Men's Hockey: Shootout, OT win mark thrilling week

While many students slept comfortably in their own beds for hours on end during this winter break, the men’s hockey team was in action all across the country. In the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis, the Tigers tied Northeastern in an exciting 3-3 battle but lost a wild eight-round shootout. Princeton’s third-place game against Niagara ended in another 3-3 tie. After an overtime 3-2 win at Brown on Friday snapped Princeton’s five-game winless streak, the Tigers traveled to No. 20 Yale on Saturday, where they suffered their only loss of the winter vacation, 6-2.

The Tigers (5-10-4 overall, 4-8-1 ECAC Hockey) now sit seventh in the conference. Yale (8-6-1, 5-3) is fifth and Brown (3-4-1, 6-7-2) ranks 11th.

Junior defenseman Michael Sdao continued a solid season with an impressive performance over the break. Sdao’s powerful slapshot from the point often set up opportunities for teammates to tap in easy goals, but it was his quick stick work that won the game at Brown for the Tigers. Sdao carved through the Bears’ defenders, moving across the goal from left to right, and lifted a backhanded shot into the corner of the net with less than two minutes remaining in overtime. Sdao’s goal marked the only overtime score in three opportunities for the Tigers over the break.

Though Sdao eventually won the game, junior goaltender Mike Condon should be credited for keeping the Tigers alive into overtime. Late in the second period, Condon stopped a penalty shot (perhaps thanks to all the practice he got during the Northeastern game) to maintain what was then a 2-1 lead.

With the victory, Condon recorded his first win of the season. His impressive play of late has helped him earn a greater share of playing time from fellow netminder Sean Bonar, a sophomore.

On Saturday, nationally ranked Yale proved to be too much for Princeton. Known for making every game a close one, the Tigers were unable to do so against the Bulldogs, who opened up a 4-1 lead en route to a 6-2 victory. Senior forward Marc Hagel and senior defenseman Derrick Pallis both netted goals for the Tigers in the loss, but the Princeton defense struggled, forcing Condon to make a career-high 43 saves despite letting in five goals.

In the first game of the Mariucci Classic, a four-team tournament hosted annually by Minnesota, Condon was in goal for the Tigers against a top-notch Northeastern squad. The game turned out to be top-notch as well, as the Huskies and Tigers traded goals back and forth throughout the game. Sophomore forward Jack Berger equalized at 1-1 with only four seconds left in the first period, and sophomore defender Kevin Ross later scored his first career goal, which tied the game at three midway through the third period.

But the story of the game was Princeton’s defense. The Tigers, who scored three times on eight extra-man opportunities, did not allow a single goal during seven Husky power plays.

After Ross’ game-tying goal, neither team could find a way to get the puck past the opposing team’s goaltender. Northeastern goalie Chris Rawlings stopped eight shots from the time that Ross tied the game until the end of overtime, while Condon stopped 12 during that span and 38 for the night.

The game ended in a tie, but a three-round shootout was used to determine which team would advance to play No. 3 Minnesota in the championship game. In the shootout, both Rawlings and Condon again played magnificently, turning away shot after shot. One player for each side was stopped, then another, and another five players on each team were turned away as the tension built. Finally, in the shootout’s eighth round, Northeastern’s Justin Daniels squeezed the puck past Condon to send the Huskies to the championship game.

So instead of playing in front of 8,000 fans against one of the nation’s top teams, Princeton instead faced off against Niagara in front of about 80 fans, mostly Niagara parents who nervously bit their nails and clapped uncontrollably for all three periods. Hagel and Pallis each recorded a goal and an assist as the Tigers appeared in control for most of the game, and the Tigers held a 3-2 lead late in the third period when sophomore forward Andrew Calof was sent to the penalty box, giving the Purple Eagles one last power play with two minutes remaining. Niagara took advantage of the extra man and netted the game-tying goal with 54 seconds left. The 3-3 tie would stand through overtime.

The Tigers’ quest for success continues this weekend at Baker Rink when they host the top two teams in the ECAC. Princeton hosts No. 9 Colgate on Friday and No. 13 Cornell the following evening.