Men's Hockey: Condon’s 57 saves highlight N.Y. split

On Friday night, the Tigers (8-13-6 overall, 6-11-3 ECAC Hockey) faired well in what was likely their most difficult test of the season, traveling to No. 8 Union (19-6-7, 13-3-4). Goaltenders stole the spotlight on both sides of the ice as Union goaltender Troy Grosenick pitched an 18-save shutout while junior goaltender Mike Condon stopped an absurd 57 out of 59 shots he faced.

The shutout marks the second consecutive year the Dutchmen have blanked the Tigers in upstate New York. In fact, in the past three matchups at Union, the Dutchmen have yielded only a single goal to the Tigers.Condon set a career high in saves, a mark he had previously set earlier this season against Yale — also ultimately in defeat. In the history of the men’s hockey program, only three goaltenders have posted more saves. Condon was only four saves shy of the record, currently held by Walter McDonough ’84, who recorded 61 saves in a 6-3 defeat at the hands of Rensselaer.

“Condon played tremendously well against Union,” sophomore forward Jack Berger said. “We gave up far too many shots and were very fortunate to be buoyed by his phenomenal netminding.”

While Condon awed those in attendence with his goaltending, Princeton’s offense was far less impressive. For the third time this season, the Tigers failed to score a goal. They only managed 18 shots in the game, putting up just a pair in the second period. The quantity of shots were no challenge for Grosenick, who has a suffocating lead on most ECAC Hockey goalie statistics, including save percentage and goals against average. While the Tigers have routinely been outshot by upper-echelon teams, it was only the second time this season they were unable to record at least 20 shots. A stifling Cornell defense held Princeton to 15 shots in a shutout effort earlier in November.

“Grosenick is a great goalie and has played very well this year,” Berger said. “We need to generate more high-quality scoring chances and do a better job finishing the ones that we do produce. I think that with a little more focus and better execution, we could have been much more successful offensively.”

After providing Condon with no goal support on Friday, the Tigers made it up for him with six goals the following day against RPI (8-21-3, 5-12-3). Three different players each had a pair of goals — sophomore forward and team scoring leader Andrew Calof, sophomore forward Andrew Ammon and junior forward Rob Kleebaum.

Perhaps even more impressively, each of those forwards play on separate lines, so nearly every player on the team was involved in the scoring. The Tigers also scored six goals last month in an upset of then-No. 12 Colgate.

“We were definitely not happy about our offensive production against Union. We wanted to come out with a lot of energy and determination in the offensive zone, especially in front of the net,” Berger said. “We did a much better job controlling the puck and capitalizing on our chances against RPI, and it paid off.”

Condon put up another solid start, allowing two goals on 26 shots for his fourth victory of the season. Calof increased his team-leading point total to 23, and his two-goal performance broke what was previously a tie for the team’s goal-scoring lead with Berger. Calof now has 11 goals on the season, already surpassing his freshman year total of nine with multiple games left to play.

The Tigers currently sit in 10th in the ECAC standings. Due to tiebreakers, they cannot place higher than ninth and will be on the road the first weekend of the playoffs. Much is still in the air, however, as there is still a medley of scenarios that can play out, which can send Princeton to nearly any ECAC locale. As it currently stands, the Tigers would face the Yale Bulldogs, against whom they are 0-1-1 this season.

“The beauty of our conference is that everyone makes the playoffs,” Berger said. “We want to be playing our best hockey going into playoffs, so we will do everything we can to have a strong finish to the regular season. We expect to be playing for the ECAC championship and are confident that we can beat any team in this league.”

The Tigers will be able to see the Bulldogs up close and personal as they face off this weekend at Baker Rink in a potential playoff preview.