Men's Hockey: Princeton ends road woes with two wins

Only a few seconds into the second period of Saturday night’s road matchup against Cornell (8-13-2 overall, 4-10-2 ECAC), junior forward Jack Berger and senior forward Rob Kleebaum won the puck out of the corner deep in the Princeton end. Junior forward Andrew Ammon collected the puck on the left side, burning his defender down the flank and firing a low left-handed wrist shot past the Big Red keeper, vaulting the Tigers (9-10-4, 7-6-3) to a 1-0 lead 51 seconds into the second frame.

The goal, Ammon’s seventh of the season, proved to be the only score of the night in a match dominated by tough defense and stellar net-minding for both teams. Senior goaltender Mike Condon shined throughout the evening, saving all 39 of Cornell’s shots and preserving the slender one-goal margin through a tough third period in which the Tigers did not fire a single shot. Princeton mustered only 12 shots in the entire match.

Strong goalkeeping also played a key role in Friday night’s contest, in which Condon tallied an additional 36 saves during the course of the Tigers’ 4-2 away victory over Colgate (13-11-4, 5-8-3). Condon started both matches without the support of junior goaltender Sean Bonar, with whom Condon typically alternates. Bonar, who is ill, remained in Princeton for the weekend road series along with seven other injured teammates. The Tigers won both matches with just 16 skaters in uniform, working hard with only three lines healthy enough to play.

Princeton’s victory over Colgate on Friday night was fueled by a strong middle period, during which the Tigers broke a 1-1 tie when Berger and junior defender Alec Rush netted goals for Princeton. Berger’s power-play goal at 14:19 of the period was his first goal of the season. After the Raiders cut the Princeton lead to 3-2 at the beginning of the third frame, freshman forward Jonathan Liau sealed the deal by scoring his first career goal with 12:50 left on the clock.

The weekend victories marked the second time Princeton has defeated each team this season. The Tigers beat Cornell 5-3 on Nov. 9 at Baker Rink and trounced Colgate 4-0 in Princeton the following evening. This weekend was particularly important, as they snapped a two-game losing streak and added two wins to a disappointing 1-7-3 road record this season. Before Friday night, Princeton had not earned a road victory since November.

The pair of wins has significant implications for the Tigers in the ECAC standings. Princeton’s four-point weekend brought the Tigers to within two points of second-place Yale, whom Princeton will face at home on Feb. 23. In addition, the victories give the Tigers momentum heading into a crucial four-game home stand at Baker Rink, where Princeton is 6-2 this season. The Tigers will face off against Clarkson and St. Lawrence next weekend, followed by another weekend doubleheader against Brown and Yale the weekend of Feb. 22.