Inside the chilly confines of Pegula Ice Arena, Princeton women’s ice hockey (23–11–0 overall, 16–6–0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) took on the University of Connecticut Huskies (28–8–2, 17–6–1 Hockey East Association) for their NCAA Regional Semifinal matchup. While the Tigers put up a strong fight, with an aggressive offensive effort and frequent forechecks, the UConn Huskies came out victorious in the end with a final score of 4–1.
Winning the initial faceoff, Princeton took the front foot and sought an early lead. And, while the Huskies applied tight defensive pressure, the Tigers were quick to regain possessions, getting 16 shots on goal throughout the period compared to UConn’s mere five.
Senior forward Issy Wunder, named the 2026 Ivy League Player of the Year, began the slew of Tiger shot attempts as she launched the puck from the outer edge of the faceoff circle. Yet, it was immediately turned aside by UConn’s goaltender Tia Chan. Moments after, an assisted shot by senior forward Emerson O’Leary followed by a desperate attempt from sophomore forward Mackenzie Alexander, which hit the side of the cage, were unsuccessful as well.
Just when the Tigers were starting to lose hope, a roughing penalty on UConn’s forward Martha Mobarak rejuvenated Princeton’s spirits once again. However, they simply couldn’t break through Chan’s impeccable goaltending and were unable to convert on the power play.
“Tia is a great goalie whom I have played against for many years now, so all the credit goes to her and the amazing season and career she’s put together,” Wunder told The Daily Princetonian. “That being said, we did a great job peppering her with shots and getting the puck to the net.”
Despite their difficulties on the attack, the Tigers prevented the Huskies from getting anywhere near their junior goalie Uma Corniea. Aware of their lacking offense, the Huskies decided to play with increased aggression. And, with less than four minutes remaining in the period, UConn defender Emma Eryou fired a shot through traffic from the point, landing past Corniea and into the net, putting the Huskies up 1–0.
“It was an unlucky shot that got through with some traffic in front of the net,” Wunder replied to the ‘Prince.’ “We had been hemming in their end for the majority of the period and were outshooting them by a lot, which was our game plan from the start. I thought we had a great response and kept the pressure on them throughout the game.”
Princeton urgently tried to respond, but UConn held firm as the buzzer marked the end of the first period.
Heading into the second period, the Tigers continued to apply pressure, with O’Leary feeding the puck to first-year defender Megan Healy for a golden one-on-one chance with Chan, but the shot was once again blocked. Unwilling to back down, however, the Tigers capitalized on an opportunity in the midst of a scramble for the puck near Chan. With a brief, but clear vision of the disc, first-year forward Riley Sorokan buried the loose puck straight into Chan’s net, evening the score to 1–1.
The Huskies didn’t take long to reassert their lead, however. Just five minutes later, forward Kyla Josifovic found the top right corner of the net with a wrist shot off an assist from forward Claire Murdoch, who was facing strong defensive pressure from Tiger sophomore defender Rosie Klein and junior defender Maggie Johnson. UConn were now up 2–1.
With their season on the line, Princeton continued to fight. Sophomore forward Angelina DiGirolamo and Klein both took close shots immediately following UConn’s goal, but neither could find their way to the back of the net.
After a body-checking penalty on DiGirolamo, Princeton’s defense stepped up to prevent the Huskies from scoring on the power play. UConn took seven shots on Corniea across the two-minute penalty, trying to capitalize on their offensive advantage, but were unable to penetrate the Princeton net.
The Tigers entered the third period energized to make up the single-goal deficit.
While the Orange and Black outshot the Huskies 12 to five in the first seven minutes of the period, a fortunate pass and tip for UConn marked Josifovic’s second goal of the day. The Huskies widened their lead to 3–1.
Princeton continued its offensive pursuit of UConn, but with less than three minutes on the game clock left, the Huskies still led by a two-goal differential. As a last resort, Princeton added a sixth player to the offensive and left the net empty.
UConn forward Julia Pellerin capitalized on the opportunity, launching the puck from across the ice, which cemented the 4–1 Husky win.
“It’s tough to have our season end this way,” Wunder said to the ‘Prince.’ “I couldn’t be prouder of the fight the girls showed, and am grateful to have made history for Princeton hockey alongside every one of them.”
As the clock expired, Princeton women’s ice hockey concluded a historic season under debut Head Coach Courtney Kessel’s leadership. Achieving the first ECAC regular season championship title in program history and competing in the ECAC Semifinals in Lake Placid, the 2025–2026 team has made its mark on the ice.
“We learned this year that we can compete on the national stage,” Kessel wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “I’m so proud of the way we battled all season long; it sets the standard for what it takes in terms of belief, trust, and commitment from everyone on our team.”
Andrew Kang is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Siena Sydenham is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
From Guyot Hall To Global Health: Dr. Elizabeth Colston ’87 On Her Path To Immunology
Zihan (Frank) XuDr. Elizabeth Colston ’87 once walked through FitzRandolph Gate with a degree in Molecular Biology and a senior thesis on cancer cell research. Now, nearly four decades later, Colston is on the frontline of cutting-edge immunology research.
Dr. Elizabeth Colston ’87 once walked through FitzRandolph Gate with a degree in Molecular Biology and a senior thesis on cancer cell research. Now, nearly four decades later, Colston is on the frontline of cutting-edge immunology research.
Princeton Council passes Film Ready and housing ordinances, hears proposal for local renovations
Giselle MorenoPrinceton Council advanced the five-step process to become a Film Ready municipality, passed an ordinance to aid affordable housing while preserving historic sites, and heard proposals for renovations.
Princeton Council advanced the five-step process to become a Film Ready municipality, passed an ordinance to aid affordable housing while preserving historic sites, and heard proposals for renovations.
Play the Tuesday Crossword, ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’
MC McCoy and Maddie Feldman(Photo credit: “Four leaf clovers Object Detection Dataset” by Workspace1 / CC BY 4.0) Come celebrate with this holiday-themed puzzle by Senior Constructors MC McCoy and Maddie Feldman!
Come celebrate with this holiday-themed puzzle by Senior Constructors MC McCoy and Maddie Feldman!