TURNING THE CORNER: Princeton University men’s hockey player Josh Teves races up the ice in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, sophomore defenseman Teves tallied a goal and an assist to help Princeton defeat No. 18 St. Lawrence 3-1. A day later, Teves contributed a goal and an assist as the Tigers overcame a 2-0 third period deficit to defeat Clarkson 3-2 in overtime and extend their unbeaten streak to six. Princeton, now 11-11-3 overall and 6-9-3 ECAC Hockey, plays at Rensselaer on February 17 and at Union on February 18.

Even though the Princeton University men’s hockey team found itself trailing No. 18 St. Lawrence 1-0 midway through the first period last Friday at Baker Rink, Josh Teves wasn’t fazed.

“We didn’t have the start we were looking for,” said sophomore defenseman Teves.

“I think it just shows the character of our team. We have shown time and time again that if we are down at the start, we are going to keep pushing and playing the way we can and the tide is going to turn eventually.”

Sure enough, the Tigers started turning the tide against the Saints when Alex Riche scored at the 15:52 mark of the opening period to knot the game at 1-1.

“It was good about halfway through the first to flip the page and forget about all of the bad stuff and keep playing the way we are,” said Teves.

“It is bound to go in our favor. It is huge to tie up the game like that and flip the momentum and give us a bit more hope and just keep running with it.”

In the second period, Teves helped Princeton forge ahead 2-1 as he fired a shot into the back of the net with 2:58 remaining in the frame.

“Most of all, I thought it was an unbelievable pass by Jackson Cressey,” said Teves, reflecting on his tally.

“He has fit in really well with our group. We have a lot of chemistry with him. I think with Vern (Max Veronneau), Kuff (Ryan Kuffner), and (David) Hallisey, we can just read off of each other. That is more of a read than a drawn up play. It was a good pass by Cressey. I took the shot, I tried to pick the corner and it just went in.”

Early in third period, Teves made a superb pass to help set up a goal by Max Becker to provide the final scoring in a 3-1 win for Princeton as the Tigers snapped a 13-game winless streak (0-11-2) in the series with the Saints.

“Getting that third goal is huge; it is nice as the season has gone on we have found ourselves with more and more opportunities to holding a lead and being on the good side of 6-on-5s,” said Teves.

“I think all that practice in those situations is going to bode well for the playoffs and hopefully a long run.”

A night later, Teves contributed a goal and an assist as the Tigers overcame a 2-0 third period deficit to defeat Clarkson 3-2 in overtime and extend their unbeaten streak to six.

“I think my confidence has gotten a lot better,” said Teves, a 6’0, 180-pound native of Calgary, Alberta who now has 19 points on the season with three goals and 16 assists.

“I have great playing from (freshman defenseman) Derek Topatigh; he is a great asset to our team. We have a lot of fun together; We have a lot of chemistry. I have got to pay some respect to his game as well. I have the mindset of keep getting better and improving, just keep working hard and things seem to work out.”

Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty liked the way his players kept fighting against St. Lawrence.

“At the 13-minute mark, we settled down and then we got a goal,” said Fogarty, whose team ended the weekend at 11-11-3 overall and 6-9-3 ECAC Hockey.

“It was after the penalty kill that we really started having momentum in the first period. I thought we played consistent to our standard to what we are trying to play, heavy on the puck and taking care of the middle. We bobbled some pucks early there, and there were a couple of panicky plays at the end. Colton (Phinney) made a save when he had to make a save. We will take a 3-1 win against St Lawrence.”

In Fogarty’s view, the team’s focus on the moment has helped it raise the level of its play.

“The mindset throughout the entire team is not worrying about what just happened,” said Fogarty.

“Worry about your shift and do the best you can to get better for your next shift. The only way to get better is to have your best shift.”

Teves is certainly making things happen for the Tigers. “He is good, that was a great support play,” said Fogarty in describing the defenseman’s goal against St. Lawrence.

“You don’t draw a diagram of what Josh did, those are the type of players we are pulling here, smart players who know what to do with the puck and know how to support. We are getting those guys here and you are going to see more coming down the trail.”

With Princeton hitting the road for games at Rensselaer on February 17 and at Union on February 18, Fogarty is confident that his players will keep coming up big.

“We have now established that identity within the team, we have established that mentality that we know we can play with any team,” said Fogarty.

“That is big on transitioning and trying to get to a winning record. If you believe that one or two goals against is going to be the end of you, then you are going to lose a lot of games. We have shown we can hold leads; we have shown that we can come back from deficits so it is a good preparation for the playoffs.”

Teves, for his part, believes the Tigers have what it takes to keep rolling down the homestretch of the season.

“After that exam break, we wanted to get some more momentum and obviously we needed some more points in the ECAC,” said Teves, reflecting on a stretch which has seen the Tigers go 4-0-1.

“Moving forward it is a tight race and there are a lot of really good teams in our league so the points are crucial. I think going through a long stretch of ECAC games has been great to build some momentum coming in. We are just trying to keep the momentum going and not deviate from what has given us success so far this season.”