ROCKING THE HOUSE: Princeton High boys’ hockey player Rocco Salvato follows through after firing the puck up the ice last Friday in the final of the Mercer County Tournament. Senior star Salvato tallied four goals and an assist as second-seeded PHS rallied from a 5-2 deficit with 3:57 left in the game at Mercer County Park to stun top-seeded and six-time defending champion Hun 7-5. The Tigers, now 18-3-2, are next in action when they compete in the state Public B tournament where they are seeded ninth and slated to play at eighth-seeded Southern in a first round contest on February 28 with the victor advancing to the quarterfinals on March 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When it was over, Rocco Salvato had trouble finding the words to describe what he just experienced. The Princeton High boys’ hockey team produced a stunning rally to defeat Hun 7-5 in the final of the Mercer County Tournament last Friday evening.

Trailing six-time defending champion Hun 5-0 in the second period and 5-2 with 3:57 left in the third period, PHS scored four goals in the next 2:26 to take the lead and then added an empty net tally to put the finishing touch on a shocking 7-5 victory.

“The past three years getting here we just fell a little short so tonight is extra special,” said senior star Salvato, who scored three goals in the third period rally and ended the night with four goals and an assist.

“I am over-the-top happy, I don’t even know how to communicate that right now.”

While Salvato acknowledged that the Tigers were concerned when they dug the 5-0 hole in the second period in the contest at Mercer County Park, they didn’t deviate from their game plan.

“I can’t say we were doing anything differently, the puck just bounced our way,” said Salvato.

“We get the first goal and then the floodgates open for us. That is how we play. It was a little upsetting that it took us that long to finally get that goal, but once we did, we were all on the same page, nothing really changed.”

Following up that initial tally by freshman forward Cooper Zullo with 2:08 left in the period, Salvato got the second goal, finding the back of the net in the waning seconds of the second period.

“I was just in the right place in the right time for the majority of them,” said Salvato. “I think that one went five-hole; that is the sweet spot right there. We scored five or six goals that way.”

In the third period, Salvato continued to be in the right spot at the right time as he kept finding the back of the net.

“It could have been any one of us and I would have been confident that they would put put it in the back of the net,” said Salvato, who ended up getting named as the tournament MVP. “It just happened to be me tonight.”

With Stephen Avis, a senior defenseman, playing in his first game at goalie as starter Daniel Prokoshin was sidelined by injury, the Tiger players knew they had to raise the level of their play.

“We had two guys thrown into goalie for us,” said Salvato, noting that freshman Nico Vitaro want between the pipes PHS 8-2 quarterfinal win over Paul VI.

“Seeing their willingness to sacrifice their body, makes us play harder. We really love each other, we are a big family.”

PHS first year head coach Joe Bensky has loved joining the Tiger family.

“They are an amazing, amazing group; this has been unbelievable time for coach [Matt] Strober and I,” said Bensky.

“They are a great group of hockey players, they played all 45 minutes. They did not give up, they were staying positive. They are all there for each other; they correct what needs to be corrected.”

Coming to the rink Friday, Bensky had the sense that it could be a special night for PHS.

“I played four years for WW/P-North and never even made it to the finals,” said Bensky.

“When I woke up this morning, I was absolutely excited. I knew we had a good chance of winning. We are thrilled tight now, we beat a really good team in Hun.”

In reflecting on the thrilling comeback, Bensky saw thew two late goals in the second period as a turning point.

“Our team always says once we get one, they really start coming,” said Bensky.

“You saw that first goal and especially that second goal that we started really believing. You could see in their eyes that they had a great shot at coming back and that is really what has happened all year. We just need to get one goal and they really start coming.”

Bensky was not surprised to see Salvato rise to the occasion. “He is one of the best players in the conference,” said Bensky who also got a goal and two assists from both Colm Trainor and Austin Micale with Zullo chipping in a goal and assist.

“He was one of the best players on the ice tonight and that was absolutely evident tonight. He really can change a game.”

Neophyte goalie Avis was one of the most courageous players on the ice, making eight saves, including some key stops in the third period, in his debut in the net.

“We had a few people volunteer to play goalie, nothing was going to prevent us from giving it our all,” said Bensky.

“We put a player in new twice and nothing stops them. They are such a passionate group. Stephen played a lot better as the game went on. It is just so admirable for someone to volunteer and play goalie. He played well, he was hard on himself, he wanted to play even better.”

The squad’s group of seniors were particularly passionate in the aftermath of the triumph, the program’s first county crown since 2011.

“This is the fourth year in a row when it was Hun and Princeton and for those seniors, it was their fourth time and there were some tears when they won,” said Bensky, whose senior class includes Aidan Trainor, Ryan McCormick, Jeff Kim, and Matt Constantine in addition to Salvato and Avis.

“They were that excited, it means so much to them and so much to the community and the parents.”

The Tigers, now 18-3-2, will look for some more excitement as they compete in the state Public B tournament. They are seeded ninth and slated to play at eighth-seeded Southern in a first round contest on February 28 with the victor advancing to the quarterfinals on March 2.

“We just want to keep the confidence up and make sure that we are staying positive,” said Bensky, whose team fell 6-1 to Southern in a regular season meeting on February 7.

“The season is not over. I want them to absolutely enjoy this win for the next few days because they deserve it. In the state tournament, we want to show the state that we can beat Southern and that we are a quality hockey team in this state.”

Salvato, for his part, is confident that PHS will show its quality in the state tourney.

“We are just looking for who is next now,” said Salvato. “We are not going to change the way we play. We are not going to get nervous. We are going to keep grinding and see how far we can go.”