ND, Princeton collide for berth in final
Over the years, any time Princeton and Notre Dame get together on the ice there’s always something at stake.
When the two face-off on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Mercer County Park, the prize is a berth in the Mercer County Tournament final.
Before Hun went on this four-year reign in the county, the Irish won in 2012 and 2013. They have amassed 11 MCT crowns.
Princeton was a finalist last year, falling 4-3 to Hun and last won the county bragging rights in 2011 when Tim Campbell was the coach. The Little Tigers have three MCT titles.
Over the last four years, the No. 3 Irish (12-9) and No. 2 Princeton (15-7-2) have met in the semifinals three times with ND holding a 3-0 advantage. They have out-scored the Little Tigers, 25-7 in those three meetings.
“We know Princeton and they know us,” said ND coach Andrew Ducko. “We’ve had battles with them the last eight years and besides Hun coming in at the end of the year we battle with Princeton in our league too.”
The two Colonial Division foes have met two times this season and split a pair of games. Notre Dame won 4-3 in January and Princeton got the better of play in a 3-2 victory earlier this month.
“I think we are fired up to play ND again,” said Tom Chase, the Little Tigers firstyear coach. “Both games have been decided near the end of the third period. Both of our teams know each other very well, so there will be no surprises. It should be a great game.”
ND, which has gone 4-6 in the last 10 and advanced with a win over West Windsor-Plainsboro, has been involved in only two one-goal games all season — the two meetings with Princeton.
“We have to play strong team defense,” said Ducko. “We need to make better plays in transition and score on our opportunities. We compete with our goalie and our d-zone and we win with timely goals.”
Ben Kilian leads the way with 13 goals and 14 assists for ND, Nathan Goldberg added 10 and 12, but the hottest ND player right now is Ryan Nemec with 11 goals and 13 assists. Nemec has two goals and six assists in the last four games.
“Our gap control issues in the neutral zone have provided ND with most of their chances and goals,” said Chase. “We need to do a better job back checking and having the defensemen closing the gap.”
The Tigers are coming off a 4-1 loss to Summit (18-22) and advanced in thrilling fashion with an overtime win over Robbinsville in the quarters.
Princeton is led by Player of the Year candidate Aidan Trainor with 24 goals and 24 assists, Keith Goldberg has 14 and 11 and Rocco Salvato has been steady with 10 goals and 12 assists.
Goldberg had the game winner over Robbinsville.
“They are a very deep team with high end talent,” said Ducko, of the Tigers. “Aidan (Trainor) and Rocco (Salvato) are two of the best players around and they have a strong group of secondary scorers that you need to win.”