Men’s hockey swept by Arizona State as losing streak climbs to 7

Men’s hockey (3–8–1 overall, 3–4–1 ECAC Hockey) was defeated by Arizona State (12–6) twice this weekend, losing by a score of 4–0 on Friday and 3–2 on Saturday. The losses this weekend extended the Tigers’ losing streak to seven, lowering their overall win percentage to .292.

The 4–0 loss on Friday was just the second time this season that the Tigers have been held scoreless, the first coming in a 3–0 loss to Quinnipiac on Nov. 30. The Tigers conceded twice in the first period, but outplayed the Sun Devils in the second period, winning the shots-on-goal battle 21–8. Despite their offensive dominance, the Tigers were unable to find the net, and the Sun Devils’ third goal put the game out of reach.

The Tigers showed more promise in Saturday’s game. After going down 2–0 in the first period, Princeton rallied and leveled the score in the second period. The first goal came just seconds into the second period, as senior forward Ryan Kuffner chased the puck into the offensive zone and beat goalkeeper Joey Daccord for his ninth goal of the season. Two minutes later, senior forward Max Véronneau scored on the power play to level the score. After receiving the puck in the neutral zone, junior forward Jackson Cressey sent the puck across the ice to Véronneau, who raced past the Sun Devils’ defenders before finding the net from a difficult angle.

After a scoreless third period, the Tigers came close to ending the game in the second minute of overtime, when sophomore defenseman Mark Paolini’s shot hit the crossbar. However, just seconds later the Sun Devils secured the win, with forward Jake Clifford scoring the winning goal off a rebound.

With his goal on Saturday, Véronneau moved up to seventh on the Tigers’ all-time points list, with 122, and his 80 career assists place him fourth all time, just one away from tying Jeff Halpern ’99. Kuffner, who sits right in front of Véronneau with 125 career points, has 62 goals in his career, good for fourth on Princeton’s all-time list. Kuffner will likely have a shot at taking over the top spot on that list, as he is only five goals behind the leader, John Cook ’63.

The Tigers will look to bounce back this Saturday, Dec. 15, as they face No. 9 Penn State at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Penn State is 11–5–1 overall, and defeated the Tigers earlier this season. After that game, the Tigers will return to Hobey Baker Rink for a doubleheader against Maine on Friday, Dec. 28, and Saturday, Dec. 29.