By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
With only a couple of days to recover from a tough loss, the Princeton High boys ice hockey team responded in a big way to open the state tournament., Princeton, which dropped a 4-3 decision to The Hun School in the Mercer County Tournament championship game last Friday, opened the NJSIAA Public A Division state tournament with a 6-3 win over Ridgewood on Monday at Mercer County Park., With the win, the ninth-seeded Little Tigers advanced to play at eighth-seeded Southern Regional on Friday. Montgomery, which was seeded 17th, dropped a 3-0 decision to 16th-seeded Robbinsville on Monday in its opening-round game., “Friday was tough for us,” senior defensman Eamonn McDonald said of the MCT loss. “But we played our hardest and we thought we played well. We were proud of ourselves. Today we really thought we had to step it up and fight back and win because we didn’t get the win on Friday.”, Princeton jumped out to a 3-0 lead on first period goals by Brendon McCormick, Justin Joyce and Rocco Salvato. Ridgewood would get as close as two goals on a couple of occasions the rest of the way, but the Little Tigers held off the Maroons for the win., “I was a little concerned about how we would react after Friday night’s game,” said Princeton coach Terence Miller, whose team improved to 17-3-4 with the win. “That was a real emotional type of game. After a big win, sometimes you have a letdown. I wasn’t sure about after a big loss if we would have a letdown or not. We gave them the weekend off, watched some film today, and I think they re-cranked it back up for this tournament.”, Each time Ridgewood would get closer, the Little Tigers would repond with a goal. Aidan Trainor added a pair of goals, while Salvato added his second of the game in the third period., The Princeton offense has been able to put up enough goals to win throughout the season. But it has been an experienced defense that has been there for the Little Tigers all season., “It is a special year,” McDonald said. “Me and Tooker Callaway and Sawyer Peck, we started as freshman. So we’ve been trying to keep the back end down for the past four years. Our chemistry has been there. This year we’re playing to our full potential. I really think we can do well in states., “This year is Coach Miller’s first class that he has had freshmen through seniors. So it has been a special year for us just as it has been for him. Our offense this year has been good. We have been happy with the two freshmen, Aiden and Rocco. And our defense is experienced.”, Early in the season, the defense carried the Little Tigers while the offense found its groove. Now the team is playing well at both ends of the ice., “They are all older, experienced players,” Miller said of his defense. “The moment is never too big for them. That county final was a big spot and they really rose to the occasion. Sawyer has really elevated his role in goal., “Eamonn, Sawyer and Tooker all stepped in and had big roles as freshmen. So they have a lot of experience the last for years and hopefully for their senior year we can have a nice run through states.”, Princeton will get its next chance when it takes on Southern. The winner will likely get a chance to play top-seeded Morris Knolls, which takes on Robbinsville in the second round.
