M. hockey loses to Yale, falls to UMass

Playing against UMass for the first time since former Princeton coach Don Cahoon left the University, the men's hockey team (1-10-0 overall, 1-8-0 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) fell, 5-3, Sunday afternoon in Amherst.

It was a tough Thanksgiving weekend overall for the Tigers as well, with the team losing for the second time in a week to Ivy and ECAC rival Yale – once at home, 7-1, and again in New Haven, 6-1.

Against Yale, the lone Princeton goal came from freshman forward Sebastian Borza on a one-timer late in the third period. By the time Borza scored, however, the Bulldogs had already buried the Tigers under six goals of their own, including four in the final period.

Though Yale controlled the puck for much of the first period, Princeton held tight, keeping the game scoreless. Sophomore goalie Trevor Clay shutdown the Bulldog offense in the period, stopping five quality scoring chances in close to the net.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it did not take long before Yale found the back of the net in the second stanza. Two goals, four minutes apart, would give the Bulldogs all the firepower they would need for the rest of the game.

The second of the two Yale goals came off a loose puck in front of the Princeton goal that was knocked home by Evan Wax.

Then, in the third and final period, Yale unleashed an offensive torrent, scoring in bunches to blow the game wide open.

The first two of the Bulldogs' four third-period goals came a scant 26 seconds apart, as Nick Deschenes scored on a breakaway just 10 seconds after the puck had dropped. His teammate Chris Higgins then lit the lamp with a shot just inside the goalpost only 16 seconds later.

Less then three minutes later, Yale extended its lead to five goals on a power-play score. The Bulldogs last tally came at 14:15 in the period.

Hoping to avoid the shutout, Princeton finally jumped onto the scoreboard with only 2:33 left in the game. Freshmen forwards Dustin Sproat and Patrick Neundorfer fed linemate Borza for his first career goal on a power-play attempt.

Following the drubbing they took at the hands of the Bulldogs, the Tigers had to turn around and face-off against the team's former coach, Don Cahoon. Cahoon went straight to UMass after leaving Princeton two seasons ago.

Unlike what happened in the matchup against Yale, the Minutemen opened the scoring early, finding the back of the net just four minutes into the action. UMass would jump out to a two-goal lead just over three minutes later, beating junior goaltender Nate Nomeland on a one-timer.

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Also unlike in the Yale game, the Tigers were able to answer the opposing onslaught with goals of their own. Princeton scored twice in the second to inch closer, finishing the second period trailing by only two, 4-2.

The Tigers showed signs of an offensive awakening in the third period. Down two, Princeton scored to make it a one-goal game. Borza added his second goal in as many games, but it was not enough to close the gap.

The Minutemen finished off the Tigers, scoring an open-net goal to close out the scoring and send Princeton home after a disappointing Thanksgiving break.

As bad as the first few weeks of the season have been for the Tigers, the season is still young and there will be plenty of opportunitites to turn things around. The next such opportunity comes next weekend with important ECAC and Ivy League matchups against Brown and Harvard at home..