The theme of the men's hockey team's two-game series with Notre Dame was 'shorthanded.' In South Bend, Ind., Dec. 19-20, Princeton faced a noticeably short Fighting Irish bench, and the Tigers took advantage of man-up situations on the ice to leave their host shorthanded in wins.
Princeton (5-6-3 overall, 3-2-3 Eastern College Athletic Conference) earned its first two non-conference wins of the season Dec. 19 and 20 by capitalizing on power-play opportunities. The Tigers converted 4 of 19 en route to 4-3 and 4-2 victories. The Tigers also defeated Queens University, 3-0, Dec. 30 in an exhibition game.
With six players out of the lineup due to injury and World Junior team commitments, the Irish (7-11-2, 4-6-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) were limited to only 17 players in their two-game series with the Tigers. But Princeton dressed just 18 in each game, so the losses should not be completely attributed to the missing players.
"They weren't expecting us to come out and play like we did," sophomore defenseman David Schneider said. "They're trying to shift the blame [by focusing on the player shortage]. They underestimated us, which is too bad since we've never lost to them.
No helping hand
Notre Dame certainly was not helping itself on the ice, committing 19 penalties in the two games. Two of the most important infractions came within 28 seconds of each other in the final minutes of the first game, resulting in the winning Tiger goal.
After center Troy Bagne brought the Irish back into a 3-3 tie with his fifth career goal one minute, two seconds into the third period, the two teams remained knotted for more than 13 minutes. With Irish defender Sean Molina already in the penalty box with 5:42 left in the game, the Irish bench rose to contest a high-sticking call that forced right wing Ryan Dolder to join Molina and give the Tigers a five-on-three advantage.
Princeton capitalized only 25 seconds later. Schneider received the puck from junior right wing Chris Corrinet before passing across the goal to senior center Benoit Morin. Morin returned the favor, giving Schneider the puck back on the left, where the defenseman put a high shot inside the left post.
The goal was the only power-play goal of the night for either team, but it would stand for the final minutes and give the Tigers the 4-3 victory.
In bunches
The following night was highlighted again by man-advantage goals, this time by the sheer number of them. Princeton converted 3 of 10 power-play opportunities, while Notre Dame scored one, in the 4-2 Tiger win.
Corrinet started the scoring at 7:30 in the second period, with Princeton already down, 1-0. After Irish goalkeeper Kyle Kolquist deflected a tough-angle shot from junior forward Kirk Lamb, Corrinet swooped in for the rebound. He put a low shot past Kolquist for his team-leading seventh goal.
The Irish went up, 2-1, before Princeton began a power-play-goal onslaught. Schneider assisted on all three remaining Tiger goals, amassing four points on the weekend.
Sophomore goalie Dave Stathos continued his recent streak of hot play, collecting 38 saves in the game.
Special-teams play has come to dominate Princeton's goalscoring landscape. Of the eight goals against Notre Dame, only three were scored at even strength; senior defender Darren Yopyk scored a shorthanded goal to go along with the four power-play conversions. The Tigers worked well in their own shorthanded situations, allowing only one goal in 17 chances.
Although the three wins mean almost nothing to Princeton's postseason hopes two non-conference games and an exhibition have no bearing on the ECAC playoffs the Tigers did benefit from two good non-conference wins.
"[The two wins] meant a lot for our confidence," Schneider said. "They show that we had a little inconsistency [earlier in the season], but now we're ready.
Princeton returns to conference play this weekend, facing Brown and first-place Harvard in a two-game road trip.
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