Union-Princeton ECAC Hockey tournament quarterfinal series Game 1 postgame report
Stephane Boileau thought maybe Union was a little bit scared. Coach Nate Leaman thought the players had colds.
There's no plausible reason as to why the Dutchmen didn't play well offensively, and lost key battles against Princeton in their 3-2 loss in Game 1 of the ECAC Hockey tournament quarterfinals at Hobey Baker Rink on Friday.
Coming off their sweep of Clarkson in the first round last weekend in which they outscored the Golden Knights, 12-5, the Dutchmen lacked zip.
The team talked about getting traffic in front of Tigers goalie Zane Kalemba. That didn't happen. They didn't go to the net hard much, either.
"We didn't play our best game," said Boileau, who scored a power-play goal to make it 3-2 with 6:07 left in the game. "We were probably a little bit scared, and a little bit nervous. It's the best of three. It's not over. [We need] more shots, being in front of the net, and finish hits and stick to the game plan. We can win."
And then there were the one-on-one battles that helped the Tigers score their first two goals.
Dan Bartlett beat Union defenseman Brock Matheson as he drove the net, and then lifted a shot over goalie Corey Milan at 3:16 of the second period, tying the game at 1-1. That goal, in effect, shifted momentum.
Mark Magnowski broke the tie early in the third. He drove the slot and tipped a Matt Arhontas feed from the right wing past Milan.
"We struggled winning a lot of one-on-one battles," Leaman said. "I thought our team played like they were on cold medicine, to be honest with you. We lost the one-on-one battles. If you lose the one-on-one battles, it's tough to produce offense."
Now, the Dutchmen face elimination Saturday. They need to find the spark that got them past Clarkson, or it will be the end of their season.
Bad goal
Milan knows he surrendered a bad goal to Lee Jubinville at 9:55 of the third period. Milan got a piece of the left-wing drive, but not enough of it to stop it from going in.
That goal became the game-winner when Boileau scored.
"I didn't get down quick enough, and I didn't get my stick on it," said Milan, who made 35 saves. "It cost us the chance to go to overtime."
Three stars
1) Zane Kalemba, Princeton — goalie made 25 saves.
2) Dan Bartlett, Princeton — seemed to be everywhere on the ice making trouble.
3) Luke Cain, Union — had two assists.
I'll be back tomorrow night from Hobey Baker Rink with more live updates.
Good Night! Good Hockey!
