Men's hockey caps second straight last-place season

Much to the dismay of players and fans alike, the men's hockey team maintained several unprized streaks with its pair of losses this weekend. Not only did the Tiger skaters (5-22-2 overall, 5-15-2 Eastern College Athletic Conference) extend their winless ways to 15 games in a row, but the team also finished in the ECAC cellar for the second year in a row. All this was achieved while continuing their "Saturday Night Fever" malady and going 0-for the season on Saturdays.

While the Tigers were playing primarily for pride, their visiting opponents, Rensselaer (19-13-2, 13-8-1) and Union (15-14-5, 8-11-3), were jockeying for playoff position. Both teams from the Empire State snow country desperately needed to record weekend sweeps, and both played with the frenetic fire that their objectives mandated.

On Friday, Rensselaer skated for an inspired 60 minutes en route to a 5-1 victory over the offensively anemic Princeton team. Relying on an extremely effective combination of forechecking and blistering mid-ice board checks, the Engineers completely disrupted the Tiger defense and kept the puck pinned in the Princeton zone.

"They forecheck really hard," sophomore defender Brett Westgarth said. "They get two guys on every puck, and then they just never let up. We did a poor job adjusting to that pressure."

Although Princeton displayed uncharacteristic aggressiveness in the opening minutes of the game, it was Rensselaer who took control of the scoreboard. At 3:42, forward Kevin Croxton collected a cross-ice pass and backhanded the puck past diving sophomore goalie Eric Leroux.

That advantage, however, was ephemeral, as Princeton responded with a goal of its own only 18 seconds later. Engineer netminder Nathan Marsters watched helplessly as the puck sailed over his right shoulder on a pointblank rocket shot by freshman forward Kevin Westgarth.

During a back-and-forth first period in which the Tigers actually outshot Rensselaer 14 to 11, the Engineers were the recipients of a fortuitous bounce. With just over two minutes remaining, senior forward Ben Barr's shot was ensnared in front of the crease in a jumble of skaters from both teams. The puck caromed off a Princeton player and past Leroux. Although the goal was not the prettiest or most well conceived of the night, it was all that Rensselaer needed to secure the game.

After a scoreless second period, the Engineers dominated the final frame as the team turned up the pressure. Two Rensselaer goals in the first two minutes and 15 seconds left the Tigers reeling. Leroux made the final score much closer than the action dictated with some spectacular saves, finishing with 34 on the night.

Astronomical disaster

On Saturday evening, the stars seemed to be properly aligned for a Tiger victory. The team had beaten Union previously; Princeton skaters wanted a win for those seniors in their final contest at Baker Rink; and coaches and players seemed to exude resolve in ending the Saturday curse. Unfortunately, Houston, Union was a problem.

After Union outshot the Tigers 20-9 and took a 1-0 lead during the first frame, Princeton came back in the second to knot the score. Freshman forward Ian McNally recorded his first career goal at 12:22 when he jammed home a rebound. The Tigers continued their impressive play into the third. Although Princeton limited the Dutchmen to only one shot on net, that shot slipped past freshman goalie B.J. Sklapsky.

Despite Union's strategy of keep-away for the final minutes, Princeton forced the game into overtime. With just 58 seconds remaining, Sklapsky was pulled in favor of an extra attacker. As the Dutchmen defense collapsed on the puck, freshman forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller found sophomore forward Dustin Sproat alone in the slot. Before the goalie had a chance to react, Sproat brought the puck across the net and fired it home.

But the Tigers' effort did not produce a happy ending, as Union scored with 35 seconds remaining in the extra session. Making it clear that the orange and black stars truly were misaligned, a shot by Union's Brent Booth bounced off both posts before ricocheting past Sklapsky for the 3-2 Union victory.

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"That just shows you the kinds of breaks we're getting this year," Sproat said. "We battle hard to get back in the game, and then we get a bad bounce, which kicks us down again."