Men's Hockey: Squad wins 1st in-season tourney in over decade

The Tigers got off to a rocky start in their first game against Bowling Green as the Falcons (7-13-2) battled the Tigers to a scoreless first period.

“In the first period we weren’t playing our game the way we know we can,” senior defenseman Cam Ritchie said of the team’s slow start. “We pride ourselves on outshooting teams, but in the first period the shots were pretty close.”

The Falcons kept the Tigers on the ropes, netting a goal within two minutes of the start of the second period.

“Their first goal was a bit of a tough bounce,” Ritchie explained. “That happened because we weren’t playing our game as well as we could, allowing them to do too many things.”

Princeton found itself in an even bigger hole six minutes later after the Falcons scored another goal on a power play.

“We gave up too many shots, but as the game wore on we got back to what works for us,” Ritchie said. “We saw results because of that.”

The first of these results came courtesy of senior forward Kevin Lohry, who sent a shot sailing into the Bowling Green net off assists from two defensemen, senior Taylor Fedun and junior Derrick Pallis.

The Tigers were unable to draw even in the second period, entering the third down a goal. The deficit lasted until Lohry scored again, this time off assists from sophomore defenseman Michael Sdao and sophomore forward Will MacDonald. The play concluded with Sdao colliding with Bowling Green’s goalkeeper, who left the game injured.

At that point, the game intensified. When he returned to the ice, Sdao squared off with Falcon defenseman Max Grover. Gloves and helmets dropped for a fight, which was quickly suppressed by the officials.

“We pride ourselves on being a tough team to play against,” Ritchie said, explaining the on-ice tension. “It just got to Bowling Green a little bit.”

The Tigers were able to capitalize on the resulting strict officiating and power-play opportunities, as junior defenseman Derrick Pallis netted a goal on a five-on-three power play. Thirty seconds later, freshman forward Andrew Ammon scored the game-sealing goal.

“We tried not to let [the on-ice tension] affect us too much,” Ritchie said. “It got under their skin a little bit and got them off their game. We tried to keep the gas pedal down and play our game, and I think we were able to do that.”

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The Tigers’ win gave them an opportunity to play for the championship against host UConn (6-8-3). The team scored on the game’s first shot when Fedun — who was named the tournament’s most valuable player — scored on a power play.

After this quick goal, though, the Tigers sagged, and UConn applied heavy pressure, barraging Princeton with 14 shots.

“In the first period we didn’t play very well and got outshot pretty badly,” Ritchie said of the team’s struggles. “We were lucky to be up at that point.”

Princeton was able to expand its lead in the second period, as freshman defenseman Jeremy Goodwin scored his first career goal.

“[Goodwin’s] goal was another defenseman getting up on the rush and getting a shot on net,” Ritchie said. “The defensemen were doing a good job getting up in the play and putting pressure on their guys, creating odd man rushes.”

UConn netted a goal soon after Goodwin’s effort, but Princeton suppressed the potential comeback.

“In the second [period] we got back to playing the way we know we can, and we outshot them quite a bit,” Ritchie said. “Even though they got a goal, we were able to dictate the play with our tempo, and that’s how we were able to keep them down.”

Princeton scored two late goals to ensure the win and capture its first tournament title in more than 10 years. The tournament served as a warm-up before the Tigers returned to regular-season play Monday, in a game against Quinnipiac that ended in a 1-1 tie with a goal by Pallis. The team hopes to return to its winning form in its home contest against conference-rival Cornell on Friday.