The small but spirited contingent of Princeton hockey fans had
hung a sign from the upper deck of the Lake Placid arena saying,
"Make Hobey Proud."  One has to wonder whether in some other-worldly
living room Mr. Baker donned his Princeton sweater last night and
grinned from ear to ear while watching his Tiger decendants pull off
a stunning upset of the ECAC Regular Season Champion Clarkson Golden
Knights.  That is, if the word "upset" has any meaning left after
this improbable ECAC campaign.
     After an enthralling game between RPI and Colgate (kudos to
Mike Tamburro; I think it's safe to say his team owes its win to
him, at least in large part) the sizable contingent of Clarkson fans was
somewhat nervous but confident.  When these two teams met in Potsdam
the result was an 11-1 laugher for the Knights, but we knew what
the Tigers had done to the likes of Maine, RPI, and Brown.
     Our team must have known that Princeton would come out fired
up, and try to slow down anyone wearing white any way they could.
I think it must be said, though, that Clarkson didn't look like
they came to play in the first period.  In the crucial early stages
they seemed to be thinking more about RPI or someone else than the
opponent at hand, and Princeton managed to grab the momentum and
dictate the flow of the game.  By the time Clarkson came around
and got serious, the Tigers felt (and looked) like world beaters.
Did Princeton play clutch and grab?  Did they interfere?  Sure
they did (particularly on most of the faceoffs, where Clarkson's
wings couldn't start skating for a few seconds after each drop of
the puck while they were being held).  I would have done the same
thing if I had to play Clarkson.  The loss can't be blamed solely on
that, however.  The Tigers also created some great offensive
chances, and took the play to the Knights at crucial times.
Furthermore, they had to execute their slow-down tactics on an
Olympic-sized ice sheet, which should have been an advantage to
the Green and Gold.  It was their effort which looked Olympic-sized.
     Despite two justifiably waved off goals, Princeton put their
"1" on the old arena scoreboard first with a power play tally.
Sadly, I have to say I think Clarkson netminder Dan Murphy ought to
have stopped this one.  He was stellar the rest of the way, though,
and can't be faulted for the second goal nor for the loss.
     Clarkson woke up in the second period, and when Claude Morin
(who, along with Murphy and J. F. Houle was among the most
effective Knights this night) scored on a spectacular shorthanded
effort the previously stunned paratisan crowd erupted.  The momentum
had appeared to shift, but although Clarkson created more chances in
the remainder of the period they were always thwarted.  The Knights
kept drawing penalties, which prevented them from maintaining a head
of steam.  Meanwhile, the Tigers only gave Clarkson one full 2-minute
powerplay that I can recall, plus a couple of 1-minute man advantages.
There were a couple of questionable calls (Noeth and Hearn were the
referrees) and one blatant non-call which should have gone against
the Tigers during Clarkson's frantic flurries in the game's
closing minutes, but the officials didn't lose this game for
Clarkson.  More important was the fact that I don't recall seeing
a single odd-man rush for Clarkson the entire night.  There was
always a black jersey anywhere the Knights wanted to go, they beat
us to most of the pucks, and simply outhustled the favorites.
     The winner came with about ten minutes to go, and Princeton
thereafter repelled a number of Clarkson thrusts (including one
chance for Morin that looked like a tying goal but went wide; it
was a tough shot to make).  Eventually the top of the hourglass was
empty.  We fans were on our feet the last few minutes, cheering our
guts out and leaving our hearts on the old seats and benches where
"USA" chants resonated in a giddier time.  The long snake of cars
inching along snowy roads back to Potsdam resembled a funeral
procession.  Clarkson and their loyal followers came to the Olympic
Center looking for glory, but instead unexpectedly got to be the
Soviets, on the wrong end of an historic upset.  Maybe the Knights
got just a taste of how Tretiak and company felt.  We still love
them unconditionally, though.  We know what they are capable of,
and that they can bounce back and win again.  Their season is far
from over.  We are still proud of our team.
     As for Princeton, they may be playing longer than most people
expected this year.  I never would have predicted this after their
11-1 Potsdam debacle, and it is testimony to what a driven team
can do on a given night.  Upon reflection, I don't think Hobey
Baker was watching last night, after all.  I think he was on the
ice, in the heart of each Tiger skater.
 
Broken-heartedly,
-Glenn