PARTING SHOT: Princeton High boys’ hockey player Tooker Callaway fires the puck in a game this season. Last Thursday, senior defenseman and assistant captain Callaway scored a goal in a losing cause as ninth-seeded PHS fell 6-3 to 13th-seeded Watchung Hills in the state Public A semis. It was program’s first-ever appearance in the state semis. PHS finished the winter at 19-4-4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

As the Princeton High boys’ hockey team started play in the Public A state tournament, it didn’t view being seeded ninth as an impediment to making a deep run in the competition.

“When you go into any game, you don’t think about who you are playing or how good they are or anyone they have,” said PHS senior defenseman and assistant captain Tooker Callaway. “It is about what is in your heart and how hard you can work.”

PHS displayed plenty of heart along with some hard play in the tourney, overcoming eighth-seeded Southern 3-2 in overtime in a second round contest and then stunning top-seeded Morris Knolls 5-2 in the quarterfinals to earn a semifinal matchup against 13th-seeded Watchung Hills last Thursday at the Codey Arena in West Orange.

In the semis, PHS fell behind the Warriors 1-0 late in the first period but answered back with a goal by junior Nick Ashcroft to make it a 1-1 game heading into the second. The Little Tigers got going in the second, taking leads of 2-1 and 3-2 but a late Watchung Hills goal made it 3-3 heading into the final period.

“It wasn’t really going our way in the first period, we felt we had to address a couple of things,” said Callaway.

“In the second period, we really came out hard. We knew what we were doing, we had a game plan. We talked about it in the locker room, we changed the break out. We wanted to get pucks up and out, use our speed, and get our legs moving to press them to make turnovers.”

Callaway, for his part, scored the third PHS goal, battling through a scrum in the crease to poke a rebound into the back of the net.

“I was just trying to do my thing and get in the front of the net and screen the goalie and hope that we could get a shot on net and score,” said Callaway. “If they didn’t, maybe I could put it in so that is what happened.”

But PHS couldn’t make things happen in the third as the Warriors tallied five minutes into the period to go ahead 4-3 and then added two empty net goals in the last 1:19 of regulation to earn a 6-3 victory.

“We knew we had to try and pull away but we just couldn’t do that,” said Callaway.

“They just got one. I think it would have been the same if we had gotten one, it would be hard for them to bounce back.”

While PHS head coach Terence Miller was disappointed with the outcome, he was proud of his team as it made the program’s first-ever appearance in the state semifinals.

“We had a hell of a run,” said Miller, whose team ended up outshooting Watchung Hills 34-20 on the evening as it finished the winter with a 19-4-4 record.

“It stings. We felt this game was there for the taking too; that makes it a little worse.”

Miller acknowledged that digging an early hole turned the game into an uphill battle for the Little Tigers.

“We had a sluggish start; we got a little slow out of the gate in the beginning,” said Miller.

“They got the first goal and we were able to tie it. We took the lead and then we couldn’t grab control of the game.”

In Miller’s view, if PHS has been able to build on its leads, the result could have been different.

“The guys skated hard, as always; that is just the way it goes,” said Miller.

“I think it was just a play here or a play there, things could have gone differently. Every time we got that goal, they were able to answer. I thought that was the difference; if we had gotten that two goal lead we would have really settled in.”

In reflecting on PHS’s memorable state tournament ride, Miller credited the team’s seniors with leading the way.

“It was the seniors, Brendon (McCormick), Eamonn (McDonald), Tooker, and Sawyer (Peck) in net, those four really carried us,” said Miller, whose group of seniors also included Zach Bouchenoir, Pascal Meier, and Anthony Trainor.

“It was kind of the perfect storm for us, we had a great senior class. We had a couple of good transfer students (Meier and Ashcroft). We had a couple of phenomenal freshmen (Rocco Salvato and Aidan Trainor). All of that together equalled a solid team that was able to make some noise this year.”

Although senior star and captain McCormick wanted his career to keep going, he is proud of the legacy that his class is leaving.

“It was a great season, all the guys came out and played so it was fun while it lasted,” said McCormick.

“Guys had a good time out there, they were great teammates. It is possibly my last game of competitive hockey. It is tough to handle, tough to think about. It was fun playing so long together. Now we pass the torch.”

Callaway, for his part, is leaving with indelible memories of how things came together this winter for the Little Tigers.

“They are a bunch of great guys and great hockey players,” said Callaway.

“There are big things to come for them in the future and in life. No one had ever done this before and us being the senior class, it pushed us and really made us want it a little more. Being the senior class, we had to lead by example.”

In Miller’s view, the great things accomplished by the Little Tigers this winter won’t be forgotten any time soon.

“I told the guys that we took the program to the next level; we hadn’t been in this spot before,” said Miller.

“This is the farthest we have ever gotten. The whole school and the whole town and all of the congratulations I have gotten, you could feel it. These guys made a mark. They took it up another notch.”