Men's hockey chilled in N.Y.

In another disappointing trip to upstate New York, the men's hockey team suffered two losses to Cornell, 4-1, and Colgate, 3-2. After losing badly to the Big Red on Friday night, the Tigers showed promise Saturday, keeping the game close against the Raiders, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hockey League's top-ranked team.

In Saturday's game against Colgate (10-2-3 overall, 6-1-1 ECACHL), the Tigers (3-9, 2-8) struck first with 52 seconds left in the first period. After senior forward Patrick Neundorfer won the face-off following the penalty that gave Princeton its fourth power play, junior defender Daryl Marcoux grabbed the puck and took it to the point. He fired a shot that was saved by Colgate goaltender Mark Dekanich, but Neundorfer recovered the rebound and put away the goal to make the score 1-0.

At 7:43 into the second period, Princeton tacked on its second goal on a shot from sophomore defender Kyle Hagel. Junior defender Brett Westgarth stole the puck from a Raider forward and passed it to Hagel. Hagel skated up the ice and fired a shot from just inside the blue line, finding the back of the net to give his team a 2-0 lead.

Colgate struck back at 12:40. Forward Jesse Winchester worked the puck deep into the Tiger zone and passed to forward Tyler Burton. Burton quickly passed to defender Eric Main, who redirected the pass into the net. The period ended with the score in favor of Princeton, 2-1.

The Raiders closed the gap when they tied the game 2:54 into the third period. Colgate forward Jon Smyth scored the goal on a backhand shot that slid under the pads of senior goaltender Eric Leroux, evening the score at two.

The balance was tipped when the Raiders scored the final goal of the game 6:09 into the third frame. After Colgate recovered a turnover, Burton snuck a short side shot just under the crossbar to put his team ahead 3-2.

Late in the game the Tigers had a couple of opportunities to tie the game, but Raider goaltender Mark Dekanich thwarted those chances with several spectacular saves, including one with 20 seconds left in the game.

"We played a really solid game on Saturday night," Leroux said. "A couple of mistakes ended up having a big impact. On the whole, the game is a small step forward because it showed us that we could compete with the best teams out there. We're right on the brink of great success, and we just need that little something to put us over the top."

Big Red too much

The previous night was not as encouraging. Coming off a win that snapped its six-game losing streak, Princeton had felt confident going into its Friday night game against perennially strong Cornell (8-3-1, 5-2-1). But on its home ice, the Big Red proved to be too much for the Tigers. Cornell came out on top with a 4-1 victory.

The story of the game was defense. The stifling Big Red defense held Princeton to only two shots on goal in the first period and five in the second. The result was that the Tigers were outshot 41-18 for the game. They were also unable to convert on any of their six power-play opportunities.

"Cornell has always been known for their defensive style of play," said Leroux, who had 37 saves in the game. "They recruit big guys who are there to contain our offense and minimize our chances."

The first goal of the game came at 2:15 when Big Red forward Byron Bitz ricocheted a goal off a Princeton stick. The goal occurred on the first of eight Cornell power-play opportunities, of which it was able to convert two.

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Later in the first period, Princeton gave up its second goal when Big Red forwards Chris Abbott and Raymond Sawada executed the old give-and-go play.

In the second period, Cornell made the score 3-0 with its second power-play goal when Daniel Pegoraro scored on a cross from Mark McCutcheon. Leroux was unable to get back to his left in time to stop the quick shot.

The Tigers came out firing in the third period — they scored within the first nine seconds. After winning the face-off, senior defender Brian Carthas passed the puck to junior forward Darrol Powe at the blue line. Powe fired a shot that hit the top of Big Red goaltender David McKee's glove and then the post before bouncing in. The goal was Powe's first of the season. Senior defender Seamus Young also picked up an assist on the play.

Powe had another nearly identical opportunity from the same spot later in the period. This time, however, McKee made a clean glove save.

Cornell's final goal was an empty-netter by forward Tyler Mugford at 18:34.

The Tigers stressed the need to find some kind of rhythm.

"We have to learn to win," Leroux said, "because for the past few years we haven't won very many games, and the way you learn to win is by squeaking out a few tough games."