Box Score
PRINCETON, NJ – Sophomore forward
Adam Presizniuk tied the school record for points in a season and sophomore goaltender
Corey Milan made 35 saves, but the Dutchmen couldn't mount a complete comeback in their 3-2 loss at No. 11 Princeton on Friday. The matchup was game one of the best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series.
The Dutchmen, who secured its first ever playoff series victory last weekend, are playing in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season and are now 18-16-3 overall. Princeton, the defending ECACH Champions, move to 21-9-0.
Presizniuk tied the school record for points in a season (37) when he put Union up 1-0 with only 22 seconds remaining in the first. While on the power play, junior forward
Jason Walters found redshirt freshman forward
Luke Cain in the right corner. Cain stepped out and drove to the net, leaving a rebound on Princeton junior goaltender Zane Kalemba's pad. Preizniuk was on the doorstop to shove the puck over the goalline.
At the other end Milan kept the Tigers scoreless, turning aside 15 shots in the first period.
A nifty move in transition led to the Tigers' first goal of the game only 3:16 into the second. Junior Dan Bartlett accepted a pass from sophomore Sam Sabky in the neutral zone. Bartlett maneuvered through the Dutchmen defense and went high over the left shoulder of Milan.
With 6:43 remaining in the second, the Tigers got their first crack at the power play. After a post and two saves, Bartlett took a penalty, stopping the man-advantage threat.
The shot count remained in favor of Princeton at the end of two, 25-15, but the Dutchmen looked to improve on its 3-0-1 when tied heading into the third period.
Princeton grabbed its first lead of the game 4:21 into the third period on a fast break tip in by junior Mark Magnowski on a pass from sophomore Matt Arhontas and sophomore Kevin Lohry.
Princeton senior Lee Jubinville made it 3-1 with 10:05 remaining with a slapshot through Milan from just inside the left circle.
Sophomore forward
Stéphane Boileau pulled the score to 3-2 with a deflection off a shot by junior defenseman
Mike Schreiber with 6:10 remaining in the game. The power-play goal also included Cain's second assist of the game.
Kalemba, the Ivy League Player of the Year, kept Union scoreless the rest of the way for his 21st victory of the season.
For Presizniuk the goal was the 23rd of his career and 16th of the season, placing him tied for seventh on Union's single-season goals list with Jeff Jiampetti (1993). The Calgary native is the first Dutchmen to have 16 goals in a season since Jordan Webb accomplished the feat in 2004.
Cain enjoyed his fifth and sixth assists and seventh and eighth points of the year, while Boileau posted his 10th goal of the season – the fourth Dutchmen to reach 10 goals this season.
Union finished the game with 27 shots to Princeton's 38 and went 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Tigers went 0-for-2.
The two teams will do it all over again on Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. when Union will find itself in a must win situation.
