Men's Hockey: Two points out of first with two left

“The only thing we can think about is playing a good game,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “Whether you win or lose, you want to play as good a hockey game as you can in the areas you control and not think about what we can’t control.”

The Tigers last faced Dartmouth in early January when final exams were fast approaching. The Big Green dominated Princeton at Baker Rink, rolling to a 4-0 win. The loss was the beginning of a four-game losing streak against conference opponents for Princeton. With the spring semester now in full swing, that tough stretch is a distant memory as the Tigers, riding a streak in which they have won six out of seven games, enter the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the conference.

“One definite difference is we’re starting to get a lot healthier and that certainly helps,” Gadowsky said. “We struggled a little bit after January with some injuries, but now we’re starting to get people back. Any time you can add [junior forward] Cam MacIntyre, that certainly helps your team.”

Though the Tigers were playing with a short bench in January, their efforts never wavered. That is one explanation for Princeton’s recent stretch of wins, as the influx of healthy players has allowed the team to play its brand of aggressive hockey with greater efficacy and consistency.

“We worked extremely hard, but we were tired. We were mentally tired,” Gadowsky said. “I just think we were physically tired, and that’s when the injuries started. It certainly had nothing to do with the effort of the team. I can honestly say I don’t think there has been one night where, as coaches, we have been disappointed with the effort of the team. In this league, everybody is so close that if you are off a little one night, anyone can beat you.”

Princeton’s offense is led by the line of senior forward Brett Wilson, senior forward and co-captain Lee Jubinville and junior forward Dan Bartlett. Before last Saturday’s thrilling 2-0 win against Yale, that line had accounted for six of the team’s past 11 goals. In the Tigers’ 4-1 win against Brown on Friday, Wilson tallied two goals and an assist to reach 100 points for his career. Wilson currently leads Princeton with 23 points on the year.

“We’re finally getting healthy, which really helps. [We’re] playing a quick game. When we have four lines and three sets of defense rolling, we can be pretty tough,” Gadowsky said. “For us, our keys are staying healthy and having everybody in the lineup. If we can do that, get great play from our goalie and our defense, that allows the offense to win the games.”

Princeton’s defense put forth arguably its best performance of the season Saturday night, helping to shut out Yale, which has one of the most high-powered attacks in the country. Multiple players earned bruises while blocking Yale shots, disrupting the flow of the game in Princeton’s defensive zone. Of particular note was the play of junior defenseman Brad Schroeder, who used his six-foot, three-inch frame to prevent multiple shots from reaching the net.

As always, Princeton will have junior goalie Zane Kalemba anchoring the team with his excellent play. Kalemba currently leads the ECAC and the nation with a 1.58 goals-against average. Kalemba was at his best last weekend, allowing only one goal in two games and making a number of remarkable saves. Though Kalemba will be there to bail the Tigers out when necessary, Gadowsky said the team is hoping to make his job easier by improving its transition play.

“Zane came up with some big saves. The area that we struggled [with] is the transition from offensive to defensive positioning,” Gadowsky said. “It’s something that we were a little off [on], and it’s something that we worked at this week. The coaching staff is really looking to see if we’ve improved in that area.”

If the Tigers win both games this weekend, they have a chance to take home the regular-season ECAC title and clinch an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Princeton needs some outside help to win the conference, as it currently sits two points behind Yale in the ECAC standings. That said, the Tigers will simply focus on continuing their solid play as the playoffs approach.

“We certainly don’t go in thinking about the possible results of first place. A lot of that is out of control,” Gadowsky said. “We were fortunate enough to clinch a bye, and that was really good for us.”

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

If Princeton pulls off two wins this weekend, the team will have even more momentum heading into the ECAC tournament. The weekend road trip will also provide a final opportunity for the Tigers to test their mental toughness in the regular season.

“It depends how it goes, obviously, but if you do have a successful road trip, it is nice,” Gadowsky said. “That certainly is a good thing before playoffs. It obviously depends upon the results of the games as well. If we’re successful, that can turn out to be a benefit.”