This past weekend, the men’s ice hockey team (10–11–2 overall, 5–9–2 Eastern College Athletic Conference) earned a singular point in their penultimate pair of home games. On Friday night, they were defeated 4–1 by the Clarkson Golden Knights (16–9–3, 10–5–1), a team battling for a top-four finish in the conference, before tying the St. Lawrence Saints (8–18–2, 4–10–2) 4–4 on Saturday.
“We played two very good opponents here this weekend,” head coach Ben Syer told The Daily Princetonian. “They did a really good job against us, a lot of credit to both of them.”
The two results drop the Tigers one place in the ECAC standings to ninth out of twelve teams, four points behind Ivy rival Brown University (11–10–2, 7–8–1) and only one point above 10th and 11th place. All teams qualify for the end-of-season ECAC championships, with seeding determining opponents and home rink advantage.
Early Lead Nullified by Clarkson Offensive Pressure
The Tigers got off to a dream start on Friday night after just two minutes of play. First-year forward Luc Pelletier swung the puck into the cage, where sophomore forward Joshua Karnish laid it off to junior forward Kevin Anderson, who rebounded his own shot to swing the ball over Clarkson’s goaltender for a 1–0 lead.
But Clarkson immediately ramped up the pressure. Just seconds later, senior goalkeeper Ethan Pearson was forced to make an impressive triple save as the Golden Knights tirelessly rebounded his deflections. Princeton managed to finish the first period up 1–0 thanks to Pearson’s 11 saves, and a disallowed Clarkson goal.
“I thought Ethan [Pearson] did a really nice job against Clarkson, and he’s done a good job of being solid for a couple of games back-to-back,” Syer said.
After surviving the first period, the Tigers completely crumbled to Clarkson’s offensive prowess.
“We have to give credit to Clarkson, they’re one of the strongest teams in our conference,” Syer added.
Clarkson, led by the ECAC’s top goalscorer Ayton Martino, finally broke through Princeton's desperate defensive line in the 11th minute of the second period, scoring two in two minutes to turn the scoreline around. The Golden Knights added two more in the third period to end a dominant offensive display, who outshot the Orange and Black 31–20 and climbed to fourth in the ECAC standings.
“We’ve got to find a way and should be a little more ready to play right off the hop against a team like Clarkson,” Syer said.
Tigers Blow Two Two-Goal Leads Against St. Lawrence
Hoping to make a comeback against St. Lawrence, a team fighting alongside Princeton in the bottom four of the ECAC standings, the Tigers once again got off to a strong start on Saturday. A power play allowed the team to free up junior forward Jaxson Ezman on the outside of the faceoff circle, from which he fired a rocket through the Saints’ keeper’s hands for a 1–0 lead.
Early in the second period, another power play goal doubled the Tigers lead. Junior defender David Ma, the reigning ECAC Defender of the Week, fought his way through a pack of Saints defenders in the corner to recover the puck. First-year defender Kai Greaves received Ma’s pass and crossed it to the wide-open junior forward Kevin Anderson at the far post for a 2–0 lead.
Although St. Lawrence pulled one pack in that period, the Tigers looked more dangerous and likely to score throughout. Unfortunately for them, however, an early power play allowed St. Lawrence an easy finish for a 2–2 draw at the beginning of the third period.
But Princeton, in particular junior forward Brendan Gorman, became more determined, and only a minute later, took the lead back. Gorman recovered the puck in his own half, skated up the left side, swiftly cut into the inside and scored, bringing the score to 3–2.
“Gorman, in particular on Saturday night, really stepped up,” Syer said. “Not only did he score in some real key times, but he played really hard, giving this team an opportunity to win.”
The Orange and Black’s determination was on full display with a crucial sophomore defender Ian Devlin goal-line clearance, before first-year Jake Manfre rebounded a shot into the net for a 4–2 Tiger lead.
With five minutes on the clock, the Tigers were holding on, but St. Lawrence fought hard. Two goals in two minutes sent the game into overtime, where neither of the exhausted teams could find an opening.
“We weren’t able to close out Saturday’s game and we’ve got to find a way to be able to do that, with two different leads in the weekend here,” said Syer.
The Tigers ultimately lost the resulting shootout and a chance at earning an additional point, ending their weekend with a single point from a regulation-time draw.
With six games left in the season, Princeton still has everything to play for in terms of a very close bottom-half of the ECAC table.
“Every point matters here, as you play for home ice,” Syer said. “We’re in that position where every point matters here as it determines who gets to host the first round of playoffs.”
The Tigers’ next pair of matches will take place in New York, where they will take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (10–16–2, 5–11–0) on Friday night and Union College (16–9–3, 9–5–2) on Saturday. Although Union ranks far ahead of Princeton at third in the ECAC standings, 10th-place RPI stands just one point below the Tigers. As their penultimate pair of games, these two matches will be crucial for seeding in the ECAC championships.
Bryant Figueroa is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.org.
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