(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) SIX-SHOOTER: Princeton University men’s hockey star Lee Jubinville races up the ice in recent action. Jubinville is leading Princeton in scoring with 23 points on six goals and 17 assists. The Tigers are riding a five-game winning streak, the program’s first such streak since the 1947-48 season. Princeton, which is currently on exam break, will look to keep on the winning track when it resumes action by playing at Robert Morris on January 29.

Tiger Men’s Hockey on Historic Streak, Hopes Exam Break Doesn’t Hurt Rhythm

Bill Alden

It looked like the Princeton University men’s hockey team was on its way to a nailbiter early in the second period of its recent clash at Brown.

Princeton surrendered a goal 11 seconds into the second period of the January 12 contest to see a 2-0 lead cut in half.

But then the Tigers erupted for three goals in a four-minute span to break open the game on the way to a 6-2 win.

The outburst epitomized the opportunistic play exhibited by the sizzling Tigers, whose win over Brown was the team’s fifth straight.

Princeton last won five in a row in 1947-48 and hasn’t had a five-game unbeaten stretch since its 1998-99 run through the ECAC Hockey League playoffs.

As a result of its hot play, Princeton is second in the ECACHL and unbeaten (5-0) in Ivy League play.

Princeton head coach Guy Gadowsky won’t soon forget his team’s second period performance against Brown.

“That second period was as complete a period as we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Gadowsky, whose team is 10-8 overall and 8-4 in ECACHL play.

“We outshot them 25-4 and it wasn’t because of power plays. All four lines played well; the guys saw how good we can be.”

Unfortunately for Gadowsky, it’s going to be awhile before his team can show how good it is with the school on exam break and the Tigers not in action again until they play at Robert Morris on January 29.

While Gadowsky would like to see his team strike while the iron is hot, he believes the hiatus could be beneficial for his club in the long run.

“We have some bumps and bruises, some of the guys can use the time to heal up,” said Gadowsky. “The other teams basically play straight through from January 1 so maybe having a break right now will help us be fresher at the end.”

During its hot streak, the Tigers have shown a propensity for playing well at the end of games, having produced third-period rallies in wins over Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, and Yale.

“They are good hockey players,” said Gadowsky. “You can’t hold guys like Jubs [Lee Jubinville] and Brett [Wilson] down the whole game. If Cam [MacIntyre] keeps working, he’s going to get his points. We are getting offense from all four lines so teams can’t key on one line.”

The team’s stats are starting to reflect that balance. While Jubinville (23 points), Wilson (19) and MacIntyre (18) have been at the top of the scoring list all season long, several other players are approaching double figures.

Senior captain and star defenseman Mike Moore has nine points with Mike Kramer and Jody Pederson at eight and the trio of Dan Bartlett, Mark Magnowski, and Kevin Kaiser each with seven.

In recent play Kramer and Pederson have taken their games to a higher level.

“Mike is not really a surprise,” said Gadowsky of Kramer, who was named the ECACHL Rookie of the Week two weeks ago.

“The stats show that he starts slowly and then picks things up. For Jody, the better he plays defense, the more points he scores. I think he has been our plus-minus leader the last five games.”

The team’s collective ability to pick up things is the product of work ethic and mental toughness, according to Gadowsky.

“The guys take conditioning seriously but it’s more than that,” said Gadowsky.

“One of the things it takes is mental will and we have that. Against Yale (a 4-3 win on January 11), they made a decision after the second period that they hadn’t played their hardest. They decided to come out and start moving their feet. We got a couple of shots on goal and things went from there.”

Gadowsky is hoping that his players will do what they need to over the exam break to keep things going in the right direction once play resumes.

“The onus is on them to keep in shape,” said Gadowsky. “The guys have ice time; I think they will dedicate themselves to time management. We have guys that set good examples.”

In Gadowsky’s view, the game against non-conference foe Robert Morris will be a good transition for the Tigers as they shake off their post-exam rust.

“That’s a tough game; it’s essential for us before getting back into league play,” said Gadowsky, whose team gets back into EACAHL action when it plays at Union on February 1 and at Rensselaer on February.

“There is a real difference between practicing and playing. The speed of a D-1 game will help us readjust our mental makeup.”

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