Men's Hockey: Team ends 3-game slide

In its first of two games in the Denver Cup Classic, the men’s hockey team outshot its opponent but ceded the scoreboard in a 3-0 shutout. But Princeton reversed the pattern on Saturday, ending its three-game losing streak with a win over Providence in the event’s second and final game.

The Tigers (3-7-1 overall, 2-5 ECAC Hockey) took 38 shots to No. 10 Denver’s 28 in the first game in Colorado on Friday, but they failed to move the puck past goaltender Juho Olkinuora, who finished the game with 38 saves. In defeat, junior netminder Mike Condon finished with 23 saves in 47 minutes while conceding only one goal. Condon entered the game in the ninth minute, replacing sophomore goalie Sean Bonar, who stopped only two of the four shots he faced.

Denver (6-4-3) gained an early advantage less than two minutes into the first period, scoring on its first shot on goal. Forward Nick Shore received a feed down the ice from Zac Larraza and flicked an airborne puck past Bonar.

Drew Shore, Nick’s brother, sealed the lead later in the period with a power-play goal. After freshman forward Tyler Maugeri was sent off the ice for slashing, Denver’s Jason Zucker sent the puck from behind the net to Drew Shore. He tipped the puck into the back of the net to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead, sending Bonar to the bench.

Denver scored a final time with 20 seconds remaining in the second period, with a Shore brother again playing a key role. On another power play, Nick Shore snatched the puck at the Pioneers’ goalpost and sent it to an unmanned Joey LaLeggia at the left side of the Princeton post. LaLeggia tipped the puck into the net.

Both teams played scoreless third periods. Princeton attempted an unlikely comeback, as the Tigers sat Condon for an extra skater with more than four minutes remaining and shot on Olkinuora five times. The Denver goaltender sent the puck back down the ice three times, but two of those shots went wide and one hit Princeton’s post.

Denver went 2-for-5 on the power play while Princeton went 0-for-6.

Against Providence (6-6-1), Princeton killed off its first penalty in the first minute of the game, thanks to a save by Bonar. But the Friars had put themselves on the scoreboard early at three minutes, five seconds in the first period. Kevin Hart handled the puck on the right boards and passed to teammate Derek Army. Stefan Demopoulos picked up the puck from Army at the post and slid past Bonar.

Junior forward Rob Kleebaum returned the game to a tie with an unassisted goal in the 10th minute. Kleebaum intercepted the puck at the blue line and sent it deep in the offensive zone. But Providence picked up the puck and sent it back down the ice. Kleebaum again snatched the puck back and earned the Tigers’ first goal and his fifth goal of the year, bringing the game to 1-1.

Minutes later, Maugeri converted on the power play and scored his first career goal. The advantage started in the 12th minute, when an interference penalty was called on the Friars’ Mark Adams. A man down, Providence sent a long shot down the ice, but Bonar stopped the puck and tipped it to freshman defender Kevin Mills. Mills skated around the back of Bonar’s net and up to center ice with the puck, then passed it off to Maugeri at the right of the faceoff circle. Maugeri slammed the puck past the Friars’ goalkeeper after dropping three defenders on the way, giving Princeton a 2-1 lead at 12:32.

Mills was the primary assister on the Tigers’ second goal of the game, and Bonar recorded the secondary assist. He became the first Princeton goaltender to be credited with an assist since Zane Kalemba ’10 did so against St. Lawrence on Feb. 14, 2009.

Sophomore forward Andrew Calof added a third and final goal to the scoreboard with four minutes left in the second period. Freshman forward Aaron Kesselman picked up the puck from senior defender Derrick Pallis at the checkered red line and brought it back into the zone. Kesselman passed to Calof, who skated past a Providence defender and buried the puck into the net.

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Both teams played a scoreless third period. Bonar made 37 saves in his third win of the season, while Providence’s Alex Beaudry prevented 23 shots. The Friars outshot the Tigers, 38-26, but Princeton went 1-for-5 on the power play while holding Providence scoreless in advantage situations. Princeton was 8-for-8 on penalty kills, holding off 29 penalty minutes in total.

“No new strategy was developed, we just put our game in a higher gear because we were down,” Pallis said of the two-game series. “But we learned we need to play the whole 60 minutes of the game in our highest gear.”

After their return from the Denver Cup Classic, the Tigers will host their next three games at Baker Rink. Princeton resumes ECAC Hockey play against Rensselaer on Dec. 2 and Union on Dec. 3.