Kalemba hot as icemen go north

Things are looking up for Princeton men's hockey.

After a three-game losing streak in December that included a 7-0 shutout at the Fighting hands of No. 6 Notre Dame and a 6-1 drubbing by Minnesota State, the Tigers (8-8-0 overall, 6-4-0 ECAC Hockey) are suddenly streaking in the other direction, reeling off three straight wins to move into a tie for first place in the ECAC as they prepare to face Yale (7-4-3, 4-2-3) and Brown (1-9-4, 1-4-3) this weekend.

The three-game winning streak is Princeton's first since beginning the season 3-0.

"So far this season, there have been plenty of ups and downs, but we have still managed to keep ourselves in a good position going into the stretch run," sophomore forward Cam Ritchie said. "At this time, we are riding a little bit of a high, but we need to be sure to keep this in check and remember what got us here."

"Here" is atop the ECAC standings, where Princeton, No. 11 Clarkson (11-6-1, 6-2-0) and Harvard (6-7-3, 5-4-2) each have 12 points. According to sophomore defenseman Jody Pederson, what got the Tigers there was an improved work ethic.

"After losing to Minnesota State right after Christmas, we felt that we were simply outworked and that they competed harder than we did," Pederson said. "Since then, we've really focused on outworking the opposition every shift."

This weekend, Princeton will have the opportunity to outwork — and outscore — two old Ivy League rivals when it buses up to New Haven and Providence. The Tigers have already beaten the Bulldogs once this season in an October non-conference game but have not met the Bears since eliminating them in the first round of last year's ECAC playoffs.

Friday night's matchup at Ingalls Rink will be a battle between two hot teams, as Yale has won four of its last five and trails Princeton in the ECAC standings by just one point. The Bulldogs have the league's best offense, scoring an average of three goals a game, and will be led up front by Sean Backman and Mark Arcobello, who have scored eight and six goals, respectively. Defensively, Yale's stalwart goaltender Billy Blase boasts a 1.75 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, both tops in the league.

Brown, on the other hand, has the lowest-scoring offense in the league, averaging 1.86 goals per game and the second-worst team goals-against average at 3.21 goals per game, which is better than only Princeton's 3.44 goals per game allowed. The Bears have not won a game since Nov. 9, going 0-8-2 in their last 10 games.

Sophomore goaltender Zane Kalemba said that the most important thing for his team to keep in mind this weekend is to not let down at all, especially considering the Tigers will be off for exams for almost three weeks afterward.

"Like [head] coach [Guy Gadowsky] said today in practice, every one of us has to 'empty our tanks' this weekend because we have a long break, at least from the physical aspect, after this weekend," Kalemba said.

Pederson was quick to emphasize that work ethic will, as it has in recent games, be "absolutely crucial" to Princeton's success this weekend.

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"Because of the short season, every game in this league is extremely important, and if you're not ready to compete all the time, things probably won't go your way," Pederson said.

A pair of wins this weekend would go a long way toward helping the Tigers to solidify a top spot in the ultra-competitive ECAC. There are five teams with either 11 or 12 points, including Princeton, and two others are not far behind with eight. With a good dozen or so games left on each team's schedule, anything could happen.

Fortunately for the Tigers, their solid play of late has kept them in the thick of the race for the league title, and spirits are high.

"After such a big weekend like we just had against Dartmouth and Harvard, there is a good feeling in the room," Pederson said. "We've had a great week of practice, too, so we should be fresh and prepared for another big weekend ahead of us."