Trailing eighth-seeded Middletown South 4-2 heading into the third period in the opening round of the state Public B boys’ hockey tournament, 25th-seeded Princeton High wasn’t about to go out without a fight.
Scoring two unanswered goals to start the period, PHS turned the game into a 4-4 nailbiter.
“We gave them a run, we tied them in the third,” said Little Tigers head coach Terence Miller, noting that the game-tying goal came on a backdoor play involving the McCormick brothers, sophomore Brendon and senior Connor. “Once we got it to 4-4 we created a lot of chances and were playing well.”
PHS, though, couldn’t close the deal as Middletown South pulled away to a 7-4 victory in the February 24 contest.
“We had a tough turnover in the back end and they made it 5-4,” recalled Miller, whose team ended the season with a 10-10-2 record. “We pulled the goalie and they got two empty net goals.”
Miller wasn’t surprised that his team fought to the end. “We usually come to play and rise to the occasion,” said Miller. “That is the MO of this team; we can give anyone a game. We showed that Princeton High grit and determination to do well in playoffs. The flip side of that is that when we didn’t come to play this year, we could lose to anyone. We are not a team that can steamroller people.”
In reflecting on the season, Miller acknowledged that it wasn’t a smooth ride.
“It was an interesting year; it was a challenging season,” said Miller. “We started well and then had a lull around the holidays. We lost some tough games to Cranford, HoVal, and Westfield. We managed to right the ship, we had a nice run into the counties.”
Miller credited senior co-captains John Reid (11 goals and 27 assists in 2014-15) and Connor McCormick (19 goals, 17 assists) with keeping the Little Tigers headed in the right direction.
“John and Connor were great leaders all year; they are good kids,” said Miller.
“They are really hockey guys; hockey is their passion. They are not rah rah holler guys but team success means a lot to them.”
The team’s other seniors, Chris Munoz (6 goals, 6 assists), Nick Palmer (4 goals, 3 assists), Becket Tovar (1 goal, 3 assists), Aidan Bitterman (2 goals), and backup goalie Joe Hawes (an 0.891 save percentage with 7 goals against) played a role in the team’s success.
“The seniors are a good group,” said Miller, whose team advanced to the county semifinals. “Even the guys who didn’t get a lot of playing time and weren’t scoring the goals still had their hearts in it. They were all in it for the right reasons; they wanted to have a good senior year.”
The future looks good for PHS with such returning players as sophomore starting goalie Sawyer Peck (an 0.828 save percentage and 72 goals against), sophomore defenseman Tooker Callaway (3 goals, 12 assists), sophomore defenseman Eamonn McDonald (3 goals, 11 assists), freshman defenseman Max Garlock (1 goal, 1 assist), sophomore forward Brendon McCormick (30 goals, 21 assists), junior forward Nathan Drezner (6 goals, 5 assists), and freshman forward Justin Joyce (7 goals, 4 assists).
“There is a good foundation; we have a good mix of younger guys,” said Miller.
“The guys got a lot of experience. We have three sophomores and a freshman on the back end. Brendon is a terrific player, he had a really good season. The whole group is into it; they want to be successful.”