Men's hockey feasts on Yale last night in Baker

Just two nights shy of Thanksgiving, the Princeton men's hockey team feasted on Yale. In game one of the fifth-annual Thanksgiving time home-and-home series and in the final game of their three-game home-stand, the Tigers roasted the Bulldogs, 6-3. Yale is the only team in the nation yet to win a game this season.

Princeton (4-4-1, 4-3-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) found the penalty box eight times in the game, providing the Bulldogs (0-9-0, 0-7-0 ECACHL) with plenty of opportunities to score. The Tiger power-play kill, however, shut down Yale's offense.

"The penalties have been costly," Paquin said. "We have to stay out of the [penalty] box and get on the power play. We are not satisfied with just winning; we have to improve."

Princeton scored first midway through the first period on sophomore forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller's fifth goal of the season — a two-on-one fast-break goal. Intercepting a pass at center ice, he faked the wrist shot, dragged the puck around to his backhand side, and pushed it past the goalie for the score.

The Tigers struck again, 17 minutes, 42 seconds into the game, when junior Dustin Sproat tapped in a loose puck in front of the net. After a slap-shot from the blue line was initially blocked by Yale goalie Peter Cohen, the puck trickled behind him, right in front of the net.

Princeton's two-goal lead, however, was short-lived as the Bulldogs responded just over one minute later with a Bill LeClerc power-play goal, cutting Yale's deficit to just one goal.

The Tiger team padded its lead in an action-packed second period with two goals, scored by junior Sebastian Borza and freshman forward Keith Shattenkirk. The first goal in the period came on Princeton's second power play on a shot that glanced off the goalie's body and into the back of the net.

The third period featured more of the same from Princeton as its lead ballooned to four goals after Mike Moore scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot from just inside the blue line, aided by two screens. Princeton added one more power-play goal in the period, and Yale tacked on two of its own that did nothing but pad their stat sheet.