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www.nyhockeyjournal.com 13 By Roman J. Uschak T WAS A TOUGH HOCKEY SEASON on the men's side for Princeton Universi- ty, although the ending for the Tigers was somewhat bittersweet. Following a season-opening victory at nationally ranked St. Cloud State in November in Minnesota, the Tigers would win only three more regular-season games while finishing 11th in the ECAC Hockey League, and were sent to face fifth- seeded Dartmouth in a best-of-three first-round se- ries in New Hampshire. The Tigers triumphed, sweeping the Big Green with two overtime wins (4-3, 5-4), and prepared to head to the conference quarterfinals. Then came the coronavirus — and the cancellation of the rest of the 2019-20 NCAA hockey season, along with other winter and even spring national collegiate championships. "It was a 24-hour con- versation we had, with the university and the ECAC on March 11," recalled Prince- ton head coach Ron Fogarty. Everything was finalized the next day regarding can- cellations, and despite their two playoff wins, the Tigers' rejuvenated season was over. "We were playing Cor- nell, then Clarkson, then Quinnipiac — three oppo- nents in 24 hours," said Fog- arty of the ongoing ECAC Hockey scheduling changes. "It was a lot of scrambling and adjustments." The NCAA then pulled the plug, and the Tigers stayed home — or rather, didn't, as students were sent home from campus soon afterward, to study remotely from home, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. Despite the lack of wins as a whole, Fogarty said he was "thoroughly impressed" with his team's resiliency, especially up front, as it was able to dress only 11 for- wards for much of the sea- son. More than 30 percent of Princeton's 31 games overall also went into overtime, with the Tigers going 3-3- 5 in those extended contests. "We didn't have a full lineup from November until the last two weeks of the season," he said. "We competed every night, and with a couple of lucky bounces, it (the record) could have been different. "We kept working towards the playoffs," added Fogarty. "It worked the first series versus Dart- mouth — and the rest is unknown." The Tigers would have had to win the ECAC Hockey championship for the second time in three seasons to have again qualified for the NCAA tour- nament. I Continued on Page 14 CANCELED CANCELED Senior captain Derek Topatigh (No. 28) amassed 43 points as a four-year blueliner for the Tigers. Inset right: Jeremy Germain (No. 23; Hamden, Conn./Choate) leaves the Tigers after a 26-point career; Joey Fallon (No. 9; West Islip, N.Y./Gunnery) played in 31 games as a senior. Shelley M. Szwast/Princeton Athletics; Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics; RPI Athletics