ECAC wins push streak up to five

Five weeks ago, the men's ice hockey team (10-8-0 overall, 8-4-0 ECAC Hockey) dropped a lackluster 7-0 game to No. 6 Notre Dame that left many fans questioning Princeton's drive and consistency. This weekend, the Tigers erased those doubts, defeating Yale (7-6-3, 4-4-3) and Brown (1-11-4, 1-6-3) on the road, and recording the team's first five-game winning streak in over 60 years.

Four of those wins have come against ECAC Hockey opponents, and now, heading into a 17-day break, Princeton finds itself sitting alone atop the ECAC standings.

Last weekend the Tigers defeated No. 15 Harvard (6-9-3, 5-6-2) and Dartmouth (6-7-1 overall, 3-7-1 ECAC), and they carried that momentum with them into Friday night's showdown with Yale. The Bulldogs controlled the early minutes of the game, firing 15 shots in the first period, but they were unable to get one past sophomore goalie Zane Kalemba.

Princeton opened the scoring with nine minutes, 35 seconds left in the second period on a power-play goal by sophomore forward Dan Bartlett, assisted by senior defenseman Mike Moore. But Yale was quick to respond, scoring twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.

Fortunately for the Tigers, they have become adept at overcoming defeats, Princeton was down 1-0 against Harvard last week and down by one three different times against the University of Nebraska-Omaha (9-12-3) on Dec. 30, but the team escaped both those games with victories.

Friday's game against Yale was no different. Head coach Guy Gadowsky asked Princeton to up its intensity and aggressiveness in the third period, and the Tigers responded immediately. Just 57 seconds into the final frame, freshman forward Mike Kramer received a pass from sophomore defenseman Jody Pederson, skated into the Yale zone and fired a shot from the top of the left circle. The shot caught the Yale goalie off guard, bouncing off his glove and into the net to tie the score.

Less than a minute later, Princeton took the lead for good. Junior forward Brett Wilson received a pass from Kramer and slid the puck to senior forward Lee Jubinville for his team-leading 19th point. Sophomore forward Mark Magnowski added an insurance goal with 14:41 left in the game on assists from Bartlett and sophomore forward Cam MacIntyre.

Yale did cut the lead in half less than a minute later, but Kalemba, who recorded 30 saves in the 4-3 victory, held on for his seventh win of the season. All four of Magnowski's goals this season have been game winners.

Following the win over Yale, Princeton traveled to Providence, R.I. to take on the last-place Bears. A night after being outshot 33-17, the Tigers fired 58 shots, scoring early and often in a 6-2 victory over Brown.

Just three minutes into the game, Princeton took a lead it would never relinquish. Aggressive forechecking by Wilson freed the puck behind the Brown net where he was able to feed Kramer for the freshman's first of two goals. Nine minutes later, Kramer returned the favor, recording one of the two assists on Wilson's sixth goal of the year.

Brown cut the lead to one with a five-on-three power-play goal early in the second period, but Princeton was quick to respond. This time on their own power play, the Tigers passed the puck around before Wilson was able to redirect a shot from freshman defenseman Cam Ritchie. The goal gave Princeton a 3-1 lead and opened a three-minute stretch in which the Tigers put the game away for good.

With 7:44 left in the period, sophomore forward Kevin Kaiser flew into the Brown zone and scored his third goal of the season. The tally was assisted by junior forward Brandan Kushniruk and Pederson, who has assists in four straight games.

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Nine seconds later, Princeton scored again. Directly off the faceoff, the Tigers possessed the puck. A few quick passes from Magnowski and Bartlett eventually found MacIntyre in front of the net. MacIntyre's first shot was stopped by Brown's goaltender, but he stuffed the rebound into the back of the net for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Brown opened the scoring in the third period, but once again the Tigers were unfazed. The Wilson-Jubinville-Kramer line, already responsible for three goals in the game, hooked up once more. This time it was Kramer from Jubinville and Wilson to put a cap on the scoring.

Kalemba made 23 saves for his fourth-straight victory, and Princeton's 58 shots were its highest total in more than six seasons.

The first-place Tigers will now take a 17-day break. They are back in action Jan. 29 at Robert Morris and resume ECAC play the following weekend at Union and RPI.