Box Score
PRINCETON, NJ – Senior forward
Matt Cook scored the game-winner at 10:29 of the third period to lift the Dutchmen ice hockey team to a thrilling 3-2 victory at No. 5/7 Princeton on Friday. The game, which was Union's second against a ranked opponent in three outings, moves Union to a 10-8-1 overall and 3-4-0 in the conference. Princeton goes to 13-4-0 and 8-3-0.
Cook, who is one of 20 student-athletes nationally selected as a candidate for the 2009 Lowe's Senior Class Award, scored his fourth goal of the season and 29th of his career with assists from senior defenseman
Lane Caffaro and junior forward
Jason Walters, a power-play goal.
Junior forward
Mario Valery-Trabucco and sophomore forward
Stéphane Boileau each picked up goals, while sophomore forward
Adam Presizniuk and junior defenseman
Mike Schreiber each picked up assists. Caffaro also added another assist on Union's second goal.
Sophomore goaltender
Corey Milan turned away 10 saves in the first, 12 in the second and seven in the third for 29, increasing his season total to 486. The Great Barrington native is 10-8-1 this season and entered the game with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
Princeton entered the game with 10 power-play goals in 15 games and had three chances in the first period, but was denied each time by the Dutchmen. Union killed two penalties early and generated its best offensive opportunity with just under six minutes remaining in the first. Freshman
Kelly Zajac fed a quick pass from behind the net to Cook for a one-timer. The puck rolled a little and found its way into the glove of Tiger netminder Zane Kalemba.
Only moments later at 5:33, Princeton senior Brandan Kushiruk hit sophomore Kevin Lohry with a long breakout pass. Lohry sniped a shot from just inside the left circle into the top right corner.
Union pulled even in the second when Valery-Trabucco picked the upper-left corner with a wrist shot on the power-play 13:06 into the period. The goal, which was setup at the point by Caffaro, came moments after the junior was robbed on a one-timer by Kalemba.
The Tigers special teams unit responded 16:19 into the second with the man advantage. The Dutchmen were in the midst of killing off their second 5-on-3 penalty when junior Dan Bartlett cashed in down low. Junior Jody Pederson and sophomore Taylor Fedun each picked up assists.
Only 3:19 into the third, Boileau made it 2-2 after a Princeton defensive turnover. The assists went to Schreiber and Presizniuk, who dished to Boileau during a 2-on-0 deep in the offensive end. Boileau and Presizniuk have combined for 34 of 84 points for Union this season.
The Dutchmen unloaded 26 shots and went 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Tigers had 31 shots and went 1-for-8 with the man advantage.
Kalemba, who entered the game with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage, made 23 saves.
Union returns to the ice on Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest at Quinnipiac. The matchup will be the third this season between the two schools. Each team has one victory.
