Special teams were the difference maker this past weekend on the road as Princeton men’s hockey (2–2–0 overall, 0–2–0 ECAC) dropped back-to-back one-goal games to Brown (1–3–0, 1–1–0) and Yale (2–1–0, 2–0–0) in their first conference matchups of the season.
After opening the year with two nonconference wins, the Tigers fell 2–1 to Brown on Friday night before suffering another 2–1 defeat to Yale on Saturday in overtime.
“We need to be more dialed in on our details with special teams, both on the power play and penalty kill,” head coach Ben Syer told The Daily Princetonian. “Special teams are so important and can really dictate how a game goes, as we saw this weekend.”
Special teams prove costly in 2–1 Loss to Brown
On Friday night in Providence, the Tigers came up short in a tightly contested battle against the Bears, who capitalized on two special teams opportunities — one on the power play and another short-handed.
Brown opened the scoring midway through the first period with a power-play goal from Ben Poitras, who converted on a Matt Desiderio centering pass after an earlier attempt was waved off for a high stick.
Princeton equalized in the second period when sophomore forward Jake Manfre continued his hot start to the season, netting his third goal in as many games. The power-play tally came off a precise cross-ice feed from senior forward Jaxson Ezman, with assists from senior defenders Tyler Rubin and David Ma, whose zone entry set up the sequence.
“Our unit has such a high level of trust in how we play our system that I knew if I went to where I was supposed to be, Jaxson would find me,” Manfree told the ‘Prince.’ “Every guy on the ice had a role in that goal, and that’s when you know a power play is working.”
The Tigers, however, were undone late in the third. After blocking a point shot, Brown’s Ryan St. Louis broke free and finished a short-handed chance on the backhand with 9:05 remaining — a goal that would prove to be the game-winner.
Junior goaltender Arthur Smith made 20 saves in the loss, while Brown’s Tyler Shea turned aside 25 shots. Princeton finished 1-for-5 on the power play and 0-for-3 in the third period.
Tigers fall in overtime at Yale despite strong defensive effort
At Ingalls Rink, the Tigers hoped to bounce back.
Junior goaltender Conor Callaghan made his first start since November 2023 after missing nearly two seasons due to injury, recording 26 saves in an impressive return.
Following a scoreless opening frame, Yale broke the deadlock midway through the second period when Hughie Hooker scored on the power play to give the Bulldogs a 1–0 lead.
Princeton tied the game just 15 seconds into the third period. Off the opening faceoff, Brendan Gorman won the draw and dumped the puck into Yale’s zone, where David Jacobs forced a turnover and found Nick Marciano alone in the slot for a quick shot past Yale goaltender Noah Pak.
The game remained tied through regulation, but just over a minute into overtime, Zachary Wagnon fired a shot under the bar to give Yale the 2–1 victory.
“I really liked how we responded on Saturday night, especially in the third period,” Syer said. “Our veteran guys stepped up and showed the way. We came up one goal short, but it’s something to build on.”
“We know we’re capable of more than we showed this weekend,” Jacobs echoed. “The resiliency on Saturday was important to show. Nothing is given in ECAC play — we have to find a full 60 minutes of hockey each night.”
He added that the team’s defensive cohesion has been a bright spot early in the season.
“We’re showing that we can stay committed to our defensive structure in 5-on-5 play,” Jacobs said.
The Tigers will return to Hobey Baker Rink next Friday, Nov. 15, for a nonconference matchup against Stonehill (1–10–0, 0–0–0 Northeast Conference).
Chloe Lydia Li is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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