Tigers stay hot on home ice

After dominating Colgate (14-13-5 overall, 8-8-4 ECAC Hockey) 7-2 on Friday night, the Tigers (17-10-0, 14-6-0) gritted out a tough victory against Cornell (13-11-3, 11-8-1) on Saturday, topping the Big Red 2-1. The win secured Princeton a first-round bye in the ECAC Tournament as the team heads into the final weekend of the regular season.

It was fitting that the Tigers’ most important win of the season came on Senior Night. The year before seniors defenseman Mike Moore and forwards Kyle Hagel, Landis Stankievech, Keith Shattenkirk and Erik Pridham arrived on campus, Princeton finished 5-24-2 overall. This season, the Tigers clinched their first-ever outright Ivy League title and have a shot at beating out Clarkson for first place in the ECAC.

“[The wins] are definitely huge,” junior forward Brett Wilson said. “When we started the year, one of our goals was to get home ice, and to get a bye is just extra-special. The league is so close that anytime you can slip by a round, it’s big.”

Coming off Friday’s victory over Colgate, the Tigers renewed their fierce rivalry with Cornell the next night. Heading into the game, Princeton was just three points ahead of the Big Red, a perennial powerhouse in the ECAC and Ivy League.

From the drop of the puck, the Tigers carried over much of their momentum from the previous night, outshooting Cornell 13-7 in the first period. Sophomore defenseman Jody Pederson broke the scoreless tie with his third goal of the season 11 minutes, 10 seconds into the opening frame.

As play evened out toward the end of the first period and into the second, the hitting picked up, as Moore and freshman defenseman Cam Ritchie laid some monstrous checks on the Cornell forwards.

The Tigers extended their lead just under six minutes into the second period, taking advantage of their first full power play of the game. After receiving the puck in the slot off a pass from sophomore forward Cam MacIntyre, Wilson put his team-leading 12th goal of the season past Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens.

“Mac made a great play out of the corner,” Wilson said. “I just found a position on the back door and tried to hit it as hard as I could.”

Cornell answered back on a power play of its own five minutes later, as Mike Devin beat sophomore netminder Zane Kalemba from the point. Devin’s goal would prove to be the only shot that would elude Kalemba on the evening.

With less than a minute remaining in the second, the Tigers appeared to regain their two-goal lead when MacIntyre put a rebound past Scrivens. Though the puck hit the back of the net and bounced out of the goal, the three referees and goal judge somehow did not see. Much to the dismay of the Princeton players, coaches and fans, the goal was not counted as time expired in the second period.

“It’s unfortunate when you get a call against you,” Wilson said. “But we’ve said all year that when something like happens, it’s an opportunity to face adversity and overcome it.”

In spite of the bad call, the Tigers remained unflustered as the third period began, focusing on holding their one-goal lead. Though Cornell outshot Princeton 11-3 in the final frame, Kalemba made some terrific saves to keep the Tigers in front.

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“The way [Kalemba] plays, more than the saves he makes, just has such a calming effect,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “Especially for a team that has such a young defense, the way Zane plays is as important as the results he gets.”

What was perhaps Cornell’s best scoring chance came on an opportunity where Kalemba did not even need to make a save. With a Cornell forward on a breakaway, Pederson took a diving stab at the puck from behind, knocking it away and ending the danger for Princeton.

“[Pederson] made a great play,” Kalemba said. “Just got the puck first and made sure not to trip the guy … He’s been great for us all year.”

Despite increased pressure in the final minute of the third when Cornell pulled Scrivens for an extra attacker, Kalemba and the Princeton defense held strong as the Tigers gutted out a 2-1 victory.

“I try to stay calm and focused and block everything out,” Kalemba said. “Obviously I know it’s a huge game, and with 25 seconds left, it’s exciting, and I like the pressure.”

The pressure that Kalemba enjoys lasted for only two periods the previous night against Colgate.

After the teams traded goals in the first period, junior forward Lee Jubinville broke the game open in the second period with a pair of goals. The second of Jubinville’s goals came on a shorthanded breakaway when he deked goaltender Mark Dekanich and shot the puck top-shelf on the glove side. The goal ultimately proved to be the game winner, as the Tigers came away 7-2 victors.

Already up 3-2 heading into the third period, freshman defenseman Taylor Fedun, sophomore forward Kevin Kaiser, freshman forward Kevin Lohry and Wilson all added goals to seal the win for Princeton.

With all this young talent on the Tigers’ roster, it will be worth watching how far they will go in the coming years.