Boxscore

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Zane Kalemba stopped all 30 shots on target and three different players scored goals as the Princeton men's hockey team defeated Yale 3-0 in the opening game of the best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal playoff series.

Kalemba, who stopped 94 of 101 shots in beating the Bulldogs (15-13-4) three times during the regular season, earned his third shutout of the season.

Alec Richards, who had 14 saves in the first period and 35 overall, gave up two early goals that were the difference.

Princeton (18-12) outshot Yale 38-30 and tallied once on four man-advantages.

"Kalemba was a big part of the win for them," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey. "We created chances and got nothing. He [Kalemba] made it hard for us to get back in the game."

The Tigers took just 39 seconds to get on the scoreboard and it came on the game's first shot on target. It seemed harmless enough when leading scorer Lee Jubinville fired a slapshot from the left circle, but the puck found the upper right corner for his 12th goal of the year.

The Bulldogs turned some solid fore-checking into a number of quality scoring chances early on. Kalemba came up with a few outstanding saves to keep Yale off the board while his support at the other end increased.

Mike Moore (6th goal) made it 2-0 at 4:17 when he fired a long wrister from the point that went over Richards' left shoulder. Two shots headed for the same corner of the net and two goals for the favored home team.

Yale, which nearly scored on a rebound put-back by Tom Dignard that bounced off the post, had a goal taken away with seconds left in the opening frame. Working its second power play, the puck came across the front of the net to freshman winger Denny Kearney who was positioned a step from the side of the crease. Kearney kicked the puck to his stick and the puck crossed the goal line just after touching his blade. Referee John Murphy immediately waved it off, claiming that the Bulldog skater had kicked the puck into the net. The video replay clearly showed that was not the case.

"I thought the ref made a mistake. There was not distinct kicking motion," said Allain.

Princeton outshot Yale 16-10 in the first 20 minutes and really poured it on in the second. Yale penalties certainly helped and the Tiger power-play unit notched its first goal to make it 3-0. Defenseman Taylor Fedun's shot from the point bounced off Princeton forward Matt Arhontas' stick and whizzed inside the left post at 10:55. Arhontas (6th) was standing in the middle of the slot with a defender at his side.

The Elis, 0-for-6 on the power play, had plenty of chances to get back into the game in the second but Kalemba kept snatching pucks from the air or throwing a leg pad out at the last moment to knock away what appeared to be a sure Yale tally. The sophomore netminder made 10 stops again in the second and kept the visitors off the board on four power-play chances.

"They pressured us into moving the puck quicker than we wanted to," said Allain about the Princeton penalty-kill.

The Tigers had the edge in shots (11-10) in the third as well, but the Bulldogs seemed to have most of the grade-A chances.

Yale, which needs a win in game two to keep its season alive, is back at Baker Rink Saturday night at 7.

Bulldog Bites On one Bulldog penalty-kill, freshman forward Jeff Anderson blocked three consecutive shots on one shift... This was the first post-season meeting between Yale and Princeton since the 1998 semifinals at Lake Placid, a 2-1 Tiger victory. The Elis won the only other ECAC playoff meeting, a 5-1 decision in the 1990 preliminary round at Baker Rink... Yale had the same players suited up as in game No. 2 of the Rensselaer series... The crowd at Baker Rink was about 85 percent of capacity and included both school bands.

Recap filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director