M. hockey continues to struggle in conference play

While most people spent the break catching up on some well-deserved sleep, men's hockey battled Dartmouth (11-8-1 overall, 7-6-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) and Vermont (9-12-3, 6-8-0 ) at Baker Rink.

There was no shortage of goals in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Big Green. Though the score line suggests that the Tigers were overpowered by Dartmouth, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Princeton got off to a slow start versus the Big Green, surrendering the first two goals of the contest.

Oh so pretty

Just over halfway through the second period the Tigers got on the board with a goal from junior forward Chris Owen, who notched his tenth goal of the season at 12 min, 56 sec of the period on a four-on-four situation.

Sophomore forward Mike Patton freed up Owen for the goal by skating deep into the attack zone and drawing the Dartmouth players toward his position. Just when the Big Green over-committed, Patton slipped a pass to Owen. The junior received the pass in a perfect position and quickly angled a shot which beat Dartmouth goaltender Nick Boucher high to the glove side.

With the goal from Owen the Tigers shifted the game's momentum and placed the Big Green on the defensive. Princeton dominated the remainder of the second period as it continued to hound Dartmouth for the puck and tightened up its defense. As if energized by their first goal, the Tigers continued to press for an equalizer before the end of the second period. Princeton's determination paid off when freshman forward Dustin Sproat lit the lamp at 18:53 off of a rebound.

Clawing back

Sproat's persistence in retrieving the rebound off his first shot and burying the puck past Boucher was symbolic of Princeton's efforts in the second period. The Tigers scratched and clawed throughout the entire period, dominating on both ends of the ice. Princeton out shot the Big Green 17-6 in the second period; this aggressiveness kept the Tigers in the game.

As the third period commenced, Princeton looked poised to win the game and had most of the momentum on its side. As the tension in Baker Rink continued to mount, neither team could manage to break the deadlock until 14:59.

Dartmouth's Trevor Byrne let the air out of the Tiger's rally, though, when he fired a bullet past sophomore goalie Trevor Clay from the high slot.

The Big Green went on to solidify their victory with two empty net goals making the final score 5-2.

The next night against Vermont Princeton fell behind early in the first period when it was assessed a five minute major for hitting from behind. The Catamounts quickly took advantage of the situation, scoring at the 11:18 mark. Vermont's Brady Leisenring flipped a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Clay to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Later in the first period the Catamounts struck again when Tim Plant slotted one home on a rebound from a Leisenring shot on goal. Plant's goal gave Vermont a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. The Catamounts controlled the first period offensively, out-shooting Princeton 16-9.

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In the second period Vermont's Jaime Sifers went five-hole on Clay for the Catamounts second power play goal of the game.

Down 3-0, the Tigers did not let their heads drop too much. Junior defenseman Matt Maglione scored less than two minutes after Sifers' tally. The goal came off of a full-ice rush spearheaded by Sproat and senior defenseman Neil McCann.

Princeton got another goal from freshman forward Mark Masters, his first career goal as a Tiger. Masters' well-placed wrist shot past Vermont goalie Shawn Conschafter cut the Catamount lead to one.

But Vermont responded to the Princeton rally with a goal of its own in the waning moments of the second period.

At the start of the third period, the Tigers were down 4-2 when Owen scored off of a rebound from Maglione's blast from the point. With the goal Princeton was within striking distance down, 4-3, and the Tigers continued to press hard for the equalizer.

Things looked promising for Princeton until the Catamounts' Baron Becker scored off of a rebound at 17:36 after a solid rush by Jeff Corey. The goal sealed Vermont's 5-3 victory over the Tigers. Clay had 33 saves, two more than he had against Dartmouth, yet still lost.