WALL BANGER: Princeton High boys’ hockey player Brendon McCormick heads up the ice in recent action. Last Thursday against Wall High at Baker Rink, senior star forward and captain McCormick tallied three goals and an assist to help PHS rally from a 5-2 deficit to pull out a 5-5 tie. The Little Tigers, now 7-0-2, are next in action when they face Steinert on January 3 at Mercer County Park. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

With the Princeton High boys’ hockey team trailing Wall Township 3-0 last in the first period last Thursday at Baker Rink, Brendon McCormick gave PHS a much-needed spark.

Senior star forward and captain McCormick battled in the crease and found the back of the net to narrow the gap to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

“We had a slow start, they are a really good team,” said McCormick. “It is always good at the end the period to put in a goal and get that momentum going into the next period. We just had to get one so we didn’t go down by that many at that point.”

After the teams traded goals in the second period with junior forward Justin Joyce scoring on a one-timer for PHS, the Little Tigers found themselves down by three goals, trailing 5-2 midway through the third period.

Once again, McCormick took matters into his own hands, assisting on a goal by Aidan Trainor and then scoring two unanswered goals himself as PHS pulled out a 5-5 tie.

“When they came out there and got that one in there early, there were a few phases that looked a little down for us,” said McCormick. “But we brought it together and had a huge team effort:”

McCormick and freshman cohorts, Aidan Trainor and Rocco Salvato, have come together quickly for the Little Tigers as the team’s top line.

“Rocco and Aidan are really tremendous players; they just go out there and work hard every day, they are just really good,” said McCormick.

“They look up to me but they already know what they are doing. I really don’t have to tell them anything.”

With PHS moving to 7-0-2 due to the late rally, McCormick is proud of the resilience the Little Tigers have been displaying this winter.

“It just shows that we don’t get down too easy, we can always come back from anything,” asserted McCormick. “Even playing a little down, we can always win the third period and get away with a tie or a win.”

In McCormick’s view, the squad has the potential to win a lot of games as the season unfolds.

“This year is the best chance we have to make a run,” said McCormick. “There are a lot of new guys, there are a lot of returning guys. It is just a good mix of players; this is probably the best team we have had in a while.”

PHS head coach Terence Miller liked the way that McCormick and assistant captain Eamonn McDonald kept the guys’ heads in the game in face of the deficits and the absence of star defenseman and assistant captain Tooker Callaway.

“With Tooker out, Brendon and Eamonn (McDonald), our two captains, were able to keep the composure together and keep the heart rate of the team down,” said Miller, noting that Callaway has a minor upper body injury.

“It was just get back to work, get it in deep, get in on the forecheck, and not fall apart which is always a possibility when you get down 5-2 in the third. There is a chance for it to come unglued.”

The trio of McCormick, Trainor, and Salvato created chances down the stretch as they exploded for three goals in the span of 1:28 in the third period to help PHS pull out the tie.

“Aidan got the third goal on a play from Brendon and Rocco,” said Miller, who got a goal and three assists from Trainor with Salvato contributing two assists and McCormick ending up with three goals and an assist.

“They were clicking. I thought Rocco and Aidan really stepped it up and had a big third period. In the end, we were all over them. We put them back on their heels.”

After a shaky start which saw him yield three goals in the first 13 minutes of the game, senior goalie Swayer Peck came up big over the rest of the contest.

“In net, Sawyer bounced back with a big game; they were really coming at us for a while,” noted Miller. “He ended up with 31 saves. He always seems to step up in big games.”

The team’s bounce back collectively against Wall was encouraging to Miller.

“I liked the heart that we showed to be able to take a punch the way we did and get back up off the mat and come back swinging,” said Miller.

“I told these guys after the second period, if we are going to go down, we want to go down swinging. We don’t want to be drifting back on our heels and submitting, it was stay aggressive, stay playing downhill and let the chips fall where they may. I was happy that we were able to come back after falling down.”

With PHS bringing a 7-0-2 record into 2017, Miller is cautiously optimistic going forward.

“As we told our guys, we are happy but we are not satisfied,” said Miller, whose team is next in action when it faces Steinert on January 3 at Mercer County Park.

“They are going to sit around the Christmas table and tell their friends and family that they are undefeated. We are halfway through but we are not quite where we need to be.”

McCormick, for his part, is determined to help PHS get where it needs to be.

“We want to prepare as much as we can for each game,” said McCormick. “You can’t take any team lightly because anyone can come and beat you on any day.”