Last week, Princeton Men’s Hockey (6–6–1 overall, 3–4–1 ECAC) faced the No. 20 University of New Hampshire (10–4–3 overall, 2–3–2 HEA) in back-to-back games at Baker Rink. After a string of five victories, the Tigers lost both games against the Wildcats: 3–0 on Friday night and 4–3 on Saturday.
Princeton goes scoreless in 3–0 loss to New Hampshire on Friday evening
The Friday night game between Princeton and New Hampshire was much closer than the score suggested. The Tigers and Wildcats were locked in a dead heat and scoreless in the first two periods.
The first period began with both teams laying early pressure and attacking each others’ goal. New Hampshire’s Josh Player had the first shot of the game within the first two minutes, ultimately saved by sophomore goalie Arthur Smith. Smith made two more saves within the first three minutes before Princeton mounted their first major attack as senior defender Noah de la Durantaye’s shot was saved by New Hampshire’s Jared Whale.
The Tigers had two more shots on goal that were ultimately saved by Whale in the first 11 minutes. The trend continued throughout the period as both teams pressed on the other’s respective goal.
The second period began in a similar fashion, but Princeton earned the first power play of the game after a cross-checking penalty by the Wildcats’ Colton Huard. Ultimately, the Tigers were not able to take advantage, and the Wildcats had the only shot in Princeton’s power play.
The major incident of the period occurred when a New Hampshire player collided with Smith, leading to a brawl between both teams. Smith was able to continue after a delay where the referees used video review to penalize both teams, and resulting in a Princeton power play. Once again, though, the Tigers were not able to capitalize as the game headed into the third period, scoreless.
Within the first five minutes of the third period, the Wildcats opened the scoring with a move by Ryan Conmy. Although the Tigers tried to respond with a chance of their own by first-year forward Miles Gunty, his quick shot was saved by Whale. New Hampshire scored their second goal with five minutes remaining in the period by Robert Cronin and finally capped it off with an open net goal for their third as Princeton tried to respond. The Tigers ended the game with 15 shots on goal while the Wildcats had 19.
“It kind of seemed like the first goal was going to determine the outcome of that one,” junior forward Brendan Gorman told The Daily Princetonian about the first game. “So, the first two periods were solid. It was kind of a back-and-forth game. And then they were able to pop the first one there.”
“They did a good job of getting it behind our [defense] and kind of sending their wingers out at our [defense],” Gorman continued.
Tiger come up just short in Saturday's 4–3 thriller
Saturday’s game was far more competitive than Friday’s — New Hampshire took control in the first period while Princeton dominated in the second. In the first five minutes of the first period, the Wildcats scored as Jack Babbage fired past sophomore goalie Ethan Pearson.
New Hampshire continued to dominate the first period, testing the Princeton defense. Jason Siedem notched the second goal for the Wildcats, and Ryan Conmy gave the third with three minutes remaining in the first period. After just 20 minutes in the game, their offense led the Wildcats to an impressive 3–0 lead, outshooting the Tigers 8–2 in the first period.
Facing a large deficit, Princeton needed a response in the second period, and the Tigers mounted an impressive comeback. Gorman got the Tigers on the scoreboard within the first minute of the period with a low shot past Whale. The Tigers continued their impressive attack with junior defenseman Tyler Rubin reducing the deficit to just one after a breakaway opportunity.
With the momentum on the Tiger’s side and the crowd in Baker Rink cheering them on, junior forward David Jacobs equalized with 10 minutes remaining, exciting the crowd. Soon after, Pearson would step up for the Tigers making big saves in the game to keep the score even at 3–3.
To inspire the comeback, Gorman said that Head Coach Ben Syer emphasized staying level-headed and calm. “[It] worked out. So we were able to get three there and have a good mentality and have a close game there,” he told the ‘Prince.’
Jacobs elaborated on how the group was able to do it. “It was great resilience by our group and am proud of the guys. [We] would stick together,” he said. “And every guy in that room contributed to that second period.”
“I think it just shows a character in the room that there’s never quit,” Syer reflected to the ‘Prince’. “You don’t want to get down two goals, let alone three goals in the first period, and be able to keep grinding away.”
“They put a lot of trust in each other. They simplified things and got pucks down to the net quicker. They drove the net and had more of a net presence on a regular basis,” he continued.
The third period proved to be more of a balanced affair from both sides, with both Princeton and New Hampshire searching for the winning goal. Nikolai Jenson scored for the Wildcats with 12 minutes remaining in the third period. Despite a shot by the Tigers that hit the post directly after, they were not able to equalize once more, losing the game 4–3. Overall, the Tigers were outshot 30–15, but they had the advantage in faceoffs, 32–25.
“We talked a lot this morning about finding ways to score, getting more pucks on net, being more poised with the puck of the blue line, and honestly been trying to get on the score sheet, find my first one,” Jacobs told the ‘Prince.’
“Luckily [I] found it, and hopefully keep contributing, because of the direction we have to move in,” he added, referring to his impressive one goal, two assist performance.
About the game overall, Jacobs said, “I think it’s first of all, a good lesson. We got to have better starts. Play a full 60 minutes. I’m proud of the group, how we fought back in the second. Played a solid third but have to play a full 60 — we’re playing a good team like we were this [past] weekend.”
The Tigers have another doubleheader coming up this weekend, this time against No. 18 Quinnipiac (11–7–1, 6–3–0 ECAC), with one game at Baker Rink on Friday and the other in Connecticut on Saturday.
Keyan Vojdani is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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