PU men secure hockey series

ECAC win is first since 1999

By: Bob Nuse
   With as far as he has seen the program come in his four years at Princeton University, Grant Goeckner-Zoeller couldn’t skate off the Baker Rink ice for the final time with a loss.
   Instead, Goeckner-Zoeller’s goal just over seven minutes into the third period proved to be the deciding one as the PU men’s hockey team topped Brown, 4-3, Sunday night in the third and deciding game of their best-of-three ECAC playoff series.
   "I was so excited I didn’t know what to do," Goeckner-Zoeller said of the goal, which came nearly six minutes after Kevin Westgarth had drawn the Tigers even in the third period. "I was spinning around out there. I had several chances, so it was just nice to get it in there. And after it went in, I knew we had a little advantage and we’ve become so good in the close games this year. That’s one of the biggest improvements we’ve made. When we got up, I just knew we were going to pull it out."
   The game was the third one-goal game of the series, with Brown winning the opener in overtime and Princeton winning Saturday night on an overtime goal by Brett Wilson. The win on Sunday was the only time in five meetings between the teams that the game did not go overtime.
   "I’m proud that we could be part of such a great series and come out on top," said Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky, whose team begins a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Dartmouth on Friday. "You can talk about a team’s character and individual’s character. But until you’re in something like that, it’s really only a guess. I think now we feel very confident when we say those guys have a lot of character. It was a great series and we were able to come out on top."
   Princeton needed an overtime win on Saturday to force a third game, then needed to come back to win after trailing entering the third period for the first time this season. The Tigers were 0-9-1 in games they trailed after the second period before pulling out the win on Sunday.
   "We had two huge goals," Gadowsky said. "Kevin Westgarth’s goal was huge on the 5-on-3 to tie the game. You’re not going to see a better shot than that. And then for Grant to get the game-winner is absolutely fitting. He’s a guy who has a lot of confidence in his abilities and just never stops. You just know he’s going to do something special and he sure did at the right time."
   In a game that featured 18 penalties and 15 power play opportunities, the Tigers’ penalty kill unit played a huge role in the win. The Bears converted just one of nine power plays, with Princeton’s lone power play goal coming from Westgarth less than two minutes into the third period.
   "We’ve been the second-least penalized team in the league all year and we really haven’t had to face a lot of that," Gadowsky said. "I think that got us out of our rhythm a little bit because you’re (penalty) killing so much. I think that’s what happened. They had nine penalties and we killed eight, including a 5-on-3."
   The Westgarth goal tied the game, before Goeckner-Zoeller was able to be the hero with his game-winning goal.
   "We came back to the locker room (after the second period) and knew we had to give our best 20 minutes of the season," Goeckner-Zoeller said. "The game seemed to take a little turn there in the second period. We got two goals in the first 10 minutes and then we just had to hang on. It was a great team win."
   And a great win for a senior class that went from three wins to eight wins to 10, before this season, where the Tigers improved to 15-14-3 with Sunday’s win.
   "It seems like every couple of weeks we do something we haven’t done in a while," Goeckner-Zoeller said. "(Saturday’s) win was our first playoff win in 17 tries. Just to be able to get a series at home is a big step. And then to be able to come in and defend your house and play strong against a very good team that had us on the ropes several times is a big step for the program overall.
   "This is certainly a good way to leave Baker Rink. It was a bad start, but we have certainly come on. It’s great to see how far we’ve come and see the younger classes continue to grow and see how far this program can go."
   Where Princeton is going now is to the ECAC quarterfinals, where they have not been since 1999.
   "I think the seniors are very proud of this result and where they’re going," Gadowsky said. "I don’t know what it means for the program. I just know it means a lot to the seniors and they deserve that.
   "This was a great hockey game and a great series. We could easily have been out in two games. And we could have ended it in two games. Both teams deserved to win this series. It was a great series."
   And now the Tigers move on to what they hope will be another good series at Dartmouth.
   "They’re a good team," Goeckner-Zoeller said of the third seed in the playoffs. "We had two good games against them. We played well and had success in the regular season. But now it’s playoffs and everyone is giving their best. Hopefully we can go up there and get two wins."