Men's hockey gets into gear, beats Bobcats

The major problem that has plagued the men's hockey team so far this season has been their struggle to convert scoring opportunities into scores. On Saturday, the Tigers (3-7-0 overall, 2-6-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) broke out of their offensive slump by scoring six goals against Quinnipiac (9-7-0, 3-5-0), twice as many as they had scored in any ECACHL game this season, and enough to down the Bobcats, 6-3.

"We were lacking goal scoring," said freshman forward Brandan Kushniruk, who had three points in the game, including the first two goals of his collegiate career. "An offensive outburst like that can really help build our confidence and turn things around for us."

Though the game was ultimately a high-scoring show, the first period gave no hints of the goals to come. In a 20-minute session marked by defensive stops, the two teams shut each other out despite good chances on both sides.

Quinnipiac had a slight advantage in shots for the first period, as the Bobcats got off six shots to Princeton's five. Both teams' best opportunities came on a Tiger power play. The squads launched rocket shots just seconds apart, but both attempts deflected harmlessly off the post.

The scoreless start was followed by an intense second period highlighted by five goals.

Three minutes into the second frame, Quinnipiac put the first point on the board. The Bobcats scored two goals two minutes, 59 seconds apart on back-to-back power plays during which they enjoyed two-man advantages. Defender Matt Sorteborg scored the first goal on an assist from forward Jamie Bates, who also assisted the second goal.

Once Princeton's players got their heads back into the game, the Tigers quickly turned their fortunes around. They went on to score six unanswered goals before Quinnipiac could respond with its final goal.

Princeton's first score came at 8:03 when Kushniruk picked off a Bobcat clear and placed a shot in the top corner of the net.

The next goal came from senior defender Brian Carthas at 13:09 during a power play in which the Tigers had a two-man advantage. Carthas was assisted by Kushniruk and senior defender Seamus Young.

Princeton continued to dominate Quinnipiac, as the Tigers scored their third goal of the game only 41 seconds later. Playing in his 100th Princeton game Saturday, senior forward Patrick Neundorfer scored the go-ahead goal. After receiving an assist from junior defender Brett Westgarth and junior defender Daryl Marcoux, Neundorfer slapped a shot that snuck past Bobcat goaltender Bud Fisher, for Neundorfer's third of the season.

The Tigers capitalized on three of their seven shots to finish the second stanza with a 3-2 advantage.

Four minutes into the third period, junior forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and brought it into Quinnipiac territory. Goeckner-Zoeller fed it to Young, who proceeded to score his first goal of the season after retrieving his own rebound.

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At 8:42, Kushniruk pushed the score to 5-2 when he scored his second goal of the game on a Princeton power play. Freshman forward Brett Wilson fed Carthas at point, who then took a wrist shot through traffic that Kushniruk deflected into the back of the net. Wilson's assist increased his point streak to six games.

Sophomore defender Kyle Hagel scored the final goal for the Tigers on a backhand shot as he circled in from behind the net after retrieving his own deflected pass that was intended for Westgarth. The goal was Hagel's second of the season.

The final goal came from the Bobcats at 16:09 in the third period when Nelson scored his second goal of the game.

Breaking the losing streak was the most important thing that came out of this win for Princeton.

"It's kind of a monkey off the back," Kushniruk said. "The win helps the team out as we go into the most important part of the season."

As the Tigers get ready for Friday's game, they have confidence in the formula that they've developed.

"We're not going to change anything," Kushniruk said. "Our team is built on work ethic, that's what we're going to do. We're going to outwork our opponent every night."

This Friday Princeton will face Ivy League powerhouse Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.