Here are photos from Princeton’s 2-2 tie with Brown last Saturday night, which was also senior night:
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Princeton men’s hockey will travel to Clarkson for the first round of the ECAC playoffs. It’s the second time in the past three years the Tigers will be making the trip, as they fell to the Golden Knights in three games in the 2013-14 season.
“[We had] 29 pop quizzes going into the main test,” Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty said. “This is the main test. Our goal this year was give ourselves an opportunity to win a playoff series and we’re trying to do everything from Day 1 to now to put us in the best position to make that occur.”
The teams split the season series. Princeton came away with the 3-0 win at home in November and dropped a 5-2 decision at Clarkson in February. Freshman defenseman Josh Teves has three points against the Golden Knights and Max Veronneau has two goals.
“Our underneath positioning was poor [in February],” Ron Fogarty said. “They had a couple one hitters, rushes down the ice and we were out of position, so we have to make sure that our five guys are really patient positioning this weekend.”
The Tigers just snapped a nine-game losing streak with a season-ending tie to Brown. Princeton’s last ECAC win was Dec. 5 against Yale, when the Tigers swept the Bears and Bulldogs. Despite the losses, many of Princeton’s games this season have been close.
“Because the core has improved, it’s brought everyone up a level here,” Fogarty said. When I look back at even our first games this season in Trenton compared to now, I just see great improvement from all. And that’s important that the group continues to improve.”
Clarkson is on a two-game winning streak after sweeping Harvard and Dartmouth. The Golden Knights posted a 11-5-1 record in January, partly thanks to Greg Lewis’ play in net. Lewis has a save percentage of .924 and has been the team’s starter since January. The Golden Knights allow 2.50 goals per game
“I mean they’re a hard-hitting team, they have good defensemen, they like to jump up in the play and they like to pinch down the wall,” co-captain Kyle Rankin said. “You got to give credit where credit’s due, but at the same time it’s going to come down to who wants it more. Our forwards are going to have to find a way to outwork those guys.”
The Tigers have had some success against Clarkson lately, splitting last year’s season series as well. And the Tigers also pulled out to a 1-0 series lead two years ago in the playoffs with an overtime win.
“The one positive that this group has is Colton Phinney won his first playoff game up in Clarkson,” Fogarty said. “So they’re familiar with that and winning, how to win and hopefully we can duplicate that twice this weekend.”
Clarkson’s offense averages 2.68 goals per game, led by Sam Vigneault’s 11 goals and 25 points.
“They have guys that can finish and we have to make sure that they’re going to travel 200 feet and they’re going to have to work for the scoring opportunities,” Fogarty said. “And that’s where we have to make sure that we’re patient in the zone and don’t double up and then once we get the puck that we maintain.”
The Tigers average 1.93 goals per game. Ryan Kuffner and Max Veronneau lead Princeton in scoring with 1 and 15 points, respectively. They form a line with classmate Alex Riche, who doesn’t score as much but has been playing better the second half of the season.
“He had two great scoring chances there against Brown,” Fogarty said. “He’s taken ownership of that line more. Obviously his number’s don’t support that, but his effort is much better the second half and better the last quarter.”
In net, Phinney has started every game but one, missed due to an injury. The recently named Second Team All-Ivy selection has a career-high save percentage of .923 this season. Princeton allows 3.21 goals per game.
Phinney recorded his first career shutout in the 3-0 win against Clarkson. He was also in net during the loss to the Golden Knights, but wasn’t healthy.
“They were two of our better games,” co-captain Mike Ambrosia said. “It was 2-2 going into the third period and they had three quick goals, obviously some nice plays. We let up some second chances and we know that Colton’s going to stop that first puck almost every time, he’s a fantastic goalie and that’s an advantage that we have.
“But we need to make sure that we don’t give up those second, third opportunities, because then he doesn’t necessarily have a shot if we do that. So if we play sound defensively and if we can bury some pucks, we have a good chance of winning.”
Another key for Princeton will be faceoffs. The Tigers are the worst team in the country on faceoffs, winning 40.8 percent of their chances.
“That’s been one of our attention to detail this week in practice and moving forward this week,” Fogarty said. “That’s so important to get that first possession off of a faceoff and put people in a set position. That has to improve.”
The Tigers also may not have a full roster heading into the playoffs, as they were shorthanded on Saturday night. They dressed 16 players and defenseman Matt Nelson let the game with an injury, reducing the roster to 15. Forwards David Hallisey, Max Becker and Spencer Kryzcka missed the game. So did defenseman Tommy Davis, who was suspended by the ECAC, and Kevin Liss. To fill in, Stuart Pomeroy played forward and Marlon Sabo played returned to the blue line.
On Wednesday, Fogarty said Friday’s roster hasn’t been set and that some players are day-to-day.
“We’ve had some defense who’ve played forward and yeah some forwards have seen some shifts on D,” Rankin said. “Everyone has got to step up a little when there’s injuries. It’s nothing uncommon in hockey. And you have to kind of expect it at this point of the year. Overall I’m just most pleased with the willingness of guys to play wherever and do whatever they can to help the team win.”
The Tigers haven’t won a playoff series since 2008-09, which was also Princeton’s last NCAA tournament appearance.
“There’s a really good morale in the locker room,” junior Garrett Skrbich said. “I think we get along really well and play for each other and I think we’ve got some really skilled guys, we’ve got some consistent guys, we’ve got a well-rounded team. I think that our record doesn’t show how well we’ve been playing this season.”
Back in December, Princeton was skating to a 4-2 win over Yale, completing a sweep at Brown and Yale for the first time since 2007-08. But when the teams met again in February, the Tigers were on the wrong side of a 6-0 loss.
The difference was the team defense.
Getting pinned in their own zone, as happened in the loss to Yale, was reminiscent of the defensive issues Princeton had last year. But that hasn’t been as much of an issue for the Tigers this year, who’ve played much better on the defensive side.
“Our Achilles heel for a year and a half has been getting the puck and turning it over right away,” Princeton coach Ron Fogarty said. “And so now the positioning and puck protection’s a lot better in the defensive zone to eliminate that continuous time.
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“And that’s where we were poor against Yale, we gave a lot of the pucks away for second and third opportunities once we established possession.”
The defensive improvements can mostly be seen on the ice. Players aren’t getting out of position and making as many mistakes, and the Tigers don’t get trapped in their zone as much.
But the improvement can be seen on the scoresheet, as the Tigers allow 3.21 goals per game. While the average is still low at 47th in the country, it’s a slight improvement from last season’s average of allowing 3.30 goals per game.
A key to Princeton’s solidified defensive play comes from not getting beaten twice, something Fogarty has emphasized this year.
“[It’s] learning that it’s okay to get beat at certain points,” co-captain Kyle Rankin said. “You’re going to get beat. It’s just making sure you don’t get beat twice. If your man beats you, we have systems in place to make sure that we can recover.
“I think guys have shown a lot more poise in the D zone, [it’s] a lot less frantic. So it’s definitely been good to know that guys understand that when something happens we can avoid it without it being a complete disaster.”
The defensive improvement has also helped the Tigers play in more close games this year, including 14 one-goal losses – excluding empty net goals. Princeton finished with five wins, the most since 2012-13. And while the Tigers finished last in the ECAC, they netted nine league points – also the most since 2012-13.
Having Colton Phinney in net has been helpful. The netminder as a .923 save percentage and has 971 saves this year, a new Princeton single-season record. The challenge for the Tiger defense is to eliminate second and third opponent chances on Phinney.
“I think it’s more [that] the second year guys understand the structure,” co-captain Mike Ambrosia said. “You kind of worry about yourself and where you should be. You know if you make one mistake that there’s going to be a guy behind you to bail you out. Then obviously having Colton back there is great for our confidence.
“We just want to minimize the mistakes and try not to compile the mistakes, because [once we do] we get running around then it’s tough for everybody.”
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Here are photos from Princeton’s loss to Yale on Friday night:
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After Princeton held its first official practice of the season on a rainy October day, co-captains Kyle Rankin and Mike Ambrosia sat on the countertops of the kitchen connecting the home and visiting locker rooms.
They had just left the ice after two hours of practice and were waiting to discuss the upcoming season. After a few minutes of interviews, the pair grabbed their new home white jerseys and tried them on. Standing side by side, they modeled the new uniforms for the first time.
Rankin and Ambrosia have been good friends since they first arrived at Princeton four years ago. Rankin’s from Canada, half of Ambrosia’s family is from Canada and the pair hailed from the USHL. Instantly, they shared tales of rinks visited and common experiences.
All of Princeton’s senior class – Rankin, Ambrosia, Kevin Liss and Michael Zajac – have been close since they were freshmen in 2012-13. So as this year’s co-captains, Ambrosia and Rankin prioritized expanding that inclusion through the team and the younger players.
“They brought everyone together,” junior goaltender Colton Phinney said. “This year they did a good job of welcoming in the freshmen and making them feel welcome right away and letting them know what we wanted. They’ve just done a great job of showing what Princeton hockey is and kind of bringing everyone together.”
For Ambrosia and Rankin, success comes not only from talent, but from that inclusiveness.
“You might have success with a very talented team, but if you have a talent and you have cohesion you’re going to definitely do better,” Ambrosia said. “That’s what we hope to lay, that foundation this year. We still have one more week left of the regular season and then into the playoffs, we’re going to hopefully do some damage there. But I think for the long run that type of culture’s very important.”
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The seniors have spent time with the freshmen since the beginning of the year, including an early-season trip to Sushi Palace – an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant.
“We stick together pretty much the entire year, Ambrosia said. That’s the type of culture I think Princeton’s all about and Princeton hockey and Princeton athletics is all about. It’s a family culture and that’s something we’re all proud of here.”
One of the events the team has is the annual country concert at the beginning of the season.
“We’re a hard working class, we’re a very personable class. I think the biggest thing of our legacy will probably be the cohesion that we help bring to the team,” Rankin said.
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Kyle Rankin is the vocal captain.
“Kyle’s a tremendous kid, he’s a really hard worker on the ice, off the ice. He’s very vocal and I think in a great way, he really gets the guys going,” Ambrosia said. “He’s great one-on-one, but he’s also great in the locker room. I think we’ve worked really well together, we’ve been great friends ever since we set foot on campus and I admire his leadership.”
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Mike Ambrosia is the quieter captain.
“Mike’s leadership style is great. It’s something you really have to have on every team,” Rankin said. “He’s a very organized guy, he’s a hardworking guy. He does a lot of the stuff in silence behind the scenes that when you really reflect upon, it’s very impressive. He’s a very approachable guy, he always has great ideas and he’s been a very strong compliment to me this year.”
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When Ambrosia and Rankin step out at Baker on Saturday night, it will be for the last time as Princeton hockey players. It’s a career that’s seen more losses than wins and four difficult seasons.
“Obviously 20 losses is a lot of losses and it definitely is difficult to keep a positive attitude,” Ambrosia said. “But that’s definitely part of our job, part of the coaching staff’s job and every single kid on the team, it’s part of our job to come to the rink every day ready to work and try to improve, because we don’t want to have those results every single weekend.”
Despite the losses, the Tigers have stayed positive – an attitude easy to see in the bustling pre-game soccer games or the smiles on the ice in warmups.
“Certainly it’s difficult. You’re not going to lie and say every Friday and Saturday, if you are losing that much, that you can come put a smile on your face,” Ambrosia said. “But more so than not, and that’s something that our class and our team is proud of, is that we have come to work and we have been improving the entire season. Hopefully that’ll pay off in the final two games of the regular season and going into the playoffs.”
Ambrosia and Rankin are also on their third coaching staff. When they entered as freshmen, they were playing for a different coach than the one that recruited them. And they saw another coaching change in the middle of their careers to Ron Fogarty, Brad Dexter and Stavros Paskaris.
The seniors have played through 82 losses and just 23 wins, but see the improvement. The Tigers have five wins this season, the most they’ve had since 2013-14.
“Obviously our records haven’t been what [we] wanted, but one thing I’ve really noticed about the improvement of the team from last year to this year, I think it’s reflected in the one-goal games we’ve been in,” Rankin said “And just the way we’ve been playing with the puck. We’re attacking more and we’re getting more scoring chances and that’s obviously been a great improvement for us.
“It’s been a great transition, they’re a great coaching staff, they really believe in us,” Ambrosia said.
“It’s more so of a transition and it obviously takes time for players to get used to structures and systems and stuff like that but it comes with the territory, and that’s life.”
On Saturday, Ambrosia and Rankin will pull on their home whites for the last time. But for now, they’re focused on their last games in a Princeton jersey, trying to extend their last season as long as they can.
“We aren’t really too worried about what other people think of us, the outside hockey world, because obviously if you look at stands people predict certain ways. But that’s the great thing about sports. Anything can happen on any night,” Ambrosia said.
“In terms of the future I think there’s so many young gus on our team that are phenomenal players and they really have bright futures. All the seniors, we can’t wait to follow them. But we have a couple weeks left here that we want to really do a good job and give them a good foot going forward.”
When the seniors leave, they’re leaving their program in the hands of that freshman class, the ones they’ve welcomed since September. Rookies Ryan Kuffner and Max Veronneau are the team’s leading scorers, while Josh Teves in one of their top defensemen.
“Hopefully the proof of the best improvements are yet to come,” Rankin said. “Hopefully they’re in this playoff run here and if we can give a good push. That’s what I’ll be most proud of.”
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Princeton’s class of 2016 – Mike Ambrosia, Kevin Liss, Kyle Rankin and Michael Zajac – reflect on some of their most memorable and weirdest moments.
Here are photos from Princeton’s 1-0 loss to Cornell on Saturday:
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Here are photos from Princeton’s 5-4 loss to Colgate on Friday:
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PRINCETON, N.J. – When the puck dropped on Friday night, Princeton jumped on the puck. In just one minute, Alex Riche had scored his first collegiate goal to give Princeton a 1-0 lead over Colgate. By the end of the period, the Tigers were ahead 3-1.
But it didn’t last.
“[It’s like] one of those songs, ‘I’m Henry The VIII I Am.’ Second verse same as the first. We wished [the] third verse was [the] same as the first,” Princeton coach Ron Fogarty said.
After struggling in the second and third and allowing two goals in the last frame, Princeton fell to Colgate 5-4 at Baker Rink.
“That was an exhausting loss,” Fogarty said. “[We] just played so well, it was a great effort and we just compounded our mistakes in the third. Their skilled players made a great play and then we all tried to recover instead of just continuing to do our job.”
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Kevin Lough’s go-ahead goal in the third, where he picked up a rebound and shot it past Colton Phinney, capped off three unanswered goals from the Raiders.
“You’re ging to have a breakdown, just don’t let the second and third happen,” Fogarty said. “[We need to] just recover. Our recovery wasn’t good.”
After Riche gave Princeton a 1-0 lead, Colgate’s Evan Peterson tied the game 5:55 minutes later. But Eric Robinson gave Princeton the lead 11:07 minutes into the period, and Garrett Skrbich then directed the puck in from the slot to give the Tigers a 3-1 advantage.
“I just dropped it to Max [Veronneau] and kind of got knocked over and Max shot it and [it] tipped off my stick and somehow found the way into the net,” Riche said.
Scoring slowed down early in the second, but at the 12:26 mark the Spink twins broke the puck out shorthanded. Tyson Spink sent the puck to Tylor Spink, who cut the deficit to 3-2. Just over a minute later, Veronneau converted on a tic-tac-toe play on a 5-on-3 man advantage to return Princeton’s lead to two. Defenseman Joe Grabowski sent the puck to Mike Ambrosia who tossed it to Veronneau for the goal.
“We had some good puck movement and [were] just trying to get pucks to the net,” Ambrosia said. “Because the last few games we struggled to even get shots on the power play. We don’t have to be too cute.
“We just need to find those openings, get guys in front because these goaltenders are great in this league when they see the puck. But if you get guys in front, traffic in front, move them side to side, we have a better chance of scoring. We’re just focusing on making plays, executing our passes and getting pucks on net and hopefully the power play will start turning around because especially in the playoffs special teams seem to decide games.”
After scoring the power play tally, the Tigers found themselves on the penalty kill less than four minutes later. The Raiders, who had been 0-for-3 on the man-advantage earlier in the game, made this one count. After the third-goal second, the Tigers held a 4-3 lead.
But Colgate and the Spink twins struck early in the third, with Tyson Spink tying the game 1:12 minutes into the third. Lough scored 4:07 minutes later. Princeton couldn’t respond and had trouble getting to the net in the third despite generating quality chances in the first two periods. Colgate’s Charlie Finn made 28 saves in the game.
“Finn’s had our number for the last, I guess it’s three years he’s had our number,” Fogarty said. “And we came out, executed, got pucks on the net, got traffic. I thought we did a great job and I think we did a good job of that. When you score four goals you got to have a better result too.”
The Raiders out shot the Tigers 45-32. Colton Phinney made 40 saves on the night, while Ambrosia and Grabowski netted two assists. The loss demoted Princeton to sole possession of 11th in the ECAC, two points behind Colgate and one point ahead of Brown.
“This last month we proved to ourselves that when we do play well 5-on-5, when we do stay out of the box and don’t give other teams odd man chances, that we can play with anyone in the nation,” Ambrosia said. “We played with Quinnipiac a couple periods and so just internally like that we know that if we do play our game for a full 60 minutes that we’ll definitely have a chance to win.
“But we have to do that and that’s what we’ve struggled with and so we’re going to continue to work hard and look forward to tomorrow.”
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On Saturday night, Princeton hockey co-captain Mike Ambrosia will skate against Cornell for the last time. Throughout his Princeton career, Ambrosia has played against the Big Red eight times – missing just one contest. The forward is 2-6 against the Ivy League rivals, winning his first two Cornell games.
By the time the lights dim on Baker after Saturday night, Ambrosia will have skated in his ninth and possibly final game against the Big Red. It seems like just another important, regular-season game with potential home ice on the line. And it’s just that for Ambrosia, another game.
But for his family, it’s much more.
Because when Ambrosia learned to skate as soon as he could walk, it was his dad – a Cornell hockey alumnus – teaching him.
“I definitely grew up a Cornell fan,” Ambrosia said.
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Ambrosia’s dad played for Cornell during 1975-78, the same time Ambrosia’s mother – Lynn – played for Cornell lacrosse. David Ambrosia, also a forward, dressed in 85 games for the Big Red and scored 129 points. He netted a career high 24 goals and 59 points during the 1976-77 season and served as the team captain the next season.
“There’s definitely some Cornell shirts and sweatshirts laying around the house and everything …. [I grew up] listening to my dad’s stories and my mom’s stories about their college experience,” Ambrosia said. “They really loved it.”
When he was younger, Ambrosia heard stories from his parents depicting a packed Lynah Rink from 40 years ago, where fans would throw fish onto the ice.
“I know they still do the newspaper thing where they’re announcing our names [and] they shake the newspapers like they’re ignoring the commentator,” Ambrosia said. “But I think back in the day the rules were probably a little more lenient and I think they used throw fish on the ice.
“We don’t get to see that anymore, but I’ve definitely heard some stories from my parents and my parents’ friends that they used to enjoy that tradition.”
While Ambrosia hasn’t seen the tradition of throwing fish, he has been visiting Lynah Rink for years.
“We used to go up every so often,” Ambrosia said. “It’s definitely a great place to play. Their fans are really into it and it’s a great atmosphere and as a team we always like going there and trying to get some points.”
Cornell was such a big part of Ambrosia’s life that he once considered becoming a Big Red, like his older brother Dan.
“It was definitely an option and something I considered, but my parents both told me at a very young age that I could go wherever I wanted and wherever I felt comfortable,” Ambrosia said. “Princeton quickly became that school, and I’m very happy for the decision that I made.”
When Ambrosia arrived at Princeton in 2012, it was slightly strange that he was the only member of his family who wasn’t a Cornelian.
“In the beginning it seemed odd, but obviously four years later so it’s just normal and they’ve become Princeton fans.”
The Chatham, N.J., native’s parents attend home games and travel to many away games. While Baker Rink has become a new home for the Ambrosias, it’s helped keep the family close to their Cornell roots.
“That first game that I ever played at Lynah Rink when I was a freshman that was definitely a special game. … But I think you know as the four years progress, it’s a normal game,” Ambrosia said.
But it’s still a big deal for Ambrosia’s family.
“My family and my extended family, they probably circle those two games on the schedule right when it comes out,” Ambrosia said. “They enjoy going back to their alma mater and a lot of them are still in the area, my extended family, so they enjoy coming down to Hobey Baker and going out to dinner afterward. It’s nice to get some family together around those games whether it’s in Ithica or here in Princeton.”
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Eye on the Tigers 
