ALBANY, N.Y. — Extending their dominance of the Union-RPI rivalry to eight consecutive wins, the Dutchmen defeated the Engineers, 3-2, at the Times Union Center Saturday night in front of 5,959 fans. Matt Wilkins scored a power-play goal on an odd-man rush with 36 seconds remaining in the game. Freshman goaltender Jason Kasdorf offered a strong performance in net with 34 saves for RPI, but it was not enough to stymie the Dutchman power play which converted twice.

Given the non-conference nature of the game, Union earned the rights to the first annual Mayors’ Cup instead of the customary two ECAC points. The event was an opportunity for the fan bases of both schools to see their favorite teams compete in the region’s top venue.

What I Saw                                                                                         

For the third time in the game to begin the final frame, one of the Capital Region rivals scored within the first four minutes of the period. Senior defenseman Greg Colburn shot the puck from the point straight into the back of the net. Kasdorf seemed to have a clear view of the puck, but could not reach the powerful slap shot while sliding to his left. But the Engineers eventually answered — this time near the end of the period. C.J. Lee put the puck on net during an odd-man rush, which Union goalie Troy Grosenick saved with his right pad. But the forceful rebound lay in perfect position for Mark McGowan to level the score. To break the 2-2 tie, Wilkins scored after receiving a perfect pass on an odd-man rush opportunity from Josh Jooris, who was skating quickly along the right side-boards.

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3rd period notes

9:20pm: Princeton’s Mark Magnowski scores on a nice turnaround shot at the empty net, and that’s pretty much going to do it here in Albany. The Princeton Tigers are your 2008 ECAC tournament champions, and they will play in the NCAA tournament beginning next weekend. Check out CHN’s continous coverage of the Pairwise implications and the tournament seeding tomorrow. Congratulations to Princeton.
9:18pm: With 2:38 remaining, RIchter heads to the bench. Empty net for Harvard.
9:17pm: Goal! Princeton takes a 3-1 lead with a power play goal, with 3:06 remaining in the period. Expect Kyle Richter to head to the bench fairly soon. Brett Wilson scored the goal through a screen for the Tigers.
9:14pm: Harvard having some real trouble skating the puck into the Princeton zone, as all five Tigers seem to converge on the puck-carrier. Now, with 3:47 remaining, Princeton is going on the power play, with Harvard sophomore blueliner Alex Biega going into the box for interference. The Tigers could put this one away right now.
9:06pm: Princeton starting to tighten things up, but you get the feeling Harvard will have at least two or three solid offensive flurries in the final moments here. 8:46 remaining in the third period.
8:57pm: By the way, Zane Kalemba’s shutout streak ended at 190:06. And his counterpart Kyle Richter just made a nice right pad stop on Princeton’s Kevin Lohry, who scored two goals yesterday.
8:56pm: Harvard kills it off. Back to even strength. 15 minutes left in the period.
8:53pm: At 3:02 of the period, Harvard captain David MacDonald takes an interference penalty, and now it’s Princeton that will go on the power play. This may break up Harvard’s momentum, as the Crimson came out skating hard and firing pucks towards Kalemba.
8:48pm: Well that didn’t take long. 24 seconds in, Harvard strikes on the power play. They had a 4-on-3 advantage, and Harvard forward Jon Pelle ripped a shot over Kalemba’s left shoulder. 2-1 game, and Harvard is still going to be on the power play in a few moments.
8:47pm: The Tigers and Crimson take the ice for the final period of regulation here in Albany. The ECAC championship and an NCAA bid are on the line, with Princeton leading 2-0. Should be an entertaining period. And here we go…
2nd period notes

8:32pm: Period ends, and Princeton leads 2-0. Harvard leads in shots on goal, 25-23.
8:31pm: End-to-end action here. Kyle Richter fought off a Cam MacIntyre laser shot, and on the other end, Jimmy Fraser gets hooked on a short-handed rush and draws a penalty to even things up. Richter then makes another nice save on Brett Wilson.
8:29pm: 1:14 remaining in the period, and Harvard’s Doug Rogers goes to the penalty box for cross-checking.
8:28pm: It will be interesting to see how Harvard responds now, particularly the Crimson seniors. As I type this, Harvard senior Dave Watters twice muscles through a pair of Princeton players to put the puck on goal. They’ll need an enormous amount of effort to score three goals against Zane Kalemba, who has a shutout streak approaching 200 minutes now.
8:19pm: Princeton scores again on a play that may haunt Kyle Richter for a while. Princeton senior Landis Stankievech floated the puck in from the blue line, and it somehow eluded Richter, trickling slowly into the net. Stankievech, by the way, was named a Rhodes scholar earlier this season — one of the highest academic honors one can achieve. He was recently named the ECAC Student-Athlete of the Year. And he’s given his Tigers a 2-0 advantage in the championship game. 6 minutes to play in the period.
8:15pm: Hm. Just noticed that the Tigers must have had a last-minute lineup change too. Senior Keith Shattenkirk is listed on he line chart on the fourth line for Princeton, but it appears that classmate Erik Pridham is playing in his place. Pridham, a senior, has played in just 10 games this season. Moments ago, he plowed into Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter, much to the dislike of Crimson defenseman Brian McCafferty.
8:12pm: The all-upperclassmen Crimson line of Tyler Magura-Jimmy Fraser-Steve Rolecek just had a great shift in the Princeton defensive end, with some sustained pressure. Let’s see if Harvard can keep up the intensity here.
8:09pm: Brett Wilson for Princeton just had a nice chance but was turned aside by Richter. Wilson, a junior with 34 points in 32 games this year, lines up next to Lee Jubinville on Princeton’s top line. They have had two or three very solid shifts this game.
8:05pm: The play this period is very slow and deliberate. The Princeton defense is doing a good job collapsing around Kalemba, not letting many shots through. Harvard is also struggling to move through the neutral zone.
8:01pm: Almost 5 minutes gone by in the second period now, and Princeton still leads 1-0. Kalemba just made a nice glove save on a fluttering shot from Crimson freshman defenseman Chris Huxley, who by the way was inserted into the lineup less than an hour before game time, replacing senior J.D. McCabe, who was originally listed in the lineup.

1st period notes
7:41pm: And, thankfully, this should be the final time this weekend that we have to hear the Times Union Center’s public addresser announcer exclaim, “And now, it’s time for some crazy, wacky, Sumo fun!… Get ready… And… Sumo!” More thoughts to come in the second period (about hockey, not sumo wrestling).
7:40pm: The first period comes to an end, and Princeton leads 1-0. Lots of shots in this one, with the Tigers leading in that department 15-13.
7:38pm: Princeton going on its first power play of the game, with 1:56 remaining in the period. Tigers captain Mike Moore had another nice chance on the delayed penalty, left wide open between the hash marks. Richter made a nice save.
7:29pm: With 6:31 remaining in the period, ECAC and Ivy Player of the Year Lee Jubinville appears to knock another one in for Princeton, poking at a loose puck between Kyle Richter’s pads. But the play was blown dead a split second before, after the official, Peter Feola, lost sight of the puck. On the other end, Kalemba makes a nice save on Harvard’s Matt McCollem, who had a nice end-to-end rush.
7:23pm: Harvard moves the puck very well on the power play; they seem to always do so. Princeton netminder Zane Kalemba had a couple of nice saves, including kicking out his right pad at the last second to stop a shot from the point. The Harvard power play comes to an end, with Kalemba stopping another shot. He already has 11 saves, just 9:33 into the game. The Hagel-Kaiser-Kushniruk line for Princeton , by the way, has been buzzing so far in this game.
7:22pm: Moore, the goal-scorer for Princeton, takes his third minor penalty of the weekend — a hooking call. Let’s see what the Harvard power play can do. The Crimson went 3-for-6 on the man-advantage last night. 11:37 remaining in the first period, 1:05 left on the Crimson power play.
7:16pm: Goal! Princeton is flying, and they get on the board first. Senior captain Mike Moore tipped in a Kyle Hagel shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
7:10pm: Some other stats to note: For Princeton, the Tigers are looking for their first ECAC championship and NCAA tournament berth since 1998. They are also looking for their 21st victory of the season, which would be a school record. This is Princeton’s third appearance in the ECAC championship game. The Tigers are 1-1 in the other two (losing to Rensselaer 5-1 in the 1995 title game and then beating Clarkson 5-4 in double OT in the aforementioned 1998 game). For Harvard, this is the Crimson’s 17th championship game and sixth in the last seven years. Harvard is 8-8 all time in the ECAC title game and 3-2 since 2002. Harvard, which is 10-2-1 in its last 13 games, is seeking its 22nd NCAA tournament appearance.
7:06pm: Starting lineups have been announced. National anthems have been played. And the teams are huddling around their respective goaltenders — Zane Kalemba for Princeton, who has 3 shutouts so far in the ECAC tournament (a record) and an active shutout streak of 149:42… and Kyle Richter for Harvard, the ECAC goaltender of the year. The puck drops.

3rd period notes

6:01pm: This one’s over, and it’s a nice scene at the end as Cornell and Colgate seniors congratulate one another on the ice. These guys have had basically the same travel schedule for the last four years together and know each other very well. Tyler Burton and Topher Scott are the last to shake hands. Another nice gesture — Red defenseman Mike Devin picks up the puck to give to Dan DiLeo. Had to be a thrill for him. Now, down to the press conferences. Will be back for the championship game in about an hour.
5:58pm: DiLeo makes his first career save but gives a rebound that the Raiders’ senior captain Tyler Burton puts home. Kind of one of those situations where everybody wins. Nice to see Burton get a goal in his final game. And DiLeo makes another save, covering up the puck, eliciting roars from the Cornell faithful in attendance.
5:55pm: How about this — Cornell junior goaltender Dan DiLeo has come in to spell Ben Scrivens. DiLeo has never appeared in a game in his career. Nice gesture by Cornell coach Mike Schafer, who also seems to be trying to get rookie Tyler Roeszler a goal by giving him some extra ice-time this period, including some time on the power play. Roeszler is the only non-goalie on the Red roster to not score a goal this season (thanks to Cornell SID Kevin Ziese for that information). Just over a minute remaining in the period.
5:51pm: Both Scali and Day picked up 10-minute misconducts and will watch the remainder of the third period from the penalty box.
5:48pm: Some completely unnecessary extracurricular activity going on now, as Cornell’s Joe Scali and Colgate’s Brian Day get into a scuffle, sending both players to he box. An additional penalty was assessed to Raiders defenseman Kevin McNamara, and the Big Red goes on the power play again… Just 7:42 left in the third.
5:40pm: Colgate just squandered a power play chance of its own, as the penalty parade continues here in this game. Colgate now 0-for-5 on the power play. Red goaltender Ben Scrivens, who let in a weak game-winning goal last night against Harvard, made a nice save on Colgate senior Tyler Burton.
5:36pm: Colgate rookie Brian Day takes a penalty, and the Big Red takes advantage. Cornell now 3-for-4 on the man-advantage. And it was another tip-in goal, this time by Colin Greening, who was camped out in front of Kowalkowski. Brendon Nash took the shot from the point after being set up by the aforementioned Riley Nash, his brother. The Big Red power play was setting up and generating chances with ease.
2nd period notes
5:29pm: Have I mentioned how good Riley Nash is? It’s a little scary sometimes, as he just weaves effortlessly through the Colgate defense. At around 2:30pm this afternoon, he sat quietly on the bench looking out onto the ice as the zamboni put a fresh sheet down. Probably only five other people were in the arena at the time. One was me. And another was senior captain Topher Scott, who sat in the top row of the lower bowl by himself, looking pretty meditative. Third period about to get underway now.
5:25pm: Some other notes while we await the third period: Cornell’s Michael Kennedy and Colgate’s Joe DeBello, both juniors, took matching minor penalties late in the period. And each player spent a good amount of his time in the box jawing at the other. Kind of entertaining to watch, but sadly, I was out of earshot. Cornell players have been fairly animated all day actually, starting with a boisterous stretching session in the bowels of the Times Union Center earlier. Attendance is pretty sparse this afternoon, as one might imagine, with less than half of the amount of Cornell fans than there were yesterday. I wonder what the attendance will be like for tonight’s Harvard-Princeton championship game. Will Princeton advance to its first NCAA tournament since 1998? Or will Harvard win it’s fourth ECAC title since 2002 (all in even-numbered years)? 5 minutes to go until the third period.
5:15pm: 2nd period ends. Shots were only 6-5 in favor of Colgate in the period, but Cornell scored on two of its five shots. One period left in the careers of Topher Scott, Raymond Sawada, Doug Krantz, Chris Fontas, Tyler Burton, Ben Camper, Dustin Gillanders, Mike Werner, Matt Torti, Mark Dekanich, and Justin Kowalkowski.
5:01pm: Oh boy — Colgate coach Don Vaughan switches goaltenders, putting Justin Kowalkoski (a senior backup) in. You hate to see Colgate senior netminder Mark Dekanich go out this way, giving up 3 goals on 15 shots before an unceremonious exit. I’d imagine Kowalkowski, a senior, was going to get playing time today anyway though.
4:58pm: Immediately after Cornell’s second goal, Colgate committed another penalty. And the Big Red took advantage immediately, with sophomore defenseman Justin Krueger scoring on a nice one-time shot. The pass came from senior captain Topher Scott.
4:56pm: Another senior scores for Cornell. This time, it’s Raymond Sawada on the power play, tipping in a shot by Mike Devin on the power play. It was one of those goals that you could see developing a good 3-4 seconds before it happened. Sawada was left all alone in front of Dekanich, who threw the puck out of the net in anger afterwads. Three of Cornell’s four seniors have scored this weekend. Ironically, both goals today against Colgate have been tip-in goals — just the type that Harvard was scoring in last night’s semifinal with the Big Red.
4:51pm: Big Red forward Joe Scali takes the first Cornell penalty of the game, 3:52 into the second period. Last night, an undisciplined Cornell team gave up numerous power play chances to Harvard, and the Crimson scored on three (out of six) of them.
1st period notes
4:29pm: First period comes to an end, and Cornell and Colgate are tied at 1-1. Shots were even, 12-12 in the period. More to come in the second.
4:23pm: Colgate ties it up with 3:56 remaining in the period, with sophomore Sean Carty finishing a 2-on-1 chance set up nicely by senior Mike Werner. Big Red freshman Riley Nash, by the way, is getting a lot of ice time this period. You wonder if Nash (the ECAC Rookie of the Year) will be sticking around next season, as he was drafted in the first round of last year’s NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Nash is second on the team in scoring.
4:19pm: Cornell strikes first at 13:45 of the period, with Big Red assistant captain, senior Doug Krantz, tipping a Michael Kennedy shot between the pads of Dekanich. Cornell is carrying the play so far in what has been a surprisngly energetic first period for both teams.
4:14pm: Colgate senior goaltender Mark Dekanich just made a spectacular save (arguably the save of the tournament weekend) against Cornell’s Michael Kennedy, diving to his left to stop a one-timer during a Red power play chance. With 10 minutes gone by in the first period, he’s already made nine stops. Opposing forwards in the league won’t be sorry to see him graduate this year.
4:08pm: Welcome to another day of live-blogging at the ECAC tournament. About 7 minutes gone by in the first period of this third-place game in Albany, N.Y. between Cornell and Colgate. Unfortunately for the Big Red and Raiders, this is a fairly meaningless game from a national standpoint (unlike last year’s consolation game, which had NCAA tournament implications, with St. Lawrence winning and going to the tournament). Anyhow, it’ll be interesting to see the level of energy in this one, especially from the seniors on each team. At the very least, there’s some pride on the line.

3rd period notes

9:21pm: And that’s it. Harvard advances to face Princeton tomorrow in the battle of the top two schools in the country (if you’re going by US News’ rankings of universities, that is). Richter made 31 saves on 32 shots for the Crimson, while Donato wins another against Cornell. Harvard is 7-1 in its last eight games against its archrivals from Ithaca. Headed down to the press conferences now. We’ll be blogging for tomorrow’s games too.
9:19pm: Just 17.5 seconds remaining, as Harvard leads 3-1. Mike Schafer calls timeout, as the Big Red needs a miracle. Now, more on Harvard junior Jimmy Fraser: he scored two goals in the 2006 ECAC title game (against Cornell), a game in which Harvard went 5-for-10 on the power play. In that game, Fraser — then a freshman — was stepping in for an injured Jon Pelle. Now, against Cornell, Pelle scores two on the power play. Funny how these things work out. Special teams the difference tonight.
9:17pm: Now Cornell goes on the power play. And Scrivens heads for the bench so the Red has a 6 on 4 advantage. Jimmy Fraser for Harvard is in the box (more on him in a moment).
9:15pm: And the Crimson cash in. It’s 3-1 Harvard with 2:36 to play. A very nice power play goal by senior forward Jon Pelle, with a tip in front of the net after a shot from the point. It’s Pelle’s second of the game, and all three Harvard goals have come on the man-advantage.
9:12pm: 2:57 remaining and there’s a slashing call against Cornell’s Michael Kennedy. Harvard goes on the power play as it tries to put this one away and head to tomorrow’s ECAC championship game against Princeton.
9:10pm: Cornell’s Blake Gallagher misses from the doorstep after a nice setup by freshman phenom Riley Nash. 3:43 remaining in the third period, as the Big Red power play opportunity expires.
9:07pm: Harvard’s Steve Rolecek made a nice move while in all alone on Ben Scrivens, but slid the puck through the crease, missing the net. Moments later, Crimson defenseman Jack Christian takes a tripping penalty, and the Big Red will go on the power play with 5:46 remaining. Thanks to a TV timeout, Cornell coach Mike Schafer gets to draw up a play.
9:01pm: The picture below is of Topher Scott’s easy tap-in goal in the second period. The goal cut Harvard’s lead to 2-1, and the Big Red is still trying to even the score of this one. 7:56 remaining in the third period, and the Crimson lead in shots on goal, 28-25. Richter, who won the Ken Dryden Award last night for the ECAC’s best goaltender, is playing well.
8:57pm: Indeed, right after I type the last post, the Greening-Nash-Patrick Kennedy line puts on a cycling show in the Harvard offensive zone. However, they can’t put one in the net, as Kyle Richter makes a nice save at the end of the flurry. 9:58 remaining in the third period.
8:52pm: 11:55 remaining in regulation. It’ll be interesting to see how Cornell coach Mike Schafer uses his top dynamic duo of Colin Greening and Riley Nash this period (first and second on the team in scoring). The Big Red’s hopes may rest on the sophomore and freshman here.
8:50pm: About 7 minutes gone by in the third period. Harvard has the edge in shots, 24-20. Play has been even so far this period, with each team getting a couple of decent chances.
2nd period notes
8:27pm: Period ends, with Harvard on top 2-1. The Crimson had a nice chance on its power play with a couple minutes left in the period, but freshman forward Matt McCollem fanned on an empty net.
8:19pm: Another penalty committed by Cornell, this time by senior defenseman and assistant captain Doug Krantz. 4:08 to go in the period.
8:16pm: To his credit, Ben Scrivens has tightened things up after giving up the weak second goal, stopping some solid Harvard chances. A moment ago, he made a point-blank save on Harvard sophomore center Doug Rogers, who was left alone between the has marks.
8:14pm: Pardon the delay between posts. Having some technical difficulties here at the TUC. Anyhow, at 5:02, Harvard extended its lead to 2-0, on another power play goal. This was a bad goal given up by Ben Scrivens, who dipped his right shoulder too early, and Jon Pelle lifted a short side goal. Soon after, Cornell senior captain Topher Scott tapped in a puck from Richter’s left to cut the lead in half. Classmate Raymond Sawada made a nice pass across the crease. So, Harvard leads 2-1. All three goals have been on the man-advantage. And all three goal-scorers have been seniors. 8 minutes left in the second period now.
7:56pm: Harvard given its third power play opportunity of the game, and this time they cash in, at 3:35 of the period. Brendon Nash was in the box for holding. Dave Watters was screening Ben Scrivens and tipped a shot from the point by junior defenseman Brian McCafferty.
1st period notes
7:44pm: The first period ends, and Cornell and Harvard are tied at 0-0. The Big Red has the advantage in shots, 10-8. You get the feeling that the first goal will be huge in this game. When scoring the first goal, Cornell is 16-2-1. But when giving up the first goal, the Red has struggled, going 2-11-1. Harvard swept the regular season against Cornell, winning in Cambridge, Mass. early in the season and in Ithaca, N.Y. on the final night of the regular season. In each game, the Crimson struck first.
7:30pm: Crimson forward Dave Watters takes an interference penalty with about 5 minutes remaining in the first period, giving the Big Red its first power play opportunity of the game. Richter makes a nice save sliding post to post on Topher Scott, who was set up by Brendon Nash. Richter then stones Red assistant captain and leading scorer Colin Greening at the doorstep.
7:15pm: Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter stones Cornell’s Blake Gallagher on a quick turnaround shot. Moments later, Big Red forward Evan Barlow takes a penalty, and the Crimson is headed to its second power play chance of the game. Only 6 minutes gone by in the first period.
7:10pm: The puck has dropped, as archrivals Cornell and Harvard battle for the right to play Princeton in tomorrow’s ECAC Championship game.

3rd period notes

6:15pm: This one’s all over. Lohry adds his second of the game, an empty-netter, and Princeton wins 3-0 to advance to tomorrow’s ECAC championship game. Check CHN for feature stories within the hour or so. And we’ll be blogging for the Cornell/Harvard semifinal starting at 7pm.
6:10pm: Colgate coach Don Vaughan calls a timeout with just over a minute remaining. Let’s see what he draws up…
6:02pm: Princeton scores again after some great end-to-end action, this time at 14:44. Another freshman, Kevin Lohry, scored on a great individual effort, lifting the puck over a sprawling Dekanich. The goal came moments after an outstanding Kalemba save at the other end.
5:51pm: Goal! Princeton takes the 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the third period. Freshman Matt Arhontas scored unassisted after breaking in on goal and sliding the puck between Dekanich’s pads. Now we’ll see if Colgate’s senior class — which includes Dekanich, as well as Burton and Winchester — can respond. They have been in this situation before.
5:44pm: Wow — great chance for the Raiders. A clean 2-on-1 results in Jason Williams sliding the puck over Ethan Cox, who was denied by Kalemba on a one-timer. 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
2nd period notes

5:22pm: Second period ends, and with Colgate still leading in shots (18-12), the Raiders and Tigers are still tied 0-0. Lee Jubinville’s line had a nice chance with about a minute remaining in the period, but Dekanich made a nice stick save. Speaking of nice saves, the picture on the left is of Kalemba robbing Burton earlier in the game. Should be an exciting third period.

5:16pm: Colgate goaltender Mark Dekanich snatches a rising shot from Princeton’s Kevin Kaiser. Less than 5 minutes remaining in the second period, and we are still deadlocked at 0-0.

5:02pm: Not much action in the early stages of the second, as Princeton just squandered a power play opportunity (another penalty on Poplawski, this time for holding). Looking at this Princeton lineup, the Jubinville (ECAC Player of the Year) line seems dangerous, but a lot of the Tigers’ offense is concentrated on that line, which includes junior Brett Wilson. Colgate has at least one player on each of its top three lines that you just have to pay attention to at all times — Burton on one, David MacIntyre on the second, and captain Jesse Winchester on the third.

And the Princeton lacrosse team has arrived!

1st period notes

The Tigers and Raiders are underway here in Albany. Most of the noise early on is coming from both pep bands. Good thing they’re here, too, as the fan attendance so far is pretty poor.

Princeton leads in SOG 2-1 in the early going. Neither team is having much success getting the puck on net.

Colgate had two great chances within the last minute. In one, forward Brian Day slipped through two Princeton defenders, only to be denied by Tiger goaltender Zane Kalemba. Then, Colgate senior star Tyler Burton came in on a partial breakaway. He, too, was stopped by the sophomore goaltender.

5 minutes remaining in the first period now. Colgate has the edge in shots, 9-5. And they had another glorious chance with 6:50 remaining. After a scramble to Kalemba’s right, the puck was left in the crease, in front of an empty net as Burton skated in. As Burton slid the puck for what looked to be a sure goal, Kalemba reached back with his glove just before the puck slid over the line. Burton stared up at the ceiling in disbelief.

The first penalty of the game is called with 1:24 remaining in the first. The call goes against Colgate, a tripping penalty on Wade Poplawski… But with 22.9 seconds remaining, Princeton’s Brett Wilson gets called for interference. Period ends in a scoreless draw. And one thing is for sure: Colgate does not look like a team that only won 36% of its regular season league games. They lead in the shots department 13-5.

Princeton doesn’t have the largest travelling contingent. In fact, it’s usually non-existent. Which is a shame, but what can you do. But when the Tigers take the ice this afternoon against Colgate in the ECAC semis, they will have vocal support here for the first time ever, beyond family. …. The Princeton lacrosse team, coincidentally, had a game at the University of Albany today. So the whole team is coming to the Arena to rowdily cheer on the Tigers. They were really vocal in last Sunday’s quarterfinal Game 3 against Yale. Should be fun.

So, we’re here at the TUC – me and Avash Kalra. Shouldn’t be confused with “Team Under Consideration” — no, this is the Times Union Center.  Used to be the Pepsi Center.  In fact, my GPS still thinks it is.  Before that, it had a “normal” name, the Knickerbocker Arena.  Friggin’ corporate names.  Who can keep up?  At least this one is named after a newspaper — I’m a fan of those. Don’t get me wrong, I like Pepsi – I just wish arenas weren’t named after it ….. oh, like the one the Frozen Four will be at this year.