Men's Hockey: Tigers drop final two before break

The men’s hockey team’s four-game unbeaten streak came to a halt this weekend at Hobey Baker Rink. Hampered by injuries, Princeton (6-10-2 overall, 3-8-1 ECAC Hockey) fell 7-3 to No. 17 Union (12-4-5, 6-0-3) on Friday night and 4-1 to Rensselaer (12-10-1, 5-4-0) on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers played without their three co-captains — senior forward Kevin Kaiser, senior forward Cam MacIntyre and senior defenseman Jody Pederson.

“It makes it difficult,” junior forward Mike Kramer said. “But I think that these games will help us in the long run when we get those guys back.”

Union entered Baker Rink on Friday as the highest-scoring team in the ECAC. The Dutchmen lived up to their reputation against Princeton, roasting junior goaltender Alan Reynolds and the Tiger defense for seven goals. This was the most goals Princeton has allowed since a 7-0 loss to Notre Dame in 2007.

“We came out real flat [against Union] and got in that situation where we ran into early problems and they capitalized,” Kramer said. “We started off slow and were playing catch-up all game long. It’s not a good position to be in.”

Princeton entered the game hampered by injuries. The Tigers did not have enough players to fill four offensive lines and were forced to battle fatigue in the latter stages of the game.

“[Not having four lines] put a lot of pressure on everybody. We like to roll four lines and play up tempo,” Kramer said. “We’re a well-conditioned team but it’s not the same when you don’t have four lines.”

After a back-and-forth start to the first period, freshman defenseman Michael Sdao opened the scoring with a left-handed slap shot from the point. Sdao one-timed a loose puck that deflected off a Union player and found the back of the net to give Princeton a 1-0 lead.

Union got the equalizer midway through the period when forward Andrew Buote put a wrist shot past Reynolds to make the score 1-1. The Dutchmen dominated the latter stages of the period, out-shooting Princeton 14-7 in the first session.

Union continued its momentum into the second period and its fast-paced play continued to confound the Tigers. Goals from forwards Kelly Zajac and Jason Walters extended the Dutchmen’s lead to 3-1.

Following Walters’ goal, Princeton reverted to the form that won three of its previous four games. The Tigers’ offense picked up later in the period, and junior defenseman Taylor Fedun knocked a rebound past Keith Kinkaid to shrink Union’s lead to 3-2.

Just when it appeared Princeton might be gaining momentum, three penalties in a two-minute span forced the Tigers to kill an extended five-on-three power play. Union capitalized on the opportunity to take a 4-2 lead.

Early in the third period, it looked like Princeton might mount a comeback. Senior forward Dan Bartlett took a pass from freshman forward Eric Meland and beat Kinkaid for his team-leading 12th goal of the year, bringing the score to 4-3.

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That was as close as Princeton would come to taking the lead, however, as the Dutchmen offense returned to form later in the period. Zajac and forward Stephane Boileau scored goals in a 33-second span midway through the third to extend Union’s lead to 6-3 and put the game out of reach. An empty net with less than a minute remaining to give Union the 7-3 win.

Last time Rensselaer journeyed to Baker Rink, the team skated to an overwhelming 5-1 win against a short-handed Princeton squad that could not field a full team. Exactly one year later, the Tigers were similarly undermanned against the Engineers, who captured a 4-1 win in Princeton’s final game before the final exam period.

The Tigers and Engineers played a back-and-forth first period, with neither team establishing a definitive edge in its offensive zone. The only goal of the period came on a Rensselaer power play, when forward Jerry D’Amigo knocked a loose puck past senior goaltender Zane Kalemba for a 1-0 lead.

Princeton had five power plays in the second period, but failed to capitalize on its man-advantage opportunities. Princeton’s best chance for a goal came when Sdao, with an exposed net in front of him, one-timed a cross-ice pass just right of the goal. The Engineers capitalized on their one man-advantage chance of the period for a 2-0 lead.

“When the refs are calling a tight game, it comes down to power plays and penalty kills,” Kramer said. “We didn’t convert on our chances, and they did..”

The pace of the game quickened significanly in the third period. Rensselaer pushed its lead to 3-0 on its third power-play goal of the game, when forward Marty O’Grady knocked a rebound past Kalemba.

Following the goal, Princeton started skating with greater speed and intensity and generated its best scoring chances of the game. The Tigers’ got on the scoreboard when Kramer one-timed a pass from senior forward Mark Magnowski over York’s left shoulder to make the score 3-1. Kramer, Magnowski and junior forward Matt Arhontas continued their performance as one of Princeton’s most consistent lines this year.

“I room with Matt [Arhontas] and played juniors against Mark [Magnowski],” Kramer said. “We’ve always been aligned at some point and have always had chemistry. Luckily this year, the pucks have been going in.”

The Tigers’ momentum was slowed late in the period by two consecutive penalties with less than six minutes remaining. Forward Chase Polacek, the ECAC’s leading scorer, took a cross-ice pass and knocked a slap shot past Kalemba to extend Rensselaer’s lead to 4-1. Polacek’s goal was the Engineers’ fourth of the day on the power play.

Princeton has 15 days until its next game and will use the break to get refueled for the season’s stretch run.

“We don’t have a full lineup right now, and we’re missing the big core of our senior veteran leadership,” Kramer said. “Two weeks is a good time to recharge and get physically and mentally focused on the last half of the year.”

With ten more conference games in the next two months, the Tigers will look to exact some revenge on a number of familiar opponents.