This weekend, Princeton men’s hockey (10–10–1 overall, 5–8–1 ECAC) extended their win streak to four, successfully overcoming Harvard and Dartmouth in a team effort.
The wins come amid an inconsistent season under new Head Coach Ben Syer. After five straight wins in December, the Orange and Black lost six in a row to open January, dropping to the bottom of the ECAC standings.
However, Syer’s squad has turned their game around and has now strung together four wins in a row. After consecutive home wins against Bentley (13–12–2, 11–7–1 Atlantic Hockey Association), the Tigers traveled up north and swept Ivy foes Harvard (7–11–2, 6–7–2 ECAC) and Dartmouth (11–9–2, 8–6–2) to move up to eighth in the current standings.
“We knew we were facing two extremely tough opponents on the road,” coach Syer told The Daily Princetonian. “There was a lot of focus, and the guys not only were excited, but spent the week preparing to go into those two contests.”
Sophomore forward Kai Daniells scored the overtime winner to lift the Tigers over the Crimson 4–3 Friday night before a sound defensive effort gave Syer’s squad a 3–1 win in New Hampshire on Saturday.
Overtime thriller snaps 13-game losing streak at Harvard
The Tigers arrived at Harvard’s rink having not won a game there since 2013, a run that spanned 13 games in a row. They had also lost their previous match to the Crimson at home earlier this season, on the wrong end of a 4–3 overtime affair.
Hungry for a statement win, the Tigers rolled onto the ice with intensity. Their offensive pressure allowed them to produce their third-highest shot tally this season (29).
Within eight minutes, junior defender David Ma scored his fifth goal of the season off a pass from fellow junior defender Nick Marciano. On Monday, Ma was named the ECAC Hockey defender of the week.
After a 19-minute scoring drought, the Crimson tied the game in the second period, capitalizing off a Princeton turnover. Shortly after, Harvard struck again to take a 2–1 lead heading into the third period.
The first four minutes of the third period saw both sides playing with a man down after cross-checking and high-sticking penalties were called against Harvard and Princeton respectively.
Seconds after the end of the penalty, sophomore forward Carson Buydens scored his first goal of the season off a rebound to tie the game. The celebrations continued for Princeton as first-year forward Miles Gunty netted his first career goal from the left circle to make it 3–2 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for Princeton, it took only 75 seconds for the Crimson to equalize. The hosts continued to push for the winner, but were unable to find it as the two sides went to overtime for the second time this year.
With a few minutes remaining in overtime, Ma came up with a crucial block on the defensive end for Princeton. Junior forward Brendan Gorman took the puck to the offensive end before finding Daniells for the winner.
The Game Winner!
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) February 1, 2025
Kai Daniells drives the net and bangs in the winner for our first win at Harvard since 2013!@ecachockey | @NCAAIceHockey | @TeamECH pic.twitter.com/cRUHNau5l1
Senior goaltender Ethan Pearson — who has been competing with sophomore Arthur Smith for the starting spot for the majority of the season — recorded 32 saves on Friday night.
“It’s an extremely hard decision to make,” Syer said. “Both guys have played very well and that’s their job as players to make it a difficult decision to be had.”
Strong defensive showing completes weekend sweep
For the Tigers, it was crucial to keep the momentum going Saturday in New Hampshire against the Big Green, a side that netted five goals earlier this season on the Orange and Black.
“We were all super pumped to get the win against Harvard, but we knew we had a challenge ahead of us with Dartmouth the next day,” sophomore forward Carson Buydens wrote to the ‘Prince.’
“I think we just knew that if we stuck to our details and played consistently for all 60 minutes, we would have success the next day,” he continued.
Unfortunately for Princeton, junior defender Tyler Rubin exited the contest 20 seconds into the game, forcing first-year defender Pat Reilly to take his workload. The Garden State native looked like a veteran in front of the sold-out crowd of 4,667 in Hanover — the sixth largest in Dartmouth history.
Syer had nothing but praise for his rookie defender, “I don’t think people understand how much work PR [Reilly] puts in day in and day out, even though he hadn’t been in the lineup consistently, and he’s one of the hardest working kids that I’ve ever been around.”
After that stoppage, the game got off to a flying start, with both sides exchanging opportunities. The Big Green were the first team to strike with just under nine minutes remaining in the opening period after CJ Foley ripped a screen shot past Pearson.
Foley’s goal was the Big Green’s lone goal of the game as the Orange and Black started to garner momentum. A turning point in the contest came when first-year forward Jake Manfre scored with less than a minute remaining in the first period, giving Princeton important momentum heading into the second period.
Man On The Spot!
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) February 2, 2025
Jake Manfre with his 6th goal of his rookie season and we're tied up after 20:00 in Hanover.@ecachockey | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/7WpniohGWR
In the second period, junior forward Jaxson Ezman was quick to find the back of the net after Gorman won a faceoff for the Tigers. Ezman — who missed the latter half of the 2023–24 season due to injury — has now recorded at least one point in four of the last five games.
“Missing time last year was tough, but I’m really grateful to God for the opportunity to be back,” Ezman wrote. “I had a great summer back in Madison and a strong training camp with the new staff.”
Towards the end of the second period, it was Pearson and the defense coming up big for Princeton, which managed to kill three Dartmouth penalties.
“I think the biggest thing for us is just keeping it simple, staying on the details, and playing together,” Ezman said.
“When we stick to our structure and do the little things right — winning battles, managing the puck, and supporting each other all over the ice — that’s when we’re at our best. We just have to keep that mindset, trust each other, and take it one game at a time.”
In the third period, the Big Green searched for the equalizer but were unsuccessful, as Princeton dominated the period on both ends of the ice. With under a minute remaining, Gorman sealed the 3–1 win with an empty-net goal.
“With eight games left, we know we need to play our best and put ourselves in a great position heading into the postseason,” Buydens noted.
The Tigers return home next weekend for another ECAC doubleheader. The Tigers play Clarkson (14–9–3, 8–5–1) on Friday night before returning to Hobey Baker Rink the following night to play St. Lawrence (8–17–1, 4–9–1). It will be the Tigers’ first matchup of the season with both opponents.
“We’ve got to remain together as a group and be ready for some real tough competition here this week,” Syer said. “We’d love to see a ton of fans out this weekend.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and Education Director for the ‘Prince.’
Assistant Sports Editor Bryant Figueroa contributed reporting.
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