Wins bookend close loss against Union

The men’s hockey team’s 4-3 loss at Union this past Friday night marked the end of Princeton’s longest winning streak since the 1933-34 season. But the Tigers’ historic win Saturday against Rensselaer has them hoping they can duplicate that streak in the coming weeks.

Princeton’s 5-2 win at Robert Morris (11-11-3 overall) last Tuesday extended its winning streak to a nearly unprecedented six games. Though Union (12-9-4, 7-4-3 ECAC Hockey) ended the streak when the Tigers resumed league play over the weekend, a resounding 4-0 victory at Rensselaer (9-17-3, 4-9-2) revealed that Princeton (12-9-0, 9-5-0) is a force to be reckoned with in the ECAC Hockey League.

In spite of their non-conference tune-up just three days earlier, the Tigers came out flat against Union. Three minutes, 42 seconds into the first period, the Dutchmen drew first blood as Mario Valery-Trabucco beat sophomore goalie Zane Kalemba.

Union added two more goals in quick succession at 6:33 and 8:13 in the first period, giving the Dutchmen a 3-0 lead. Though the Tigers picked up the pace after the first frame, in which they were outshot 13-8, they were unable to crack Union goalie Justin Mrazek. In fact, the Dutchmen scored their second power-play goal in the second period.

“I was focused,” Kalemba said, “but just wasn’t executing.”

Trailing 4-0 as play began in the third period, Princeton mounted an impressive comeback effort.

With the Tigers, held scoreless in the first 10 minutes of the final frame, head coach Guy Gadowsky pulled junior goalie Thomas Sychterz in favor of an extra attacker.

Gadowsky’s gamble paid off, as freshman forward Mike Kramer scored a six-on-four power-play goal 12:58 into the third. The Orange and Black attack did not stop there, however, as freshman defenseman Taylor Fedun added an extra-attacker goal of his own less than two minutes later. Fedun’s score pulled the Tigers to within two goals of the Dutchmen.

Despite outshooting Union 11-2 in the third, Princeton was unable to score until junior forward Brett Wilson notched his eighth goal of the season with less than 20 seconds remaining. Wilson’s goal, however, was not initially recognized by the officials and the game clock ran down.

“I think the shot must have hit the back bar and the puck came out,” Wilson said. “So we all stopped, but the clock kept running down.”

After the initial confusion, the officials called both teams back onto the ice, awarding Princeton the goal and placing 10.8 seconds on the clock. While the Tigers managed one shot and a face-off in the Union zone with four seconds remaining, they ultimately came up just short, falling 4-3.

The loss came at a precarious time for the Tigers, as they had to travel to RPI the next night for the “Big Red Freakout,” an annual Engineer tradition. RPI entered the contest undefeated in its previous 17 “Freakout” games.

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“We said before the game, ‘Let’s end the streak and send the fans home with a sour taste in their mouths,’ ” Kalemba said. “It was nice to spoil the party.”

Princeton had something to prove after its “disappointing” loss, as the Tigers could not crack RPI netminder Jordan Alford in the first period despite outshooting the Engineers 13-5.

“We controlled play pretty much from the drop of the puck,” Wilson said. “It was definitely one of our best efforts of the season.”

The Tigers finally broke through in the second period as sophomore forwards Dan Bartlett and Mark Magnowski and senior forward Landis Stankievech scored a goal apiece. Princeton outshot RPI 20-6, and the 3-0 lead was more than enough for Kalemba and the Princeton defense. Kalemba needed to make just 16 saves to secure his second shutout of the season.

“It’s nice [to get] the shutout,” Kalemba said. “But being able to come back and win after they beat us earlier in the season is much more important.”

Senior forward Keith Shattenkirk also added his first goal of the season on an empty net in the third period — the last of the Tigers’ 41 shots in the 4-0 win.

“The last few games we’ve had a lot of shots,” Wilson said. “But we also put in a good defensive effort last night, and that’s what made the difference.”

Princeton returns to Baker Rink next weekend to take on ECAC foes Brown and Yale. The Tigers are looking to extend their one-game win streak against their traditional rivals.

“It’s good that the program is headed in the right direction,” Kalemba said. “We didn’t really think about wanting to keep the winning streak going, but now we’re focused on building a new one.”