Yale outlasts men's hockey, 4-3, on strength of power-play goal

It's not supposed to work this way. In man-down situations, the team is supposed to dig into the trenches behind the blueline and just try to survive the barrage of pucks flying at the goal until the POW steps out of the penalty box and back onto the ice. Not so last night, when the men's hockey team took on Yale at Baker Rink.

Both sides had trouble on the power play and often it was the disadvantaged team that put together the most exciting scoring opportunities. At times, it seemed like having an extra man on the ice was more of a hinderance than an advantage. Only the Elis (5-2-0 overall, 3-2-0 Eastern College Athletic Confer-ence) managed to capitalize on the power play, and that proved to be the difference as Princeton (2-2-3, 1-2-2) lost, 4-3.

The deciding goal, however, was more bad luck than anything else. On a play so common that it is almost a reflex, a Tiger defender passed the puck around the back of the net to clear it out of the back and start an offensive run. Two players were back with the puck and the others had spread to the sides of the rink, anticipating the offensive push. Then the reflex became a spasm.

The initial pass around the back of the net caromed off the stick of the other defender in the area and skidded instead out in front of the goal, directly to Yale. Even the Elis were not expecting this turn of events, but took advantage of the open shot. Yale right wing Ben Stafford fired a shot past junior goalkeeper Dave Stathos with one minute and 56 seconds left in the game to take the 4-3 lead.

"I was still coming out, still getting set," Stathos said of the goal. "He just beat me five-hole."

Though Princeton never led in this game, it seemed as though the Tigers would be able to hold on for the tie. Stathos had come up with some big saves, two near-miss Eli shots clanked off the pipes and Princeton even netted its first short-handed goal of the season.

At 8:02 in the second period, the Tigers caught the Yale defense off guard as senior center Ethan Doyle skated down the left side of the ice even though Princeton was a man down. He sent a quick pass from the goal line to freshman forward Thomas Colclough, who was wide open at the top of the crease. The rookie one-timed the pass past Eli goalie Dan Lombard for his first career goal and a 2-2 tie.

Elusive

In spite of this effort, the Tigers failed to do something that has eluded them all season: earn a third-period win.

"We need to figure out how to win those one-goal games," head coach Len Quesnelle '88 said. "It was a tough one to lose when we weren't outplayed."

"We're expecting every night to be in a one-goal game like that," said senior center Shane Campbell, whose third-period goal tied the game at three. "One bounce and the game is over."

Princeton will not have to wait long to get a second shot at Yale, as the two teams square off in New Haven on Saturday in the second half of the home-and-home series.