After starting the season with one win in their first six games, Princeton men’s ice hockey (5–4–1 overall, 3–4–1 ECAC) looks like a whole different squad having won four in a row. It seems that the Tigers have overcome the slow start and found an edge under head coach Ben Syer, who is starting his first season as Princeton’s coach.
The Tigers played back-to-back conference games this past weekend, taking down Union (9–5–1, 3–3–0) 2–1 on Friday before dominating RPI (5–8–1, 1–5–0) 6–2 the following day.
“I was pleased with the way the guys prepared going into the weekend,” Syer told The Daily Princetonian. “Every game in the ECAC is so important and tough and our guys played very hard and determined in both evenings.”
This marks the Orange and Black’s longest regular-season winning streak since the 2017–18 season, when they won five in a row.
High scoring second period favors the Tigers
The first game of the weekend proved to be the more difficult one for Syer’s squad as the Tigers held on for a narrow 2–1 win over the Union Garnet Chargers. The opening period was a back-and-forth battle between both teams, as Princeton held an 11–9 advantage with shots on goal.
Despite a power play opportunity six minutes into the contest, Princeton was unable to convert and both teams headed to the locker room scoreless. All three goals came in the second period.
First year forward Luc Pelletier scored his first career goal less than three minutes in, beating Union goaltender Kyle Chauvette to put the Tigers up 1–0.
Luc Lights The Lamp!
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) December 7, 2024
Great time for the first tuck of Luc Pelletier's Princeton career!@ecachockey | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/Tim7FdQmjO
Minutes later, the Tigers found themselves with a golden opportunity to double their lead after earning a five-on-three advantage. With two Union players in the box, Princeton patiently worked the puck around. Junior forward Brendan Gorman played the puck into first-year forward Miles Gunty, who then redirected it to senior defenseman Noah de la Durantaye, who put the puck in the back of the net to make it 2–0.
For Gunty, it was his second assist. The Maryland native was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week on Monday.
With nine minutes remaining in the second period, Union earned its first power play of the game. Eager to make the most of the opportunity, a shot from the Garnet Chargers went off sophomore goaltender Arthur Smith.
Both squads scrambled for the loose puck, with the visitors getting to it first. Union forward Parker Lindauer scored to cut the deficit to one and earned his 11th point of the season — two goals and nine assists.
In the third period, the Tigers consistently found themselves coming up with crucial defensive plays. Smith made nine saves while the Princeton field players made seven blocks throughout the final frame.
The Orange and Black held on for the 2–1 win after a last-second block from sophomore forward Joshua Karnish. Smith finished the game with 27 saves.
“You have to be able to stay on your detail and continue to trust the process and stay with that grit and determination,” Syer noted. “I thought our guys did that on Friday night.”
For the Tigers, the success has come on the defensive end this season, holding opponents to one goal or less five times. Last season, the Tigers did so a mere five times during the entire 30-game season.
“[Assistant coach] Tommy [Davis ’17] does a great job with our defensemen in coaching them and working with them, and [assistant coach] Shane [Talarico] does an unreal job with our goaltenders and to be able to establish consistency has been great,” Syer said.
Three more points earned against RPI
On Saturday, fans inside the Hobey Baker Rink saw the Tigers dominate the Engineers 6–2 to secure three more points in the ECAC standings.
With the weekend sweep, the Tigers moved into a tie with Cornell (5–3–3, 3–3–2) for fifth place in the league. The league has 12 squads, including all Ivy League schools, except for Penn and Columbia.
Smith got the start in goal for the Tigers once again, recording 24 saves and earning his fourth win in nine days.
“To be able to earn four wins here in a short period of time is fantastic,” Syer said about Smith. “But I think it’s about the leadership. It’s just the effort and the compete that he’s shown to his teammates has been his way of leading the group.”
Six minutes into the contest, junior defenseman David Ma scored after a faceoff to put the hosts up 1–0. Seconds later, it was junior forward Jaxson Ezman scoring off a faceoff to double the Tigers lead. For Ezman, it was his first goal of the season.
The game remained tied for nearly 30 minutes with the Tigers holding a 2–0 with three minutes remaining in the second period. The Tigers scored in every period.
On a power play, a penalty on the Engineers gave Princeton a five-on-three advantage. Having gotten practice the day before, Gorman scored his fourth goal of the season off a dish from Gunty.
Ma scored his second of the night to give Princeton a 4–0 lead heading into the third period. Ma’s two goals were a career-high.
Both sides exchanged two goals apiece in the final period with Syer rotating his squad. The final two goals came courtesy of Gorman and junior forward Jayden Sison, who scored his third career goal.
Whammy!
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) December 8, 2024
Jayden Sison steps into one for his first goal since 2/24/23!@ecachockey | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/Crg1vF0PbH
The Tigers will now take a break from games with their next game coming after Christmas on Dec. 28, against Army West Point. “As a coach, you want to see your guys be consistent, shift in and shift out and that’s something that we’re striving for,” Syer said. “In practice, it’s going to be something that we need to demand of each other.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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