March 17: Two shutouts take Tigers to ECAC semifinals

“[Senior forward] Kyle Hagel usually does those talks,” junior forward Brett Wilson said. “He got us all together and said ‘for the seniors on this team, this is our last home game in a Princeton uniform. Let’s leave with a win.’ ”

Five minutes later, the Tigers (19-13-0, 14-8-0) had opened up a 1-0 lead, well on their way to a 4-0 shutout that showcased Princeton hockey at its finest and ensured that though they may not have any more games at Baker Rink, the team’s five seniors do have more games in a Princeton jersey.

The win in the final contest of a best-of-three series with Yale advances the Tigers to the ECAC Tournament in Albany, where they will play Colgate (18-16-6, 8-9-5) in the semifinals Friday.

“This was probably the best overall performance we have played this season,” said Wilson of the 4-0 victory, which featured two even-strength goals, a power-play goal, a shorthanded goal and a defensive shutout. “Before the game we spoke about staying focused for the full 60 minutes, regardless of the score, and we certainly accomplished that.”

The Tigers opened the scoring with the power play, just three minutes, 27 seconds into the game. Freshman defenseman Taylor Fedun grabbed the puck above the right circle and fired a shot on goal. The shot was slowed by the Yale goalie, but the puck squirmed free to Wilson, who banged it home for his 14th goal of the season.

Princeton added a goal later in the period when sophomore forward Mark Magnowski, handling behind the Yale net, fed sophomore forward Cam MacIntyre for a beautiful one-timer. Up 2-0 for the second straight night — the Tigers had a two-goal lead on Saturday before surrendering four unanswered to the Bulldogs — Princeton kept up the intensity, refusing to allow Yale back into the game.

Princeton added a five-on-five goal with 3:34 left in the second period when senior forward Brandan Kushniruk netted a feed from sophomore forward Kevin Kaiser for his third goal of the season. The game’s final goal was scored shorthanded by freshman forward Matt Arhontas, who slipped behind the Yale defense, received a nice pass from senior defenseman and captain Mike Moore and buried the breakaway top-shelf over the Yale goalie’s left shoulder.

The shutout was the Tigers’ second of the series, a testament to Princeton’s stingy defense, which matched its physical presence with a number of blocked shots and penalty kills, but also to the play of sophomore goalie Zane Kalemba.

“If you get two shutouts in a best-of-three series, you are probably going to win,” Wilson joked. “Zane has been incredible all year, but he has reached a higher level recently. Confident goaltending is simply the biggest factor heading into these one-game playoffs, where one bounce or one goal can make all the difference.”

Kalemba made 30 saves Sunday night, matching the 30 he made Friday night in the Tigers’ 3-0 series-opening victory. Facing Yale for the fourth time this season, Princeton wasted no time scoring on Friday night, netting two goals in the game’s first five minutes.

Just 39 seconds into the game, Wilson set up junior forward Lee Jubinville, the Ivy League’s Player of the Year, for his 12th goal of the season. Princeton added another less than four minutes later, when off a faceoff, Moore beat the Yale goalie with a wrist shot into the top right corner. It was the third goal in as many games for Princeton’s captain, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. The Tigers added a goal from Arhontas midway through the second period and held Yale at bay for the team’s fourth shutout of the season.

“Getting that first win was huge,” Wilson said. “In a best-of-three series, the team who wins game one gains momentum heading into game two and puts its opponent in a do-or-die situation for two straight nights.”

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Princeton entered Saturday night’s contest with a chance to end the series in two games, but after a start similar to game one — Princeton received goals from Arhontas and MacIntyre in the opening eight minutes — things began to unravel. Yale scored a five-on-three goal and an even-strength goal to tie the game at the end of the first, then scored twice in the second to take a 4-2 lead.

The second period of game two was the first time in the series that the Tigers looked outmatched, but they countered in the third period with a strong performance. Princeton peppered Yale’s goalie with 15 shots in the final frame but was unable to net one until MacIntyre scored his second of the game with under a minute to play.

“We didn’t get complacent or over-confident,” said Wilson of the loss. “When you have a 2-0 lead in hockey, that third goal is huge. Unfortunately, they got it, and we didn’t … There were [seven] penalties in the first period, and as a result, not a lot of five-on-five play for us establish any kind of rhythm.”

Princeton’s dominant play in the third period made the loss even more bitter. They had not been outplayed, and yet the Tigers were going to need to wait another day to prove they belonged in Albany.

“We were not really satisfied by the way we played [in the loss], and we knew that we were better than that,” Wilson said. “Back in the locker room, we wanted to go out and play the next game right there.”

In retrospect, it is probably a good idea that they didn’t because 21 hours later the Tigers took the ice at Baker Rink and dominated the Bulldogs on both sides of the puck: finishing checks, blocking shots, backchecking and scoring goals on team-generated opportunities.

Now the team heads up to Albany, where it will take on the Red Raiders at 4 p.m. Friday, and depending on the result, play in either the championship or consolation game Saturday.