Maglione's OT goal gives men's hockey thrilling win over Yale

With less than two minutes left in overtime, sophomore defenseman Matt Maglione received a pass on the right wing from senior left wing Josh Roberts. Finding himself wide open, he wound up and took aim at nearly impenetrable Yale goaltender Dan Lombard as the netminder moved across the crease to block the Princeton rush. Maglione let the shot go, and it slipped over Lombard's left shoulder, finding nothing but the back of the net.

Maglione's wrister gave Princeton a 2-1 win over Yale last night at Baker Rink.

"Josh [Roberts] made a top-notch play," Maglione said. "It slipped in the six-hole."

Although the Tigers found victory in the overtime period, the Elis had them trying to play catch-up for most of the game. An early goal by center Ryan Steeves gave Yale the lead in the first period.

That goal gave Princeton a wake-up call. From then on the Tigers were a far cry from the team that showed up for the Dartmouth game Sunday — when the Tigers lost 5-2.

"We knew after Sunday's performance that we just needed to come out and start competing again," head coach Len Quesnelle said.

While the Elis picked up the pace of the game, the Tigers hit harder. Two Yale players hobbled off the ice after being checked into the boards.

"What I was most encouraged about after this game is that we had some guys throwing their weight around physically that I haven't seen up until today," coach Quesnelle said.

Although Princeton was hitting hard, it did not capitalize on the opportunities to score that emerged from those big hits. At other times Yale was able to hold the puck in the Princeton zone, taking shot after shot on senior goalie Dave Stathos.

When the Princeton defense was able to clear the zone, the offense peppered Lombard with shots, forcing him to make 34 saves during the game. But it was not until the third period that the Tigers were finally able to break down the Eli defense.

That breakdown came in the form of a goal scored by junior right wing Trevor Beaney off of assists by Maglione and senior center Dave Del Monte at the 12:26 mark of the third period. Beaney worked his way to the front of the crease and shoved the puck past Lombard. With the tying goal, both teams took on a new-found exuberance, trying to win the game in regulation. Princeton had scoring chances, but Lombard came up strong, forcing the game into overtime and paving the way for Maglione's heroics.