Kevin Lohry made sure that didn’t happen.
Two minutes, 16 seconds into overtime, the sophomore forward ripped a slapshot past Colgate goaltender Charles Long to give Princeton (2-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 ECAC Hockey League) a 2-1 victory over the Raiders (4-2-0, 1-1-0).
Lohry’s goal was set up by junior defenseman Brad Schroeder’s shot attempt, which bounced off the skate of senior forward Brandan Kushniruk straight back to Lohry in the slot. Lohry quickly gathered the puck and sent it between Long’s legs for his first goal of the season.
“It was at the end of a long shift, and I was about to go back for a good change, but I had some juice left, and instinct kicked in,” Lohry said. “I got the puck back off Schroeder’s shot, made a toe drag, and the defense parted like the Red Sea.”
“I took the shot, and luckily it went in” Lohry added.
Princeton’s dramatic win came one night after being shut out by ECAC rival Cornell (1-0-1, 1-0-1), 1-0.
“After Friday night, we talked about getting a good start on Saturday,” senior forward Brett Wilson said. “You don’t want to lose two games in a row, especially at home, so we wanted to come out hard from the beginning.”
The Tigers came back strong against Colgate. Wilson scored just 1:15 into the first period to give Princeton an early lead.
Wilson’s goal was set up when senior forward and assistant captain Lee Jubinville carried the puck down-ice before feeding sophomore forward Mike Kramer. Kramer fired a shot off Long, who failed to control the rebound. Wilson received the puck at the right post and sent it into the net for his second goal of the season.
“[Jubinville and Kramer] made a good play,” Wilson said. “It’s something we’ve worked on in practice — shooting it to the far pad to get a good rebound opportunity — and it worked out well.”
Princeton remained in control through the first period, outshooting the Raiders 10-5 in the game’s opening frame. Despite the advantage in scoring chances, the Tigers were unable to crack Long to increase their lead.
Though Princeton held a 29-27 shot advantage in regulation, the team was unable to capitalize on its opportunities. Much like it had the night before, the Tigers’ power play lacked teeth. Princeton went 0-4 in man-advantage situations despite taking 10 shots.
“We’ve had some trouble getting set up in the zone,” Wilson said. “We have to get a lot of pucks on net for us to be successful, but, because we run a simple power play, it’s hard to get into a real slump.”
Colgate evened the score when forward Austin Smith beat junior goaltender Zane Kalemba high on the glove-side at 15:34 in the third period. In spite of the furious Princeton attack at the end of the frame, Long and the Raiders held on, sending the game to overtime.
The Orange and Black started overtime on a power play thanks to Colgate forward David McIntyre, who earned a charging call when he knocked junior forward Dan Bartlett into the crossbar of the Colgate net.
Though the Tigers failed to benefit from the man advantage, Lohry ended the contest shortly after the penalty expired.
Kalemba picked up the win for the Tigers, allowing only one goal and making 26 saves.
“I thought the whole team played well, and the defense did their job, allowing me to see the shots,” Kalemba said. “So that made my job easier.”
A night earlier, however, Kalemba’s one-goal effort wasn’t quite enough. Despite outshooting Cornell 43-19, Princeton fell to the Big Red 1-0.
The Tigers were plagued by a poor effort on the power play, finishing 0-5 and recording just seven shots with the man advantage.
Though Princeton more than doubled Cornell’s shot total, the Big Red was more physical, out-hitting the Tigers throughout the contest. Cornell finally cracked Kalemba in the third period, when forward Tyler Mugford put one top-shelf for the 1-0 lead.
The Tigers mounted a furious attack for the rest of the final frame, outshooting Cornell 20-6, but they failed to solve Big Red netminder Ben Scrivens. Scrivens finished with 43 saves in the shutout.
Princeton sorely missed junior Cam MacIntyre, the six-foot, one-inch, 215-pound forward who finished with 13 goals last season, second best on the team. MacIntyre, out with a back injury, is expected to return next weekend.
“Obviously, he’s a big part of our team,” Wilson said. “He helps with the physical play … and helps create some scoring, so it’ll be a huge addition when he comes back.”
“He has one of the greatest shots in the league,” Kalemba added. “He’s a very smart player and one that other teams watch out for.”
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Hamden, Conn., to face off against Quinnipiac.
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