Tigers can't be tamed

Harvard succumbs to game Princeton

Princeton defenseman Mike Moore looks to advance the puck before Matt McCollem of Harvard can get into better position to disrupt the play. (Mike Groll/Associated Press)

ALBANY, N.Y. - There was a time when tiger meat was the dish du jour in Eastern college hockey, a lovely way to fatten up a winter menu. No more. Princeton has a growl with some teeth to it these days, and last night the Ivy champs chewed up Harvard, 4-1, before 4,851 at the Times Union Center to win their first ECAC title in a decade and earn only the second NCAA berth in school history.

"I'm most happy that the season continues," said coach Guy Gadowsky, whose squad (21-13) set a program record for victories. "Not just the championship, but we get to go to the rink again Monday."

Not since 1998, when the seventh-seeded Tigers (coached by current UMass coach Don Cahoon) made a wondrous run through the tournament, had they even made the final.

But once they got there again, they went for the kill, scoring the first two goals and getting the late clincher on a power play, as sophomore goalie Zane Kalemba, the tournament's most outstanding player, made 35 saves.

"As much as we're disappointed and frustrated, Princeton deserves a lot of credit for that," said Harvard coach Ted Donato, whose varsity (17-13-4) had gone 10-2-1 since the Beanpot opener, including victories over archrival Cornell in the regular-season finale and in Friday's semifinals.

But Princeton usually gives the Crimson fits. Even in their rock-bottom days a few years ago, when they won eight games in two seasons, the Tigers beat Harvard three times, and they'd split this season.

Last night, Princeton broke on top early as defenseman Mike Moore fired one from the left circle that appeared to bounce off a Harvard defender before going past goalie Kyle Richter at 5:04.

That didn't augur well for the Crimson, who'd won only once this season (at Boston University in overtime in November) when they conceded the first goal, and who were held to one goal last night for the first time in 17 games.

Though Harvard began dictating play in the second period, the Tigers kept getting bodies and sticks in the way, blocking shots and clearing the loose stuff away from Kalemba, who'd blanked Colgate in the semis for his third playoff shutout and set a tournament record of 189:59 scoreless minutes before the Crimson scored on a four-on-three power play.

"He's tough to beat," testified Jon Pelle, who was the only man to do it here and whose five playoff goals all came a man up. "He battles. He never gives up on rebounds."

Princeton wasn't getting many open looks at the Harvard cage, so the Tigers' second goal, at 12:34 of the middle period, came as a shock to both teams. Landis Stankievech, the Rhodes Scholar who centers the fourth line, lifted a floater from the left point that Richter juggled, then watched in dismay as the puck dropped behind him.

"I looked and there wasn't anyone in front, so I just threw it at the net," said Stankievech, who hadn't scored in more than a month. "I thought Richter would catch it and there'd be a whistle. And all of a sudden everyone started cheering."

So it was 2-0 for the Tigers and Harvard had to do something that it hadn't done in nine previous games - win after trailing after two periods, and do it against a team that was 14-1 when it had a lead with 20 minutes to play.

Yet it took only two dozen seconds for things to change. The period had ended with Harvard's Doug Rogers and Princeton's Matt Arhontas in the box. So when Princeton's Taylor Fedun went off for elbowing after 15 seconds, the Crimson took just nine seconds to cash in, with Mike Taylor feeding Pelle, who'd scored twice on Cornell, for a rocket from the left circle.

"To be able to get one right off the bat was obviously a boost," said Taylor, who had 11 points in the playoffs. "Unfortunately, we were unable to get that equalizer." So it came down to the final few minutes, and the team that had lived by the power play in the postseason died by it, when Harvard defenseman Alex Biega took an interference penalty and Brett Wilson converted for 3-1 at 16:54.

By then, Donato had no choice but to gamble and pull Richter for an extra skater with 2:38 to play. Mark Magnowski flung the puck into the empty cage at 18:22 and Hobey Baker's great-grandchildren were champs again.

"It's been a long process," observed Gadowsky, "with a lot of great people that made it happen."

John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.