3 on Monday in moving to 9-2. “It stings. It is a good game, it is what hockey is about.”
Klapak, for her part, believes that the Panthers can win the next time they face the Crimson.
“We got goals this time,” said Klapak. “We will see them in playoffs, that is what we are saying. We are this close.”