(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) RETURN FIRE: Princeton High boys’ hockey star Michael Irving heads up the ice in recent action. Senior forward Irving’s return from a knee injury has given the Little Tigers a boost. In upcoming action, PHS, now 14-4 will take part in the Mercer County Tournament. The second-seeded Little Tigers will play No. 7 WW/P-N in the quarterfinals on February 16 at Mercer County Park. The semis are slated for February 18 with the title game set for February 21.

Boosted by Irving’s Return From Knee Injury, PHS Boys’ Hockey Primed for Postseason Run

Bill Alden

After tearing the ACL in his right knee last spring in a lacrosse game for Princeton High, Michael Irving assumed that he had no chance to play on the school’s ice hockey team this winter.

Irving, a star defenseman in lacrosse and a productive forward on the ice, underwent a knee operation on June 30 and set his sights for getting back in action this spring on the lax field.

But as this fall turned to winter, Irving, a 5’10, 170-pound senior, realized that he was ahead of his original timetable.

“I had a really fast recovery,” said Irving. “I was working out one day and a friend’s parent said why don’t you come out and practice with the hockey team. I am cleared and I don’t know why I don’t.”

Irving decided to lace up his skates and he quickly got up to speed. “I started coming to practice,” said Irving.

“I love hockey and I really missed it. At first, I felt like my legs were out of shape but I got used to it. It was kind of like I never left.”

With PHS having a banner season, Irving had a little extra motivation to get back on the ice.

“I am friends with all the guys on the team and they were doing really well,” said Irving.

“That made me miss it because we never had a great season when I was playing hockey. We were always fighting for a spot and this year we are really moving.”

Irving didn’t waste any time getting moving once he got into game action, picking up an assist when he made his season debut against Hightstown on January 19. Last Wednesday, he scored two goals as PHS topped Lawrence 8-3 to improve to 14-4.

The Little Tigers are seeded second in the upcoming Mercer County Tournament and will start play in the competition on February 16 when they play seventh-seeded WW/P-N in the quarterfinals.

Irving’s transition back to hockey has been aided by playing on the same line with classmate and PHS’s top scorer Fraser Graham.

“Fraser is always helpful,” said Irving, after the win over Lawrence. “On my second goal tonight, he could have shot it but he passed and I had the whole net and there was no way I was missing it. He is just a great player and he has helped me so much. I feel like I have gotten so much better just by playing with him.”

In the view of PHS head coach Tim Campbell, his team has gotten better with the late-season addition of Irving.

“Michael has been huge for us ever since he came back,” said Campbell. “Nobody works harder than him; nobody has more determination than him. I think that was evidenced by how quickly he came back to the team.”

While Campbell was pleased with his team’s quick start against Lawrence as it built a 6-1 lead, he acknowledged that things got a little sloppy.

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” said Campbell. “You get a big lead like that and you have got nowhere to go but down. We played really, really well on offense; we were unselfish and moving the puck well. But on the defensive side of the puck, we got lazy. Games like this make me nervous because we make mistakes and develop bad habits.”

Campbell readily acknowledges that his team has plenty of room for improvement notwithstanding the fact that it is bringing a four-game winning streak into postseason play.

“I would never trivialize the record we have or how many wins we have but there are things we need to tighten up on if we want to go as far as we can in March,” said Campbell.

“We need to work on defensive zone coverage, breaking the puck out a lot cleaner, and backchecking. We have a lot to work on.”

In Campbell’s view, his group of seniors will help the team knuckle down.

“The seniors have been stepping up since their freshman year,” said Campbell.

“They know where they have come from and they know where they want to be by the end of this postseason. We have some lofty goals and we expect to achieve them.”

Irving, for his part, is going to enjoy the ride no matter where it ends. “I cherish it so much more; hockey is so much fun and I am not playing organized hockey after this,” said Irving, who plans to play lacrosse at the college level.

“We are playing the best hockey I have seen this team play. It is the first time I have been in the states with the hockey team so this is definitely a new experience. We need to work as hard as we can. We need to make the other team play our game and not play theirs.”

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