Water put into a freezer compartment in the same refrigerator goes into a state of less molecular disorder when it freezes. Is this an exception to the entropy principle

No it is not an exception to this principle

Explanation:

Work was carried out by this compressor to reduce the entropy of ice. What this means is that the ice gave out heat which is as a result  of the work that the compressor was putting in. there are violations of this principle

the entropy principle has that the entropy of the universe is always going to be more than 0 (system + surrounding). in this question, the that of the system is negative while that of the surrounding is positive.  As the refrigerator was cooling the water, the air outside was getting heated.  Outside this refrigerator, the gain in entropy is more than the entropy that was lost in the water.

the entropy of the universe once again is more than 0.