Wasson goal makes difference in semifinal
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
You can’t blame the Princeton High School boys ice hockey team for feeling like once the Mercer County Tournament rolls around, they play their best.
”We’ve been up and we have been down this year,” Princeton’s Mike Wasson said. “But coming in we know that we own this playoff week. This is the third year in a row that we have gone to the finals. We knew we would come in playing well.”
Wasson’s goal late in the second period broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Little Tigers to a 3-2 win over Robbinsville in Friday night’s MCT semifinals. With the win, the defending champions returned to the final to face top-seeded Notre Dame, a 6-1 winner over West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the other semifinal.
The MCT final was scheduled to be played on Monday night.
”We feel like we are on a good streak right now,” said Wasson, who wore his 2011 championship T-shirt under his uniform on Friday. “We’re showing that we are one of the top teams in the league every year. It is where we want to be and where we feel we belong.”
Princeton received goals in the first period from Will Greenberg and Kirby Peck, then got the game-winner from Wasson to earn its third straight trip to the finals.
”It is very difficult to do, which is what makes it so sweet,” Princeton coach Tim Campbell said of making a third straight appearance in the finals. “I was talking to them before the game about life lessons and life goals and hockey being a vehicle for just generally speaking if you want something bad enough there is no reason why you should let anybody stand in your way. Whether it is hockey or something else in life, these guys will take these lessons forward.”
Princeton had some big holes to fill after graduation losses, but managed to do so and now finds itself in the finals again.
”This year a lot of teams were even,” Wasson said. “We lost some good scoring and defense from last year with Dean DiTosto and Fraser (Graham). But everyone has stepped up. It’s been tougher this year but we’re still playing well. Some of my friends on other teams were thinking they were going to be better than us, but we knew that everyone just needed to work hard and we’re back where we belong.
”Our coach was saying today that in life and hockey you can’t let anything stand in your way. We just refuse to lose. We were in a shootout with Paul VI going back and forth there but we just did what needed to be done.”
This year Princeton was a No. 3 seed in the tournament and needed an 8-6 win over Paul IV in the quarterfinals and a 3-2 win over Robbinsville to get back to where they wanted to be.
”It is gratifying,” Campbell said. “I think it is validation on the strength and character that these kids have. The determination and the mentality this kids have of not allowing something to stop you is what it boils down to for me. It’s setting a goal and achieving it.”
WW-P North made a nice run to get to the finals before running into a tough Notre Dame team.
”The reality is that Notre Dame just had a little too much for us,” WW-P North coach Bob Weiss said. “We had two second-line starters out. Liam Corbett we lost in the Hopewell game and we lost Eddie Acceta about four weeks ago. They are a very deep team with three lines and two sets of defensemen and we’re basically eight guys.”
After Notre Dame jumped out to a 3-0 lead the Knights closed the gap to 3-1 on a goal by Joe Bensky. The Irish then scored to make it 4-1 and added a pair of late goals for the 6-1 margin.
”The effort was there,” Weiss said. “Sometimes you just play a better team. Everybody in there worked their hearts out. Notre Dame was just better tonight.”