Men's Hockey: Tigers swept in New York road series

Sophomore forward Andrew Calof made his first of two assists in the early going on Friday at Cheel Arena against the Golden Knights (14-13-5, 8-7-3). Calof earned the puck off of a faceoff in the left circle and fired the puck to senior defenseman Derrick Pallis. Junior defenseman Michael Sdao skated across the blue line on the right boards and picked up Pallis’ pass. Sdao and Calof made another exchange in front of the goal crease before Sdao launched the puck past Clarkson’s goalie on a five-on-three power play, opening a 1-0 lead for Princeton at 10:01.

Minutes later, the Golden Knights initiated their comeback. Clarkson forward Nick Tremblay stole the puck at the top of the left circle in the Tigers’ zone and skated onto the doorstep with teammate Louke Oakley. Oakley sent the puck past Bonar’s shoulder at 16:01 of the first, tying the game 1-1.

In a tight second period, each team picked up three power plays and one goal apiece, leaving 2-2 on the scoreboard at the end of the frame. Sophomore defenseman Kevin Ross regained the lead for the Tigers just over three minutes into the second, when the team seemed unstoppable. Princeton won three faceoffs in a row, and senior forward Marc Hagel set up Ross’ goal on the last when Hagel sent the puck to Calof from the left circle. The puck found its way through the scramble to an unmanned Ross, who slipped the puck past Clarkson goaltender Paul Karpowich. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead at 3:36 in the second.

But less than two minutes later, the Golden Knights came back to tie Princeton while on the power play. Clarkson defenseman Sam Labreque one-timed past Bonar off of a pass from teammates Ben Sexton and Oakley. The score stood at 2-2 for the rest of the period.

Forward Allan McPherson scored the game-winning goal for the Golden Knights halfway through the final frame after Sexton picked up a rebound and earned the assist. Bonar stopped forward Patrick Marsh’s shot on the right post but missed McPherson’s shot seconds later. The 3-2 score at 8:04 of the third would end the Tigers’ four-game unbeaten streak.

Princeton pulled Bonar for the extra skater for the last 53 seconds of the game, but the Tigers struggled to find shooting opportunities. Calof won a draw in the right circle to give Princeton its final chance at tying the game but missed the shot as the timer hit 20:00.

Bonar made 25 saves while Clarkson’s Paul Karpowich stopped 24. Overall, the Golden Knights outshot the Tigers 28-26, even though Princeton took more in the final frame, 13-6. The Tigers went 1 for 7 on the power play, while Clarkson went 1 for 5.

Princeton met a 4-1 loss on Saturday at Appleton Arena against St. Lawrence (12-15-3, 8-9-1 ECAC). Hagel scored the Tigers’ lone goal at 2:40 of the second when he slipped past Saints netminder Matt Weninger.

Saints forward Greg Carey scored first when he one-timed past Bonar on the power play. Defenseman George Hughes snapped his stick on a pass to Carey from the right point, but Carey still picked up the puck and went past Bonar for a 1-0 lead at 12:46 of the first frame.

With less than two minutes remaining, sophomore forward Matt Farris skated behind the back of St. Lawrence’s net and thought he had slipped past the Saints’ goalie to tie the game. However, officials reviewed video of the shot because the puck was on the left post when St. Lawrence’s netminder stood up from his dive. Officials called the goal off.

Sophomore defenseman Jeremy Goodwin had the Tigers’ best chance in the final seconds of the first, when he fired a shot at the net and through the scramble. Sophomore forward Andrew Ammon looked for the assist on the power play, but Goodwin hit the post before the first intermission.

Princeton found and kept possession at the start of the second period. Sophomore forward Eric Carlson skated into St. Lawrence’s zone and made a fake, then sent the puck towards the net. Hagel picked it up at 2:40 and tied the game 1-1.

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Less than four minutes later, the Saints opened up their lead once again and would keep it for the remainder of the game. Carey passed to forward Kyle Flanagan who top-shelved the puck past Bonar. At 6:23, the scoreboard read 2-1 in St. Lawrence’s favor.

Both teams made near-goals at the end of the second, but only the Saints would score twice more in the final frame. St. Lawrence defenseman Riley Austin passed to forward Kyle Essery from the left faceoff circle, and Essery redirected the puck past Bonar at 9:48 and opened the lead to 3-1. Forward Patrick Doherty sent a wrister from the right circle at 17:29 of the period off of a pass from Essery, sending the Saints to a 4-1 win.

Overall, Princeton took 28 shots while St. Lawrence took 35. The Tigers dropped all of their power play opportunities, going 0 for 6. The Saints went 2 for 4. Once again, however, Bonar made more stops than his opponent’s goalie, 31-27.

“Two factors that [will be] necessary for [Princeton’s] success [will] be taking less penalties and eliminating neutral zone turnovers,” junior netminder Mike Condon said. “We are very solid when we play five-on-five, and our power play is excellent.”

With four games remaining in the regular season, Princeton is tied for 10th place in the ECAC with 13 points. Unless Princeton improves its play in the final two weekends and lands a top-eight seed, it will play the first round of the conference tournament away from home.

The Tigers will hit the road again to face Rensselaer and Union on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18, respectively.