Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y.-- Princeton goaltender Zane Kalemba made 35 saves to lead the No. 15 Tigers to a 4-1 win against the 16th-ranked Harvard men's hockey team in the title game of the Bank of America ECAC Hockey Championship Saturday night at the Times Union Center.

The loss ended a dramatic late-season run through ECAC Hockey by the Crimson (17-13-4). Harvard was in seventh place on Feb. 8, but went 6-0-1 in its final seven league games to finish in third in the regular season to set up its runner-up showing in the tournament. The Crimson reached the championship game for 17th time, the sixth in the past seven seasons.

After the Tigers (21-13-0) scored one goal in each of the first two periods, senior Jon Pelle scored the Crimson's goal on a power play just 24 seconds into the final frame. Pelle and sophomore defenseman Alex Biega were named to the all-tournament team. Biega and senior Mike Taylor assisted on Pelle's goal, giving Taylor points in his last 14 games.

The goal was Pelle's fifth on the power play in five tournament games. Biega had six assists to share the tournament scoring lead among defensemen. Taylor was ECAC Hockey's leading playoff scorer with 11 points on three goals and a tournament-best eight assists. Senior Dave Watters also had an outstanding final playoff run, notching four goals and five assists.

Pelle's goal was the first allowed by Kalemba in a tournament-record 189 minutes, 59 seconds. He was named the playoffs' Most Outstanding Player.

Kalemba, Pelle and Biega were joined on the all-tournament team by Princeton's Mike Moore and Kevin Lohry and Cornell's Michael Kennedy.

Moore, Landis Stankievech and Brett Wilson tallied for Princeton before Mark Magnowski added an empty-netter. Harvard held a 36-28 edge in shots and got 24 saves from sophomore Kyle Richter.

Moore gave the Tigers an early lead. Following a chance in front, Richter poked the puck clear of trouble. Moore collected it at the blue line on the left side, skated to the faceoff dot and sent a wrist shot through traffic that found its way in for a 1-0 Princeton advantage at 5:04 of the first period.

Shortly after the goal, Harvard had the game's first power play. The Crimson kept the puck in the Princeton end the entire two minutes and put five shots on net, but Kalemba stopped them all. He made another big stop with 5:43 left in the frame. After senior Tyler Magura created a turnover in the offensive zone, freshman Matt McCollem pounced on the puck, found some space and fired a wrist shot from the slot that Kalemba sucked up.

Princeton outshot Harvard, 14-13, in the first period, but the Crimson came out strong in the second. Kalemba made big saves shots by on McCollem and Watters rushing up the right side and by sophomore Doug Rogers coming in from the left corner.

Princeton doubled its advantage at 12:34 of the second, when Stankievech's slap shot from above the left circle was partially stopped but trickled over the goal line. The Tigers took the 2-0 margin to the intermission despite a 12-8 advantage for Harvard in second-period shots.

The Crimson wasted little time trimming the two-goal deficit to one in the third period. Princeton penalties late in the second period and early in the third put Harvard on a 4-on-3 power play. Senior Mike Taylor got the puck on the right side from sophomore Alex Biega up top. He sent the puck across the zone to the left faceoff dot. Pelle was waiting there to bang a one-timer over Kalemba's shoulder just nine seconds into the man advantage.

Lohry tried to answer for the Tigers. He carried the puck down the right side of the zone and dragged it across in front of Richter, but the Crimson goalie got his right pad down to make the stop and keep Harvard within a goal. The Crimson, however, could not get an equalizer past Kalemba, and Brett Wilson gave the Tigers some breathing room with a power-play score at 16:54.

Magnowski's empy-net tally at 18:22 ensured Princeton its second league tournament title and NCAA tournament berth.