With its sights on the playoffs, men's hockey picked up three more points over the weekend to secure the ninth seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League by passing Quinnipiac in the standings.
Princeton's (10-16-3 overall, 7-12-3 ECACHL) three points came from a tie at Brown (4-18-7, 3-14-5) on Friday and a win over Yale (8-18-3, 6-14-2) on Saturday.
"We played well," senior forward Patrick Neundorfer said. "We've been playing consistently well over the last few weeks, and consistency is going to have to be a huge part of our playoff game if we're going to be successful."
The momentum of the game against the Bears swung back and forth throughout the contest. Neither team led by more than a goal at any time. It was Brown that struck first with the only score of the first period. Just past halfway through the frame, Bears defender Sean Hurley notched his sixth goal of the season as he intercepted a clearing attempt and quickly put the puck in the back of the Tigers' net.
Midway through the second period, it appeared that Brown had scored again as the goal light went on in response to a shot that hit the crossbar. The referee quickly overruled the light, however, leaving the score 1-0.
With 6.2 seconds left in the second period, the Tigers knotted the game at one. Senior forward Brian Carthas blocked a shot on the defensive end and took the puck up the ice. Carthas centered the puck to junior forward Kevin Westgarth in the crease who knocked it home to send the game into the second intermission tied at 1-1.
The third period was more action-packed than the first two, with the two teams combining for twice as many goals as had been scored in the previous two frames together. Brown first pulled ahead on a power-play goal by forward Eric Slais less than three minutes in.
At 6:08 into the period, Westgarth picked up his second goal of the game as Princeton tied the game at two. The goal was assisted by junior forward Grant Goekner-Zoeller and freshman forward Lee Jubinville.
Just 33 seconds later, the Tigers took their first and only lead of the game on a score by senior forward Mark Masters. The backhand goal – Masters' first of the season – was set up by junior forward Christian Read and sophomore forward Landis Stankievech.
The final goal of the game was scored by Bears forward Matt Vokes in the 14th minute to send the game into overtime. Princeton only fired three shots in the extra time as neither team could find the back of the net.
Senior goaltender Eric Leroux had 27 saves in the tie, while Brown netminder Adam D'Alba stonewalled the Tigers with 33 stops on the game.
Yale overwhelmed
Saturday against the Bulldogs, Princeton came out flat again in the first period, something that has plagued it in the last few weekends of the season. In what seemed to mirror the previous night's game, the Tigers fell behind 1-0 and carried that deficit into the first intermission.
Despite a couple of good chances for Princeton in the opening minutes of the game, it was Yale that struck first in the fifth minute of the first period. With just five men on the ice for both sides, defender Bill LeClerc slid a goal under Leroux's pads for his eighth goal of the season.
A little more than halfway through the first period, the Tigers swung the game in their favor with two goals in a 55-second span. Neundorfer scored his first goal of the night as he redirected a shot by sophomore defender Mike Moore that was heading wide. Junior forward Kevin Westgarth also assisted on the goal.
Freshman forward Lee Jubinville gave Princeton the go-ahead goal as he backhanded the puck past Bulldog netminder Josh Gartner for his third of the season. Goekner-Zoeller and freshman forward Brett Wilson assisted on the goal.
The Tigers struck once more in the second period. Neundorfer scored his second goal of the night and 10th of the season with assists from Jubinville and junior defender Brett Westgarth.
At 5:25 into the third period, Yale scored its second and last goal of the night when forward Blair Yaworski found the back of the net past a screened Leroux.
The final goal of the game came from Kevin Westgarth on a power play with assists from Goekner-Zoeller and senior defender Seamus Young. The score put the Tigers up by a 4-2 margin, where the game remained until the end of regulation.
Though Princeton was thoroughly outshot on the night, Leroux had a sensational showing, stopping 39 shots. Gartner had 26 saves on the night.
The Tigers will have a best of three series this weekend against Clarkson.
"We feel pretty confident," Neundorfer said. "It's our longest trip of the playoffs, and it's going to be a pretty hostile environment."
St. Lawrence has a bye this week, and, due to its rivalry with Clarkson, there may be some St. Lawrence fans cheering on Princeton this weekend.
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