All week long, Princeton's players were treated like kids wanting to sit at the grown-ups' table during Easter dinner. Among themselves, the Western hockey powers seemed to be saying, "Pass the ham. Would you like another deviled egg?," interrupted infrequently by an occasional, "Oh, Princeton, did you want some, too?"

The condescension had evaporated by the end of the Tigers' gut-wrenching, 2-1 loss to fifth-ranked Michigan in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March 27. Much as the men's lacrosse and basketball teams had done at the start of their most recent national resurgences, the icemen from the home of the legendary Hobey Baker '14 showed they could compete with a prominent, if overconfident, opponent.

Coach Don Cahoon deserves much of the credit for their triumphant rise. "When Don started the program, this was the goal," said Wally McDonough '84, an active member of the Friends of Hockey who attended the game, held at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor. "The idea was to take one step at a time and constantly improve the program." In 1991-92, Cahoon's first season, the Tigers won their first postseason game. Three years later, when the current seniors were freshmen, Princeton advanced to Lake Placid and reached the ECAC Final for the first time. This season, by capturing their first ECAC title, the Tigers qualified for their first national tourney. The sixth seed in the West Regional, they faced off against third-seeded Michigan, the bracket's host team.

It was assumed that the Wolverines, considered bigger and faster than their Eastern foe, were destined for a quarterfinal matchup against second-seeded North Dakota, which received a first-round bye. In the week before the tournament, the Fighting Sioux's head coach, Dean Blais, let Princeton (18-11-7 overall, 7-9-6 ECAC) know it wouldn't get much respect, saying he was looking forward to dueling Michigan on its home ice in the second-round game.

North Dakota did get to play (and lose to) the Wolverines, one day after a mental lapse and a fluke bounce left Princeton wondering what might have been. The inspired Tigers skated stride for stride with the Michigan team, slowing it down in transition and dishing out more hits than they received.

Early on, Princeton may have been a bit too inspired; aggressive play landed players in the penalty box four times in the first 12 minutes. But four successful penalty kills -- including a five-on-three assault weathered by Syl Apps '99, Chris Barber '00, all-ECAC defenseman Steven Shirreffs '99, and goaltender Erasmo Saltarelli '98 -- kept the game scoreless through the first 20 minutes.

"We've had trouble starting first periods all season," said Saltarelli, who had a standout effort, making 29 saves. "We've always come back strong, so it wasn't a major concern." The goalie finishes his career with the best save percentage and second-best goals-against average in the university's annals.

Princeton's power-play heroics in the first made the man-down goal they gave up in the second, due to an inexcusable penalty -- a bench minor for having too many men on the ice -- even more painful. A wrist shot from Michigan defenseman Chris Fox slipped through heavy traffic and skipped past Saltarelli's left skate, giving the Wolverines a 10 lead.

The Tigers responded with 1:22 remaining in the period, as the prolific Orange Line, playing its last game together, put together a trademark score. Scott Bertoli '99 knocked a defender off the puck in the right corner, and Casson Masters '98 swooped in to corral it. Masters sent a precise pass to Jeff Halpern '99, standing in the slot, where Halpern one-timed a shot over the right shoulder of goaltender Marty Turco. Halpern's tally was his record-breaking 28th of the season. It was witnessed by John McBride '60, who had scored 27 goals in 1958-59.

The gamewinner in this classic defensive struggle came less than a minute into the third period on a play that better suited a pinball machine than a hockey rink. Michigan forward Mark Kosick flipped an apparently harmless backhand shot toward the Tiger net, and Halpern, positioned in front of the crease, attempted to intercept the puck as it approached him. Instead, it deflected off his stick and into the net, catching Saltarelli off guard and making the score 2-1, Michigan.

By then Michigan was apparently convinced Princeton was a dangerous team after all, so it immediately shifted into a hunkered-down defense similar to one the Tigers had used with success in their ECAC-title run. After that, Princeton was only able to register two legitimate scoring opportunities: the first with 4:25 left, on a rebound attempt by Ethan Doyle '01 off a Brian Horst '99 steal, which slipped wide of the net off Turco's stick; the second with 20 seconds to play on a redirection by Robbie Sinclair '98, which Turco blocked with his right shoulder.

The loss ended the careers of the senior class, which assembled Princeton's best four-year run since before World War II. When asked how he would like the group to be remembered, Saltarelli replied, "A class that worked hard and showed up to play every night. We had a purpose in that we wanted to win and leave a mark on the university. I think in a small amount we accomplished that."

"It didn't start with us," added forward Matt Brush '98. "Guys like Ian Sharp ['95] and Andre Faust ['92] got the ball rolling. We were just fortunate to get to the tournament."

Next year, Princeton will remember the kind of effort it took to get to the postseason, since most of its key players are returning. Now they also have a taste of how it feels to be there. So set a place for them at the 1999 NCAA tournament. The Tigers are big boys now, and they plan to come back for more helpings next spring.

-- Mike Jackman '92

Stickwomen sprint to 5-0 start

Strong defense and a confident attack have helped women's lacrosse get an inside lane in the race for NCAA tourney bids with wins in several tough early-season games. In March, the Tigers (50 overall, 10 Ivy) had defeated ranked squads from Duke, William and Mary, Georgetown, and Penn State, moving from seventh to second in the national rankings.

An experienced defense led by speedy veteran Johanna Deans '99 has been outstanding. It had an impressive effort on March 21 against Georgetown (coached by Kim Simons '94), absorbing a barrage of shots in the closing moments to pull out a 6-5 win. The dominating offense, led by Cristi Samaras '99, Tice Burke '99, and Jen Alexander '98, averages 13 goals a game; the strong midfield features cocaptains Brent McAllister '98 and Melissa Cully '98 (pictured in the team's 17-1 rout of Columbia in March).

Princeton met seventh-ranked Temple and fifth-ranked Virginia in early April. Rivals Dartmouth (ranked 12th) and Maryland (ranked fourth) visit on April 25 and 29, respectively. Princeton finishes at Brown on May 2. If the streaking Tigers maintain their quick pace, they could make this season's run a long one -- all the way to the Final Four.

Pitching solid in soggy spring for baseball and softball

Bad weather and good pitching marked the baseball and softball squads' spring trips this year. Baseball (7-4 overall, 00 Ivy) returned from a swing through North Carolina with a winning record, paced by its veteran hurlers. After the trip, baseball coach Scott Bradley termed his pitching depth "very good."

Overall, Bradley was happy with his team's response to the adverse conditions. According to Town Topics newspaper, Bradley, a former pro, told the team, "This is what it's like to play minor league baseball. You spend a lot of time sitting around hotel rooms."

Back in New Jersey, the Tigers went 4-2 versus local teams from Monmouth, Wagner, and Rutgers, then headed into the Ivy season with a doubleheader against league rivals Harvard and Dartmouth on April 4 and 5. Temple and Penn will play at Princeton this week.

Softball

Coach Cindy Cohen's Tigers (12-10 overall, 0-0 Ivy) also showed quality pitching on their spring trip, especially from ace righthander Lynn Miller '99 (photo). Tepid hitting and defensive mistakes cost the team some games on its jaunt in South Carolina, however. In the second game of a doubleheader versus Illinois-Chicago, the team's forgettable effort featured more errors (5) than hits (2).

The Tigers played better at the Princeton Invitational on March 28 and 29, winning three one-run games en route to the tourney title. The team began its Ivy season at Cornell April 10. Princeton plays at Connecticut, Brown, and Yale this week.

Attackman Jesse Hubbard: Obsessive? Maybe. Impressive? Absolutely.

If it were anyone else, I'd be worried," said lacrosse coach Bill Tierney, as he watched Jesse Hubbard '98 fire yet another shot wide of the goal during a practice in mid-February. Tierney sounded worried, despite his claim to the contrary. With the season opener at Johns Hopkins less than two weeks away, Hubbard was breaking in a new stick, and his shooting showed it. After practice, the attackman cracked a couple of reassuring jokes: "I'm calling it 'Fetus' -- it was just born yesterday," he told Tierney. "It's still learning the way."

Fetus was a fast learner. Twelve days later, Hubbard used it to score five goals for Princeton (41 overall, 1-0 Ivy) in an 18-10 win over Hopkins. His 121st career goal bested Justin Tortolani '92's university record of 120. At press time, Hubbard had upped the total to 135.

Three of Hubbard's goals at Hopkins were merely quick and hard

-- the other two were spectacular. In the third quarter, fans gawked in amazement as Hubbard whipped a no-look, behind-the-back shot at the side of the goal into the net, while a Blue Jay defender was marking him closely. That goal wasn't a product of shooting during team practices: "If I shot like that all the time here, I'd probably spend a lot of time on the bench," he says.

Instead it probably came as a result of Hubbard's nightly habit of shooting for an extra half-hour or so on a goal behind Dillon Gymnasium. In these sessions, the economics major, who played his high-school lacrosse at St. Alban's in Washington, D.C., shoots "from everywhere" and practices "all kinds of shots," including off-balance ones he would rarely try in practice.

Tortolani was most impressed by a goal Hubbard had scored in the second quarter, however. Catching a pass at his ankles about 15 yards from the net, Hubbard had whipped his stick up in one motion and scored in the upper-left corner of the Hopkins goal. "He made the pass part of his windup and then used the force of the ball to lift his stick," he said. "It was your basic golf shot."

This wasn't golf, however. Only a handful of players could have made a shot like that, said Tortolani, who's now an orthopedics resident at Johns Hopkins hospital. He speculated that the short list of possibilities might include Paul and Gary Gait, the legendary twins who played at Syracuse in the late 1980s, and Casey Powell, a senior attackman at Syracuse. Powell and Hubbard are the only two collegians who'll play for the U.S. in this summer's quadrennial world championship, the World Games.

Similarities between Hubbard and the game's all-time legends are not an accident. In addition to obsessively practicing his shots, Hubbard scrutinizes film of great shooters like the Gait brothers. His video habits impress Tierney, who says Princeton's starting attack of Hubbard, Jon Hess '98, and Chris Massey '98 watch as much tape as any players he's ever coached. While many attackmen look for weaknesses in the goalies they'll be facing, Hubbard prefers to focus on his own mechanics; he's not even that keen on watching the defenseman who will play him.

Hubbard's obsessiveness extends to his sticks. He's used the same model, the STX Viper, since high school, despite the fact that the fragile plastic head breaks several times a season. With each new one, Hubbard has to begin the long break-in process again, adjusting the numerous strings that comprise the stick's pocket, because their alignment has a significant effect on how the ball comes out of the stick. "It usually takes a week and a half to break in a new stick. A week later, they usually break," he says ruefully.

Hubbard's on his third stick this year, having broken one a few days after the Hopkins game and another a few days after Princeton's 9-7 loss at the University of Virginia on March 7. He decided to use it in a game against the University of North Carolina on March 15, reinforcing the plastic with swaths of athletic tape. Despite the fracture, Hubbard scored five goals against the Tar Heels in an 18-10 Princeton win.

Hubbard scored two more goals in a 13-5 win over number-12 Penn State, and he should score a lot more goals in April. Only two of Princeton's remaining eight foes are ranked. That should give him more than enough time to break in some new sticks for May's NCAA playoffs.

-- David Marcus '92

David Marcus is a former manager of the lacrosse team.

Scoreboard

Baseball

(7-4 overall, 0-0 Ivy)

L at N. Carolina St., 5-6

L at N. Carolina, 4-6

L vs. Monmouth, 4-7

W/W vs. Wagner, 5-2/5-3

W/W at Monmouth, 7-2/11-4

L at Rutgers, 6-10

M. Ice Hockey

(18-11-7 overall, 796 ecac)

NCAA Tourn.

L at Michigan, 1-2

M. Lacrosse

(4-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy)

W vs. Yale, 19-5

W. Lacrosse

(5-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy)

W at Columbia, 17-1

W at Penn St., 19-12

Softball

(4-2 overall, 0-0 Ivy)

L/L vs. S. Carolina, 0-5/1-2

W vs. Dayton, 2-0

W vs. U.N.C.Wilmington, 97

L vs. Wichita St., 2-3

L vs. U.Va., 1-2

L/L at Villanova, 0-1/2-6

Princeton Invit.-1st

W vs. Rob. Morris, 1-0 (8)

W vs. Hofstra, 3-2 (8)

L vs. Boston C., 5-6 (9)

W vs. Hofstra, 1-0

W/W vs. Drexel, 9-1/10-4

M. Tennis

(5-6 overall, 0-0 Ivy)

L at San Diego, 3-4

L at Pepperdine, 0-7

L at U.C.Santa Barbara, 16

W at ClaremontMudd, 70

W at Penn, 6-1

L at Columbia, 3-4

W vs. Temple, 6-1

W. Tennis

(8-0 overall, 2-0 Ivy)

W at San Diego, 5-4

W vs. Idaho St., 9-0

W vs. Cal. St.Northridge, 72

W at Cal. St.Fullerton, 9-0

W vs. Penn, 5-4

W vs. Columbia, 8-1

M. Track

(0-0 overall, 0-0 Ivy)

Florida Invit.-indiv.

Rutgers Invit.-indiv.

W. Track

(8-2 overall, 6-1 Ivy)

Florida Invit.-indiv.

Rutgers Invit.-indiv.

M. Volleyball

(11-7 overall, 6-4 eiva)

W vs. Queens Coll., 3-1

W vs. Penn St., 3-0

W vs. N.J.I.T., 3-2

W at E. Stroudsberg, 3-1

W. Water Polo

(2-2 overall, 0-0 cwpa)

Princeton Invit.

L vs. Indiana, 5-11

W vs. Navy, 8-7

W vs. Harvard, 7-5

L vs. U.Mass., 1-11

Ivy Invit.

W vs. Dartmouth, 8-3

L vs. U.Mass., 2-10

W vs. Yale, 20-1

W vs. Brown, 15-3

W at Harvard, 6-4

W vs. Loy.-Marymt., 6-2

L vs. U.S.C., 4-10

Claremont Invit.

W vs. Pomona-Pitzer, 63

W vs. San Diego, 1-0

W vs. Redlands, 4-1

W vs. Indiana, 5-4

W vs. Claremont-

Mudd-Scripps, 3-0

Highlights

M. Ice Hockey: Center Jeff Halpern '99 named MVP of ECAC tournament; goalie Erasmo Saltarelli '98 named to Eastern Senior all-star squad. W. Water Polo: won Ivy League title with first-place finish at Ivy Invit.; ranked 19th in March CWPA poll.