Just when coach Guy Gadowsky’s Princeton machine appeared poised to declare its dynasty, the gears began to grind.<\/p>\n
Defending Dryden Award-winner Zane Kalemba was never himself in net, the relentless offense finished a mere sixth in the league in scoring, the defense finished ninth in goals-against, and injuries were the culprit. From the preseason onward, Gadowsky’s roster was consistently in a state of chaotic flux.<\/p>\n
A third straight 20-win season — it would have been the third in Gadowsky’s six years behind the Tigers bench — was not to be, as a 3-2-0 start evaporated into an 0-6-1 fog. Small but significant 3-0-1, 4-1-0 and and 2-1-0 runs boosted Princeton into the final home-ice slot for the playoffs, but unassuming Harvard rolled into the Garden State and rocked the Tigers in straight sets: 4-2, 3-0.<\/p>\n
One thing the southernmost team in the conference has going for it is a fresh start. Last year was a wreck in all sorts of ways — most of them literal — and the returning striped ones will all appreciate a clean sheet and a spotless record when they open with Dartmouth on Oct. 29.<\/p>\n
“We have three returning senior defensemen in Taylor Fedun, Cam Ritchie and Matt Godlewsky, all of whom we expect big years from,” Gadowsky said of his roster. “We’ll have a lot of good competition in net, with three goaltenders, all three that we feel could be starters in this league.<\/p>\n
“For offense, I think a lot of that is going to be a question of how our seniors do. Mike Kramer, Matt Arhontas, Kevin Lohry and Sam Sabky have shown flashes in the past; they could be top offensive players in this league, and it’s just a matter of seeing if they can put together consistency. They should share the bulk of our offense.”<\/p>\n
Gadowsky also likes what he sees out of a couple of non-seniors who glimmered despite the general gloominess last spring.<\/p>\n
“From last year, the way the year ended, we have high expectations for [junior forward] Marc Hagel, as well as sophomore defenseman Michael Sdao.”<\/p>\n
Let’s face it, the team lost its top two scorers and an elite-level goalie … and they didn’t even fare so well with<\/i> those players last year. Princeton needs a number of players to step in at critical junctures to keep the team on track, both on the ice and off. It’s easy for a team to fall apart due to small but system-wide failures; it’s much harder for a team to succeed by breeding opportunistic units that will come through when needed most.<\/p>\n
The Tigers never really had a chance to prove themselves last year, and they’re a bit of an underrated unknown at this point. A few things are certain, though: They don’t have anyone who has proven much of anything yet.<\/p>\n
As just noted, Princeton is a hard team to gauge because it was never a complete unit last year. That said, the program will need some impressive performances by a number of different players in order to make up for what was lost last season — players lost to graduation, sure, but also confidence lost to injury and inconsistency. Yet another unknown team; may as well pencil them into the Great Home-Ice Hunt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last year Just when coach Guy Gadowsky’s Princeton machine appeared poised to declare its dynasty, the gears began to grind. Defending Dryden Award-winner Zane Kalemba was never himself in net, the relentless offense finished a mere sixth in the league in scoring, the defense finished ninth in goals-against, and injuries were the culprit. From the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[322],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n