Men's Hockey Falls to Colgate and Cornell at Home

The Princeton Men’s Hockey team (5-16-2, 3-11-2 ECAC) faced another set of consecutive losses this weekend as they battled against Colgate (8-19-2, 4-11-2 ECAC) and Cornell (12-7-4, 7-6-3 ECAC) at Hobey Baker Rink on Friday and Saturday nights. Although the games were close, the Tigers struggled to redeem themselves after their losses to both teams in November.

The Orange and Black came out strong at Friday night’s game, claiming a 3-1 lead in the first period. Freshman forward Alex Riche, who formerly played for the Cobourg Cougars in the Ontario Junior Hockey League,scored the first goal at only a minute into the game. This marked the freshman’s first career goal as a Tiger. Princeton’s next two goals were scored by sophomore forward Eric Robinson and junior forward Garrett Skrbich. The first goal of the second period was scored by Colgate forward Tylor Spink, which cut the Raider’s deficit to only one. Princeton freshman forward Max Veronneau responded 88 seconds later on a 5-on-3 power play to restore the Tigers' two-goal lead. The final goal before halftime was scored by Colgate rookie forward Adam Dauda, who marked his first career goal as well. The Raiders followed this with a second goal from Tylor Spink and one from Kevin Lough at the end of the fourth, which resulted in a final score of 5-4. Despite the loss though, the Tiger’s junior goalie Colton Phinney out-saved Colgate goalie Charlie Finn by 12 goals.

Princeton faced an unsettling sense of déjà vu as they were shut out by Cornell’s junior goaltender Mitch Gilliam, just as they were last Sunday by Dartmouth’s goaltender Charles Grant. This game marked No. 17 Cornell’s fifth consecutive shutout of the season. Although the Tigers pushed the puck over the goal line in the second half, the referees confirmed that the goal did not count after it was swatted in by a player’s hand rather than stick. The only goal of the game was scored by Cornell’s senior forward John Knisley off of an assist from defenseman Alec McCrea.

The Tigers will drive to upstate New York next weekend to face off against Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Feb. 12and 13. The team hopes to break the four-game losing streak and gain some momentum before the regular season is over.