Men's Hockey: Gadowsky leaves, Prier hired

The Class of 2011 won more games than any other in the history of the men’s hockey program, but the season ended on a sour note for the most tenured Tigers. Princeton’s season came to a surprising end in the first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament, as St. Lawrence won the final two games of the best-of-three series to upset Princeton at Baker Rink.

Princeton (17-13-2 overall, 11-9-2 Ivy League) tied for fourth in the regular season but earned the No. 6 seed in the ECAC tournament via tiebreakers. The Tigers won nine of 11 games in a two-month span in the middle of the season, earning a national ranking in the top 20.

Freshman forward Andrew Calof led the team with 24 assists, while senior forward Mike Kramer notched 31 points and a team-high 13 goals. Calof netted a game-opening goal in the first match of the tournament and put the Tigers ahead 2-1 in the second period of the second game, leaving the hosts just a half-hour away from advancing.

But the Saints equalized minutes later and struck again in the third period to force a rubber match the following day. The visitors scored twice in the first 11 minutes of the finale, holding on for a 2-1 victory that eliminated the Tigers from the postseason.

In April, head coach Guy Gadowsky announced that he would leave Princeton to lead the Penn State hockey program in its transition to Division I. He departs along with his successful seniors, leaving the program in much better shape than it was when he started.

Gadowsky engineered a stunning turnaround, leading a team that went 29-82-11 in the four years before he was hired to an ECAC championship and two NCAA tournament appearances in his first five seasons.

Two weeks later, the athletic department hired Bob Prier, who was on the opposing bench when St. Lawrence defeated the Tigers in the playoffs. Prier was an assistant coach for the Tigers in 2002 before spending nine years as an assistant at St. Lawrence.

“The Princeton hockey program is in a terrific state,” Prier said in an athletics department press release. “As a coach in the league, I have witnessed firsthand the quality of players on the Princeton roster. They work hard and are fun to watch.”