Web Update: Tigers crowned ECAC Champions

Updated 1:25 p.m.: The No. 4-seeded men's hockey team will face the top-seeded University of North Dakota in the first round of the NCAA championships in Madison, Wisc., next Saturday at 2 p.m.

With three minutes, six minutes left in yesterday’s ECAC championship game between the No. 15 Princeton men’s hockey team (21-13-0 overall, 14-8-0 ECAC Hockey) and No. 16 Harvard (17-13-4, 12-7-3), Tigers’ junior forward Brett Wilson walked out in front of the Harvard net and, after faking a pass to the point, fired a slow slap shot on goal.

The shot hit a skate in front of the net and found its way under Crimson goalie Kyle Richter’s pads, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead. Three minutes and an empty-net goal later, the game ended. The 2007-08 Princeton Tigers were ECAC Champions.

“Ever since I first stepped foot on campus, Princeton has been special for me,” senior forward Landis Stankievech said. “It’s a pretty amazing place, and this is a nice way to close out a senior year. Obviously we’re not done yet, but this is an amazing feeling.”

Seeded second in the tournament, the Tigers used the momentum of Friday afternoon’s 3-0 semifinal win over Colgate to top Harvard 4-1. The Crimson defeated Cornell (19-14-3, 12-9-1) on Friday evening despite being heavily outplayed.

The game began with fast-paced action at both ends, but Princeton drew first blood, scoring 5:04 into the first period on a shot by senior defenseman and captain Mike Moore. With a number of bodies in front of the net, Moore fired a wrist shot that hit a skate and careened past Richter.

In their match against Colgate, the Tigers struggled mightily at getting bodies in front of the opposing goalie. Yesterday, they had a man in Richter’s face almost all night.

“[Getting players in the shooting lanes] was a huge difference,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “Colgate did such a good job defending the rush, and obviously that wasn’t how we wanted to play the game. Today we committed to it a little more, and the results speak for themselves.”

Princeton continued to apply pressure in the first but was unable to beat Richter again. As they have been all tournament, the Tigers were stellar defensively. Sophomore netminder Zane Kalemba, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, made 13 saves in the period, and his defenders did a great job of clearing the shooting lanes and blocking shots. Of Kalemba’s 13 saves, only three were legitimate scoring opportunities, and Princeton blueliners blocked seven shots in the opening period.

The Crimson came out in the second and immediately matched Princeton’s first-period intensity, but solid defense and more stellar goaltending kept the score 1-0.

“[Kalemba] has been this good since the first day I met him,” Moore said. “Every game, every practice. He is so calm, and he builds confidence in the net for us … He’s a leader, and he deserves everything that he got today.”

“I looked, and there wasn’t really anybody in front of the net,” said Stankievech, who was recently named the ECAC Student-Athlete of the Year. “I was the last guy up, so I threw it at the net … I thought Richter caught it, and I thought it was going to be a whistle, but then everybody started cheering … I was just happy to see it go in.”

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Staked to a two-goal lead, the Princeton defense clamped down, and the period ended with the score frozen at 2-0.

Starting the third, the Crimson was battling not just the scoreboard, but recent history as well: On the season, Harvard was 0-9 when trailing after two periods, and Princeton was 15-1 when leading after two.

The Crimson, however, was quick to cut into the lead. Fifteen seconds into the period, freshman defenseman Taylor Fedun was whistled for elbowing, and on the ensuing power play, Harvard drew to within one.

Crimson forward Jon Pelle got loose in the left circle and fired a slap shot that beat Kalemba on the glove side. This goal ended Kalemba’s scoreless streak at 3:09:59 — an ECAC tournament record — and was the first goal he had given up since the second game against Yale.

Princeton, however, refused to panic, and with the calm and poise of a team that has been here before, the Tigers continued to play their game. They backchecked, they charged the net, they blocked shots, and they cycled the puck deep, all the while taking precious time off of the clock.

Late in the period, with the score still 2-1, Princeton capitalized on a power play to put the game away for good. Wilson’s goal, assisted from behind the net by sophomore forward Cam MacIntyre, reopened a two-goal lead for the Tigers and forced Harvard to pull its goalie in a last-ditch effort to get back into the contest.

Princeton, however, was not done scoring, and with 1:22 left in the game, sophomore forward Mark Magnowski iced the game with an empty-net goal. Battling a Crimson defender at the offensive blue line, Magnowski won the puck, spun around and fired it into the Harvard net.

When the final whistle sounded, the Tigers rushed onto the ice, forming a mass of white around Kalemba, who made 35 saves on the evening. Before the team was given the ECAC Championship trophy, the All-Tournament team and Most Outstanding Player were announced, and unsurprisingly, Kalemba was honored with both.

“Truthfully, I have never seen a performance like this,” said Gadowsky of Kalemba’s tournament play. “That’s the best goaltending I have ever seen … Zane was phenomenal, but there is not one of our guys who was surprised by what he can do, especially in high-pressure situations — it just does not get to him. He’s been doing it all year.”

Moore and freshman forward Kevin Lohry were also named to the All-Tournament team, but though the Tigers have acquired a number of awards and trophies this season — an ECAC title, ECAC Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Student-Athlete of the Year, three postseason team selections and the Turfer Athletic Award for team sportsmanship — their most impressive may still be yet to come at the NCAA championships, which begin next weekend.

As for where this team goes from here — the matchups and locations will be announced today at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 — Moore says it doesn’t really matter.