Hockey's Summer Season

TigerBlog read a story that said that the United Kingdom is likely to have its highest-ever recorded temperature either today or tomorrow.

The forecast for London for today and tomorrow is for 40 degrees on the Celsius scale, which translates to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. That is, as TB's grandmother would have said, a "scorcher." The current record for the U.K. is 38.7 degrees, or 101.7.

The story went on to say that, unlike the United States, almost no houses in Great Britain have air conditioning. This, of course, is not ideal.

It did not say if Buckingham Palace has air conditioning, though TB assumes it does. Do the guards who famously stand perfectly emotionless outside the palace get to wear shorts?

As for Princeton, it'll be hot all week, though not quite as hot as it will be in England. Of course it'll be hot. It's July.

With summer at its peak, what else is there to talk about today other than ice hockey? 

Princeton women's hockey was represented by alum Kelsey Koelzer and head coach Cara Morey last week at NHL development camps. Koelzer worked with the Arizona Coyotes, while Morey was with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pics From Camp!@Caranadian is back with @NHLFlyers for a second year as a guest coach at Development Camp. pic.twitter.com/1AEwHCOau6

— Princeton Hockey (@PWIH) July 14, 2022

You may remember Koelzer as a first-team All-American defenseman while she was a Tiger. She has gone of from Princeton to play professionally and to become the head coach of the women's team at Arcadia University, outside of Philadelphia.

Koelzer actually started the program from scratch, delayed by a year due to Covid. Her inaugural team skated last winter, and her Knights went a respectable 10-15-1, including 9-10-1 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference while reaching the league playoffs.

That was clearly an impressive performance for a rookie coach with a rookie team.

As for Morey, she has worked with the Flyers during their developmental camp before. If you see her smiling in the pictures from last week, it's partly because she clearly loves what she's doing and partly because she will have Sarah Fillier back on her team this year. 

Fillier was one of two players (along with Claire Thompson) who have played for Morey who won Olympic gold medals last winter with Canada. Fillier established herself as a great collegiate player in her first two years at Princeton, when she earned second-team All-American honors twice and helped Princeton to the 2020 ECAC championship.

She upped that in the Olympics, when she emerged as one of the elite goal scorers in the world. When Fillier steps on the ice for the first time this year, she will join Bill Bradley and Ashleigh Johnson as the only Tigers to earn Olympic gold and then return to compete for Princeton.

Speaking of Princeton women's hockey, Rachel McQuigge signed a contract with the Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation. This was her quote after signing:

"I chose to sign a contract with the Rivs at this time of rapid growth in the pro women's game because I want to be a part of a concerted effort to increase visibility and opportunity for women in sports. I believe that sports are a vehicle for life skills and social change, and women have been under appreciated and left out of this arena for too long."

That's pretty much perfect. TB has never met McQuigge, but he's heard her speak and has been very, very impressed with her each time.

The Princeton men's hockey team had four players represented at the NHL development camps, though none of them were on teams coached by Koelzer or Morey. 

Corey Andonovski, who graduated this past spring, skated with the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he signed a free agent contract. In the interest of full disclosure, TB originally typed Pittsburgh Pirates.

The other three Princeton men's players are all returning this season: Senior Liam Gorman (Chicago Blackhawks), junior Ian Murphy (Vancouver Canucks) and sophomore Noah de la Durantaye (Vegas Golden Knights).

Vegas, by the way, is now TB's favorite team, as its communications director is former Princeton Office of Athletics student-worker extraordinaire Nate Ewell.

And that's your hockey update for now. 

Maybe that'll help you keep cool as the temps soar.