The men’s hockey team will make its way back to New York this weekend for its final road trip of the regular season. Princeton (10-12-3 overall, 6-10-2 ECAC Hockey) will face No. 16 Union (16-8-6, 10-4-4) in Schenectady, N.Y., tonight and will play Rensselaer (16-13-3, 9-7-2) on Saturday. Both teams defeated the Tigers in early January, so Princeton will be aiming for redemption this weekend.
The Tigers’ previous trek to North Country was not as successful as the team had hoped, as Princeton managed just one point on the weekend after falling 4-3 to Clarkson and tying St. Lawrence. Though the Tigers didn’t come away with a win, the draw actually enabled them to wrest sole possession of ninth place in the ECAC standings from Brown.
League cellar dweller Clarkson defeated the Tigers last Friday thanks to a strong come-from-behind effort that coalesced early in the third period. A pair of goals to start the frame erased the 2-1 Tiger lead that had been built by junior forward Mike Kramer and senior forward Dan Bartlett. A man-advantage goal in the final minute of regulation by sophomore defenseman Derrick Pallis was not enough to overcome Clarkson, and the Golden Knights earned their second league victory of the year.
“The loss is actually one I hope we learned a lesson from,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “We let the momentum go to Clarkson after we were ahead with a penalty that could have been avoided. They gained momentum and then won the game.”
Saturday’s contest against St. Lawrence was more encouraging for the Tigers. Playing with a short bench and shuffling the lines considerably, Princeton shrugged off any frustration left over from the previous night’s game and came away with a 2-2 tie against the Saints, refusing to allow them to mount a comeback effort. Senior goalie Zane Kalemba, who has been dependable between the pipes for the Tigers in the last few contests, made three of his 28 saves in overtime.
This weekend’s contests will likely be a challenge for the Tigers, as both Union and RPI are ahead of Princeton in league standings. More importantly, however, the Tigers’ most-talented players continue to suffer from injuries. Kramer, who was unable to finish the weekend, will join senior forward Tyler Beachell, senior forward Cam MacIntyre and junior defenseman Cam Ritchie on the sidelines.
Yet amid the injuries and uncertainties, Gadowsky said he recognizes the resilience of his individual players, showing that letters on a jersey aren’t necessarily what matters when it comes to leadership in tough times.
“Certainly, other people have had to step up on on-ice roles, but … our entire locker room is of extremely high quality. We have a lot of leaders,” Gadowsky said.
Entering the weekend with a depleted roster does have a silver lining, though, as players who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to skate will do so, which could result in new lineup combinations that prove effective.
One thing the Tigers must focus on this weekend is not allowing either team to capitalize on man-advantage situations. A power play shifted the momentum in Clarkson’s favor last weekend, but Princeton has struggled with giving up penalties all season.
During the first weekend of play in 2010, the Tigers gave up a combined six power-play goals to Union and RPI. While Union managed to score three goals in the third period to definitively claim a 7-3 win on Jan. 8, giving up man-advantage opportunities two days later hurt the Tigers most. All of the Engineers’ goals came on the power play in their 4-1 triumph over Princeton.
Despite last weekend’s somewhat disheartening results, all hope for clinching the coveted eighth-place spot for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs has not been lost. Princeton currently sits three points behind Harvard in the league, and two wins this weekend could contribute to the Tigers’ leap-frogging the Crimson, something Princeton has in the back of its mind going into this weekend.
“We would certainly like [to have home-ice advantage],” Gadowsky said. “We’re trying to play as well as we can because we don’t know what we’re going to get come playoff time. [This weekend,] we’re trying to find some synergy.”
Synergy generated from new combinations in the lineup and the momentum from last Saturday’s strong performance could guide the Tigers to a pair of victories this weekend and bring them closer to a home playoff series.
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