M. ice hockey loses two to Colgate, Cornell at home

For a youthful men's hockey team aspiring to be a contender in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, this weekend was not an auspicious start. The Tigers (0-4-0 overall, 0-2-0 ECAC) could not shake off their rink rust as they fell 3-2 to Colgate in overtime Friday and suffered a 7-0 defeat to Cornell on Saturday. Even though the end results were the same, it almost seemed like two separate Princeton teams were playing on the different days.

In Friday's contest, Raider's forward Jon Smyth tipped in the only shot that Colgate (3-1-1, 1-0-0) would need, coming 30 seconds into the first overtime period. Raider center Dave Thomas seized advantage of an ill-advised Tiger pass and took a rocket shot from the left point that bounced off a Princeton skate and landed directly in front of Smyth, who jammed it past sophomore goalie Eric Leroux. This spoiled an opportunity for the Tigers to secure their elusive first win of the season and extended Princeton's string of losses in overtime games at 19 without a win.

In a game that proves how quickly momentum can change, the Tigers almost avoided overtime. With just over two minutes remaining in the third period, junior center Mike Patton broke away from his defender and skated one-on-one against Colgate goalie Steve Silverthorn. However, Patton's flick-shot was read perfectly by Silverthorn, who covered it and held on for the critical save.

The teams were evenly matched throughout the night, with the Raiders enjoying a slight (34-31) advantage on shots and the two teams identical in faceoffs controlled with 39.

Colgate captured the early lead, scoring just 54 seconds into the game. However, Leroux repelled the next 12 shots he faced in that period, which galvanized the rest of the team into a stretch of determined, gritty hockey.

"He had another 30-save performance, and he gave us a chance to win once again," head coach Len Quesnelle '88 said.

At 13:03 in the first period, Princeton found the back of the net. Senior defender Matt Maglione rifled a shot on goal, and sophomore forward Brian Carthas fooled Silverthorn with his misdirection and scored his first career goal in the process.

The Tigers took their first lead of the season and scored their first power play goal at 1:43 in the second period. Junior defender Jesse Masear controlled a clean pass from senior defender Steve Slaton, which he ripped towards the net. As the puck deflected off a Colgate defender, Silverthorn could only watch in frustration as it trickled past his outstretched glove.

Princeton's lead was short-lived, however, as Colgate evened the game five minutes later on a slap shot that beat Leroux up high.

"This game should show us that we can come out and compete with any team in college hockey," Quesnelle said. "We came out and were prepared to play."

The same, unfortunately, could not be said about Princeton's effort against Cornell (2-1-1, 2-0-0) on Saturday.

Initially, the Tigers appeared to draw upon their vigor of the previous night. Their aggressive play drew four Big Red penalties within the game's first nine minutes, including a two-man advantage. Unfortunately, this only resulted in four shots on goal, hardly the offensive production necessary to establish early control of the game.

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"There was a point there in the first period when we were looking around at the bench thinking to ourselves, 'you know, we're not playing the way we're capable of playing here,' " Quesnelle said. "There was a level of frustration that set in after awhile."

Cornell forward Ryan Vesce plagued the Tigers all night. He had a hand in every goal, garnering a hat trick and assisting on the other four. Princeton's futility on the power play continued, as the Tigers were 0-7 on the night which extended their season total to 1-22.

"You have to execute. It's one thing to work to generate [scoring opportunities], but then you have to execute, and our level of execution was not where it needed to be" Quesnelle stated.

Only able to suit five defensemen for the game, the Princeton blueliners were worn down by fatigue. Cornell's first two goals were the result of defensive slips that left Leroux isolated against the Big Red offensive onslaught and the Tigers in a deep hole against a quality team. Especially devastating were the three goals created by the Tigers' inability to win faceoffs in their zone. At 15:59 in the first period, Vesce won the faceoff and shoveled a pass to defenseman Charlie Cook at the point position. Before Princeton's defense could shift, he released a blistering shot that Leroux, who was screened by his own defenseman, was powerless to stop.

Cornell goaltender Mike McKee's 24 saves were enough to garner him the shutout, as Princeton's punchless offense failed to apply pressure.