PRINCETON: MacIntyre, PU men bounce back

Tigers hockey returns to NCAA tournament

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Cam MacIntyre has come back from tough times all year, and he did it one more time Saturday to help lift the Princeton University men’s ice hockey team back into the NCAA tournament.
   The PU junior missed chunks of the season after suffering a bulged disc in his back last summer then tearing his groin muscle after his return.
   ”It’s been a tough season for injuries,” he acknowledged. “I haven’t really been on the ice much even when I’ve been playing games. I wasn’t practicing much.”
   MacIntyre had just one point through 11 games this season before he exploded offensively with a goal and two assists on Friday, though it wasn’t enough in a 4-3 double overtime loss to Cornell in the ECAC semifinals.
   ”It couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Tigers head coach Guy Gadowsky. “He was fantastic. It wasn’t easy. He had to overcome a lot physically to play that game, and he played a great game Saturday as well.”
   Friday’s loss meant the Tigers had to at least tie St. Lawrence on Saturday in the consolation game to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Dan Bartlett’s goal five minutes into the game and his second of the game, and seventh of the postseason, gave the Tigers a 2-2 tie after another scoreless overtime, meaning they had played almost three complete games in less than 24 hours.
   ”It’s amazing,” MacIntyre said. “You’d be surprised what kind of goes away in a game like that. The adrenaline takes over and you feel like you can go forever.”
   Former Tigers player Kyle Hagel, a minor-league player who is currently injured, delivered a rousing pre-game speech, and Gadowsky was thrilled with the way his team responded to its toughest loss of the season. They earned a tie that another former player jokingly called “the best kiss you’ll ever get from your sister” in a congratulatory e-mail to Gadowsky.
   Sunday, the 22-11-1 Tigers were awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they will face Minnesota-Duluth 9 p.m. Friday.
   ”We haven’t had a tie in two years,” Gadowsky said. “We’ve never gone the full five minutes in overtime. Friday night, to not only go five minutes, but two periods and with how much was on the line, that was a very, very tough loss. You couldn’t be more proud of the effort we got Saturday. It was tough physically and after the loss mentally. I don’t think anybody would have been surprised if we came out flat. It would have been easy to concede.”
   MacIntyre is just one example of why the Tigers wouldn’t. He could have given up on his junior season after two demoralizing injuries. He hasn’t stopped trying to contribute in any way possible, and saw his efforts pay off over the weekend with his most productive play of the year.
   ”It felt good,” MacIntyre said. “Especially having some success last year, it’s frustrating when things don’t go your way. It was really nice to break the goose egg in the goal department and help out. It feels good to be a part of it in big games. The old joke is to tell guys you’re saving it for when it counts. It’s nice to put one away in an important game.”
   Even when MacIntyre hasn’t scored for the Tigers, his physical presence makes a difference. Princeton saw his toughness Friday against Cornell.
   ”The plan was to limit him,” Gadowsky said. “We didn’t have that luxury. In fact, it was thrown out the window with the overtime game. There came a time for a guy to double-shift and we had to use him. It was like playing three hockey games in less than 24 hours, which was incredibly gutsy on its own.
   ”He brings a lot of confidence to the team and he’s a tremendous leader. You have to give the team a lot of credit for coming out and digging deep on Saturday. It takes great leadership and great character. If anybody knows Cam MacIntyre, two things that stand out are great character and he’s a great leader. It definitely helped to have him in the lineup.”
   MacIntyre looked to have a potential insurance goal in the third period against Cornell. His goal gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead with only nine minutes left, but Cornell scored twice in the final three minutes to force overtime, then scored halfway through the second overtime. Yale won the championship game Saturday.
   ”To mentally prepare, we had to win or tie, that was a big job to do,” MacIntyre said.
   Bartlett, the team’s leading goal scorer with 16, made sure the Tigers would have enough offense against St. Lawrence, while Zane Kalemba made 34 saves one night after stopping 39 Cornell shots. St. Lawrence won the ensuing shootout to officially finish third in the ECAC championships, and help the Tigers return to the NCAAs for the second straight season. It’s another chance to come back strong.
   ”One of our goals was to win the ECACs,” MacIntyre said. “The bigger theme to that was we wanted to make it to the NCAA tournament and have some success there. I feel like last year, we got to the tournament and we had just won the ECACs and the program hadn’t done that in a while so we were pretty happy.
   ”We’re not happy. We want to do some things in the tournament and not just make up for the ECACS, but show how far our program has come and show the Division I’s where Princeton’s at.”