Boston University 2, New Hampshire 1
Team Goal Str
Time Assists
First Period
1-BU Corey Trivino (6) EV
13:43 C. Connolly, V. Saponari

Second Period

1-UNH Bobby Butler (9) EV
5:52 P. LeBlanc, G. Collins
Third Period
2-BU Jason Lawrence (24) PP
19:45 C. Higgins, C. Cohen
Goaltending
UNH: Brian Foster, 59:45, 21 saves, 2 GA
BU: Kieran Millan, 60:00, 27 saves, 1 GA
Penalties: UNH 4/8; BU 3/6
Power Plays: UNH 0-3; BU 1-4

ALBANY, N.Y. — It started harmlessly enough, after approximately eight minutes had been played in the early semifinal at the Bank of America Hockey Championships. Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba stared down Colgate star forward Tyler Burton as Burton split the Tiger defensemen and had a clear breakaway. Kalemba went low to the ice on his belly, covered the bottom of the net and denied Burton's backhand deke attempt by snaring the shot in his catching glove.

Burton had the game's best opportunity later in the first period when a rebound fell to him in the low slot, with Kalemba stationed at the far post after having made the initial save. Burton didn't get a great chance on his backhand attempt and it rolled off the end of his stick. Instead of finding the five and a half feet of gaping net mouth, Kalemba's glove again reached down to stop the first-class chance.

As stated earlier, that was just the start. Kalemba kept it up all the way through Princeton's 3-0 win over Colgate that sent Princeton to Saturday night's ECAC Hockey Championship game against Harvard.

It continued through the second period with good stops on Jesse Winchester and David McIntyre as the game remained scoreless through 40 minutes.

Kalemba's victim in the third period was Ethan Cox. The first came off a point-blank one-timer on a 2-on-1 rush to keep the game scoreless. Princeton's Matt Arhontas broke the scoring drought with 11:56 left in the third period. Teammate Mark Magnowski forced a Colgate turnover and Arhontas was the beneficiary of a bounce. He was in clearly on Raider goalie Mark Dekanich and slid the puck between the pads for a 1-0 Princeton lead that would hold up as the game-winner.

The second stop on Cox was a spinning stuff attempt from inside the crease with 5:25 left to play and Princeton leading 1-0. The ensuing play saw Kevin Lohry go the distance the other way and score on a breakaway with 5:16 left that put Princeton ahead by two goals..

Bemidji State 4, Cornell 1
Team Goal Str
Time Assists
First Period
No Scoring

Second Period

1-COR Sean Collins (3) EV
12:35 K. Ross , T. Mugford
1-BSU Ryan Adams (1) EV
14:25 T. Scofield
Third Period
2-BSU Tyler Scofield (21) EV
4:05 M. Read, K. Hardwick
3-BSU Matt Francis (13) EV
9;30 B. Kinne
4-BSU Tyler Scofield (22) EN
16:37 M. Read, G. McManamin
Goaltending
BSU: Matt Dalton, 60:00, 25 saves, 1 GA
COR: Ben Scrivens, 56:26, 17 saves, 3 GA, 1 ENG
Penalties: BSU 5/10; COR 4/8
Power Plays: BSU 0-4; COR 0-5

Scanning a box score or the league's scoring leaders won't bring Taylor to mind. Watching any Harvard game will paint a clear picture of how vital he is to the Crimson's success. That was the case in Friday night's 3-1 semifinal win over Cornell that sent Harvard to Saturday's ECAC Hockey Championship against Princeton.

Taylor's energy and work ethic, his poise with the puck and willingness to pursue it when Cornell had it set the tone for Harvard. It's been that way since early February, when Harvard started its impressive run of 10 wins, two losses, and a tie to put itself in a position to resurrect a season that was sliding downhill. It's no coincidence that Taylor has at least one point in those 13 games.

"I lead by example, but I'm also able to open up around my teammates when I'm pretty soft spoken. That's what we've tried to do in the second half. I had a great talk with (co-captain) Dave MacDonald and we knew we needed to turn things around," Taylor said.

His reputation for scoring big goals is well-earned. He's got three short-handed goals on the season. All of them broke scoreless ties, and Harvard went on to win those games. He had a goal and an assist in the three-goal spree in the first period of the Beanpot win over Northeastern that started to turn the Crimson tide.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

As expected, Cornell had the largest number of supporters in attendance, but their enthusiasm waned after Harvard tallied those back-to-back PPGs in the second period. It's easy to cheer for your team when they're winning. Fans cheer for their team at all times.

Cheers for beers! Concession stands and vendors sold a variety of beers in the arena and a good number of fans enjoyed an adult refreshment or two during the evening's festivities. They won't have that opportunity next weekend when the Times Union Center hosts the NCAA East Regional.