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Vol. LXIII, No. 43
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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Vol. LXIII, No. 43
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
SHUTTING THE DOOR: Princeton University men’s hockey star goalie Zane Kalemba makes a stop in action last season. Kalemba enters the 2009-10 campaign as a preseason first-team All-American in the wake of his heroics last winter that saw him get named as the ECACH and Ivy League Player of the Year. |
Over the last few years, the Princeton University men’s ice hockey team has been known for its free-wheeling, entertaining style of play.
Indeed, some have observed that the Tigers have been emulating the high-octane Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s while the rest of ECAC Hockey favors the close-to-the vest style of the New Jersey Devils of the 1990s.
As the ninth-ranked Tigers open their 2009-10 season by hosting Brown on October 30 and No. 11 Yale a day later in non-conference contests. Tiger head coach Guy Gadowsky asserted that his team might conjure up visions of the defensive play that helped the Devils to three Stanley Cups.
When people think of Princeton University hockey players, brawlers rarely come to mind. George Parros is an exception.
Parros is a 2003 graduate of Princeton. He was known for his physical play around the net. However, fighting is a no-no in college hockey. That didn’t stop Parros from dropping the gloves when he began to play professionally for the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL.
“It was never part of my game,” said the 6’5”, 222-pound Parros, 29, a native of Washington Pa. who played his high school hockey for the Delbarton School.
Brian Leung didn’t get the chance to hit the road much this summer as he prepared for his sophomore season with the Princeton University men’s cross country team.
“I had a stress reaction in my left tibia and I didn’t run for 6½ weeks,” said Leung, a former WW/P-S standout. “I did a lot of pool work and other cross training. I worked a lot on the AlterG (anti-gravity) treadmill.”
It didn’t take long for Leung to get up to speed once he arrived at school.
Josh Gordon and his teammates on the Princeton High football team had a score to settle with Hightstown as the squads met last Friday.
In 2008, PHS dropped a 19-13 heartbreaker to underdog Hightstown, a defeat that helped keep the Little Tigers from qualifying for the state playoffs.
As Gordon hit the field at Hightstown last Friday evening, the wind and rain greeting the players wasn’t about to dampen his competitive fire.
“I can’t remember the last time we beat them and last year they ruined our chance at the playoffs but this year is a new year,” said senior running back Gordon.
In 2008, the Princeton High field hockey team struggled to a 3-13 season while Hopewell Valley rolled to the Mercer County Tournament (MCT) title.
Last Thursday, the two teams met in this year’s MCT quarterfinals and sixth-seeded PHS put up quite a struggle as it played at No. 3 HoVal.
Despite getting outshot by a wide margin and defending more than 10 penalty corners, upset-minded PHS held the Bulldogs scoreless and forced the contest into overtime with the teams knotted at 0-0.