Men’s hockey
This weekend, the men’s hockey team (4-8 overall, 3-5 ECAC) swept Yale and Brown on the road for the first time since the 2007-2008 season, with the Tigers throwing momentum into a three-game winning streak. This is the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Tigers have won three league games in a row.
The Tigers defeated Brown 4-2 on Friday, with four different Tigers scoring, as Princeton totaled three or more goals for the fifth time this season. Junior goaltender Colton Phinney made 36 saves during the game, with 15 in the third period, helping lead the Tigers to victory. The Tigers got on the board in the middle of the first period, as junior forward Ben Foster and freshman forward Ryan Kuffner scored quickly in succession over the span of a minute and half. Brown quickly responded, as Brown’s Tyler Bird scored from an open right side to get on the board less than two minutes later. Brown tied up the game just under three minutes into the second, but the Tigers persevered, as junior forward Garrett Skrbich scored his first goal of the season a few minutes later. The Tigers solidified their lead with less than a minute remaining in the third period, as junior forward Ryan Siiro flipped the puck into an empty net
One of the heroes of the weekend, Siiro scored the game-winning goal on Saturday night, helping the Tigers vanquish No. 10 Yale 4-2 to complete the weekend sweep. The game opened with Skrbich scoring for the second time that weekend, just one day after scoring to bring the Tigers out on top of Brown, assisted by Siiro. Ten seconds later, freshman forward Spencer Kryczka put another one in, putting the Tigers up 2-0. After a scoreless second period, Yale got on the board at the beginning of the third period, tying it up 2-2, before the Tigers rallied with Siiro’s tie-breaking goal and another one from sophomore forward Eric Robinson to cement the Tigers’ win.
The Tigers will head to Penn State on Friday, playing at 7 p.m., before returning home to host an exhibition match for the USA Under-18 Team at Baker Rink.
Women’s hockey
The women’s team (9-4-1 overall, 5-4-1 ECAC) had successes of its own, sweeping Harvard and Dartmouth over the weekend. The Tigers have now won four straight games, and toppled a top-10 ranked opponent of their own. Princeton went into the weekend ranked fourth in the ECAC with nine points, with Harvard in second place and Dartmouth in third, but after the sweep, the Tigers found themselves in a tie with Harvard for second place with 11 points, seven points behind Quinnipiac, who beat the Crimson on Saturday.
Princeton defeated No. 7 Harvard 2-1 in overtime on Friday night. Last year, the Tigers came away with a 1-0 victory over Harvard. Both were defensive, holding scoring to a minimum, making the game scoreless until halfway through the third period. Senior goalie Kimberly Newell stopped 26 out of 27 shots, while Harvard goalie Emerance Maschmeyer put on a strong showing as well, with 37 saves and 22 stops in the second period alone. Harvard got on the board first, as Harvard’s Sydney Daniels scored, but less than a minute later the Tigers scored as well, with junior defender Molly Strabley putting one in. But the score remained tied at the end of the third period, until 2:27 into overtime when junior defenseman Kelsey Koelzer scored to secure the Tiger victory.
On Saturday night, against another strong defense, the Tigers again had trouble scoring goals, but they managed to maintain their momentum to secure the win. In the second period, Dartmouth’s Laura Stacey scored on a power play, putting the Big Green up 1-0. But the Tigers quickly retaliated, scoring two goals in quick succession 33 seconds later. Junior forward Morgan Sly scored her fifth goal of the year, tying the score, and only moments after freshman forward Karlie Lund, ECAC Rookie of the Month, put another one in off a rebound shot by Koelzer. The Tigers managed to score a third time less than four minutes later when junior forward Cassidy Tucker scored her fourth goal of the season, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead. Junior forward Hilary Lloyd scored the final goal into an empty net with 35 seconds left in the third period.
The Tigers only have one game left in the calendar year, and will play Penn State next weekend. The Tigers return to the ice on New Year’s day against Brown, and will play Yale at home the following day.