FINAL RANKIN: Princeton University men’s hockey player Kyle Rankin sends the puck up the ice in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior forward and captain Rankin enjoyed a memorable final game at Baker Rink as he helped the Tigers rally from a late 2-1 deficit to tie Brown 2-2. Princeton, now 5-21-3 overall, will now start play in the ECAC Hockey playoffs where the 12th-seeded Tigers are playing at fifth-seeded Clarkson (18-13-3 overall) in a best-of-three opening round series starting on March 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Growing up in eastern Ontario, Kyle Rankin didn’t envision the scenario that unfolded last Saturday evening at Baker Rink, getting cheered as one of the honorees on Senior Night when the Princeton University men’s hockey team hosted Brown for its regular season finale.

“It is incredible as a kid from Canada, you don’t necessarily think that a school like this is in your plans or in your future and it is amazing the opportunities, the game of hockey can present you with,” said Rankin, a 6’1, 195-pound senior forward and native of Kanata, Ontario.

“I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to go to Princeton and with all the ups and downs, it is something I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

Rankin was particularly grateful to have a number of relatives on hand at Baker for the finale.

“I am very fortunate to have my parents here; they have done so much throughout my life to support me and give me incredible opportunities which have culminated being a Princeton hockey player,” said Rankin, noting that his brother Shane and cousins, Cam and Drew, were also in the stands.

“It is a special night, it was a great crowd. I have played so many games in that rink and it never gets old. I am going to miss it for sure.”

The Tigers went out and produced a special effort against Brown, fighting back from a 2-1 deficit as freshman Max Veronneau scored with seven seconds left in the third period to send the contest into overtime. Princeton outshot Brown 6-2 in the five-minute OT but couldn’t find the back of the net and the game ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

“I mentioned to the guys between periods that at some point in the next few weeks we are going to find ourselves in a game down one goal going into the third and we are going to need to find a way to win it or the season is going to be over,” said Rankin, a team captain along with classmate Mike Ambrosia.

“So we kind of used that as a practice test. We found a way to force overtime and the way we were playing in OT, if we had a 20-minute slate out there, I would have wagered that we would have won that game.”

For Rankin, the rally was a product of a special sense of urgency. “We never showed any quit and guys know that was the last time that we get to play in front of our fans this year and you don’t want to ever have any reservations,” said Rankin.

“You want to leave it all out there, especially in the last home game of the year and the last home game of my career. It is easy to really work hard.”

Rankin’s hard work nearly resulted in a game-winning goal as he fed Ryan Kuffner for a point blank shot with seconds left in the overtime.

“Max (Veronneau) made a great play, which was to break it up and he fed me the puck,” said Rankin.

“I just tried to look it off, I looked quickly and I saw #21 (Ryan Kuffner) on my right. I figured it is never a bad play to slide it over to him and the goalie made a good save but those are the chances that are going to win you games down the stretch so we just have to keep working for them.”

Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty liked the way his squad played as it earned its first points since a 1-0 win over American International College on January 26.

“We had some pretty good looks there at the end; we had a great look in overtime,” said Fogarty, whose team moved to 5-21-3 with the tie.

“It was great, the guys stuck with the system. We got back to playing how we played last weekend at Union and RPI and last night (a 6-0 loss to No. 7 Yale) was just uncharacteristic. To see us today just shows that last night was uncharacteristic.”

In assessing the rally, Fogarty said it was a result of sticking with the process.

“I think being patient and just waiting for our spots and good positions for transitional turnovers, that is where we did a good job tonight,” added Fogarty.

While the seniors won’t be playing again at Baker, Fogarty hopes they can extend their careers in the ECAC Hockey playoffs where the 12th-seeded Tigers are playing at fifth-seeded Clarkson in a best-of-three opening round series starting on March 4. The teams split their regular season meetings, with Princeton posting a 3-0 win over the Golden Knights on November 21 before losing 5-2 in the rematch on February 12.

“Lisser, Rankin, Ambrosia, Zajac, they have done a great job, battling through injuries and tough times,” said Fogarty, referring to his senior group of Kevin Liss, Michael Zajac, Ambrosia, and Rankin.

“It has been great leadership by Kyle and Mike throughout the year, we have had 14 one-goal losses where we have pulled the goalie through the year. Mike and Kyle have kept the team focused and our goal is to try to win a playoff series. That was a great effort tonight to bounce back and play a full 60 minutes with a decimated lineup.”

Rankin and his classmates are determined to keep up that leadership as Princeton looks to do some damage in the playoffs.

“There are always ups and downs; we have had our share of tough nights here,” said Rankin, who has eight points this year on three goals and five assists and has piled up 30 points in his Princeton career with 10 goals and 20 assists in 115 appearances.

“The guys in my class have put a lot of hours in the program and we really care. All you can ask is to give your a team a chance heading into the playoffs and we definitely have a chance. It will be focusing on what we do best and what we need to do to be successful. You have to look at the other team’s tendencies and stuff like that but that is not the most important thing for us. It is bringing the efforts that we showed in the third and overtime and if we bring those efforts, we are confident we can play with anyone.”