Men's Hockey: Regional run ends in shock

One minute later, all they could do was sit and watch in stunned silence. UMD scored two goals in the game’s final 40 seconds — the second with less than a second left — to force overtime. And 13 minutes, 39 seconds into the extra period, Bulldogs forward Mike Connolly scored a power-play goal to give UMD a 5-4 victory and end Princeton’s season.

“I got open off the back off the back post, and [forward Justin Fontaine] made a great pass, and I was able to put it into the back of the net,” Connolly said after the game.

With Princeton (22-12-1 overall, 14-8-0 ECAC Hockey) leading 4-2, UMD (22-13-8) pulled goalie Alex Stalock at 18:09 in the third period to give the Bulldogs an extra attacker. At first, the UMD six-on-five unit had no edge against the efficient Princeton defense, but that changed after a questionable high-sticking call against sophomore defenseman Matt Godlewski at 18:55.

The Bulldogs quickly moved the puck around the Princeton zone, putting Kalemba out of position with a series of deft passes. That left forward Jack Connolly all alone on the doorstep to put the puck home and narrow the UMD deficit to 4-3.

But the Bulldogs weren’t done. After the officials sent a faceoff outside the Princeton zone with 12 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs went right back on the attack. With the puck sent deep for UMD, junior goaltender and Hobey Baker finalist Zane Kalemba chose to set the puck back behind the net as the seconds ticked away. Unfortunately for the Tigers, UMD defenseman Evan Oberg collected the puck, circled around the net and sent his shot past Kalemba, tying the game with less than a second left on the clock.

“I didn’t see much,” Oberg said of his goal. “I just saw a couple guys laying down in front, and I tried to get it over the top of them.”

The 7,200-seat Mariucci Rink — filled almost entirely with UMD faithful — exploded as the Bulldogs celebrated the game-tying goal and the Tigers skated off the ice to prepare for overtime.

“It was awesome,” UMD head coach Scott Sandelin said of the crowd’s reaction. “It was great to hear the noise and when we made that tying goal, this place got pretty loud. That’s what we were hoping for with the opportunity to play here.”

When the teams returned 15 minutes later, both came out firing. Neither, however, was able to crack the opposing squad’s goalie until junior forward Cam MacIntyre was whistled for tripping at 13:23 in the extra frame.

With the man advantage, it took UMD just 16 seconds to finish Princeton off, as Mike Connolly sent the puck just past an outstretched Kalemba from the doorstep.

The Bulldogs’ overtime goal marked a disappointing end to a well-played game by Princeton. Though they took more penalties than usual and were outshot, the Tigers controlled the action for much of the contest.

Trailing 1-0 late in the first period, senior forward Brett Wilson scored his 11th goal of the year off a rebound opportunity generated by Godlewski’s shot from the point.

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With the score tied, Princeton returned from the locker room re-energized for the second period. Freshman defenseman Derrick Pallis gave the Tigers their first lead of the night at 1:42 in the second period when he took a shot from just inside the blue line that found the back of the UMD net. MacIntyre and junior forward Dan Bartlett — who failed to score last night for the first time in seven games — assisted on the goal.

Princeton didn’t let up with the one-goal advantage, continuing to pressure Stalock. Just over eight minutes into the middle frame, Wilson carried the puck into the UMD zone. After holding for a few seconds, he sent the puck over to Godlewski, who fired a shot on Stalock. The rebound bounced directly to Wilson, who was able to bang it into the back of the net for his second goal of the evening and give Princeton a 3-1 lead.

The Bulldogs, however, refused to go down without a fight, countering just 29 seconds later. Right off an offensive-zone faceoff draw, UMD defenseman Brady Lamb scored his first goal of the season by shooting a puck which had just ricocheted off a Princeton defenseman past Kalemba.

Despite the momentum UMD gained after Lamb’s goal, the Tigers held tough, maintaining their 3-2 lead into the third period. Down a man after a hooking penalty to sophomore forward Sam Sabky, Princeton regained its two-goal lead. Senior forward and captain Brandan Kushniruk carried the puck into the UMD zone and sent a slap shot past Stalock, off the pipe and into the back of the net for a shorthanded goal at 9:42 in the third.

Much as in the Cornell game last Friday night, Princeton appeared content with its two-goal lead. The Tigers began to play a more conservative brand of hockey for the first time all night, allowing UMD to have long stretches of time with the puck in the Princeton zone throughout the latter half of the third period. Once again, its two-goal lead did not stand up.

UMD outshot the Tigers 8-3 in the third frame and 35-31 overall in the contest. Kalemba finished with 30 saves on the evening, while Stalock recorded 27. Despite Kalemba’s season-high goals allowed, Princeton head coach Guy Gadowsky said he was impressed with his goaltender’s performance.

“It took two pretty special goals to tie [the game] up,” he said. “We had great play for 59 minutes.”

The Bulldogs advanced to the West Regional final Saturday against Miami University (Ohio), they were defeated by the RedHawks, who move on to the Frozen Four.

For Princeton, this was the team’s second opening-round exit from the NCAA tournament in two years. For the Tigers’ three seniors, this marks the end of the road, and Princeton will have to carry on next year without Wilson, Kushniruk and forward and assistant captain Lee Jubinville, all of whom are left to wonder what might have been.

“Obviously it’s a pretty empty feeling right now,” Wilson said. “Having played here for four years and coming back here two years in a row, I think we wanted to be the ones to give Princeton its first NCAA win.”

Instead, that opportunity will be left to Princeton’s returning players next year, when they strive to once again capture the program’s first NCAA tournament victory.