Princeton men’s ice hockey (7–4 overall, 4–2 Eastern College Athletic Conference) sought to redeem its winless away record this weekend. With wins over Union College (7–4, 4–2) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) (5–13, 2–6), the Tigers did just that. Junior goaltender Conor Callaghan received the ECAC Goaltender of the Week honors upon earning his first collegiate shutout against RPI with 22 saves.
Upending Union
Princeton made an early statement when first-year forward Matthew Souliere scored in the first three minutes with assists from sophomore defenseman Kai Greaves and junior forward Carson Buydens.
It didn’t take long for the Tigers to follow up. Just nine minutes later, senior forward Jaxson Ezman scored, assisted by senior forward Brendan Gorman, to put Princeton up 2–0.
“Getting out to a lead and playing from in front is important on the road and we got to do that for the first time this season,” Coach Ben Syer told The Daily Princetonian after the game. “We were aggressive from the jump, putting pucks on net right away.”
The Chargers answered within a minute, cutting the deficit to 2–1, and opened the second period just as fast. The second period’s first five shots came from Union within three minutes, prompting three saves from Callaghan. The Tigers resisted and responded.
“We have been pretty good 5-on-5 defensively this season, and to do so on the road in an ECAC game was a big goal for us ahead of the game,” Syer told the ‘Prince.’
The Tiger offense took control, and sophomore forward Jake Manfre found the net off an assist from senior forward David Jacobs. For the remainder of the period, the two goaltenders were challenged to make saves and play strong defense. Princeton was up 3–1 and looked to see out the victory.
But it didn’t end there. The offensive onslaught continued in the third period as senior defenseman Jayden Sison fired a long shot for his second goal of the season and a 4–1 Tigers lead.
Eighty seconds later, a Union turnover turned into sophomore forward Drew Garzone’s first goal of the season, finishing off the score 5–1.
“We embrace the opportunity to play on the road, and I like that we’ve been getting better each time we’ve played away from home,“ Syer told the ‘Prince.’ “Our guys enjoy the chance to know it’s us against the crowd and the opponent, and we feed off that environment.”
Tigers rout RPI
On Saturday, Princeton closed its last pre-break weekend with a crisp 4–0 win against the RPI Engineers that capped the two-game road sweep.
The win did not come easily. The Engineers took advantage of an early power play, but Callaghan handled it cleanly, highlighted by a save in the 10th minute.
“The boys in front of me definitely helped me out a lot, not just on face-offs but with really good defensive zone coverage and picking guys up in front,” Callaghan wrote to the ’Prince’ after the game. “It allowed me to really just focus on the shots I was facing and not have to worry about anything else.”
Senior forward Brendan Gorman, in his 100th collegiate game, managed a shot from the slot in the dying minutes, before a late scare came as the Engineers were gifted an opportunity in the last 10 seconds that went just wide.
“I think on Friday against Union, it was more staying with the process, but on Saturday, I didn’t think we played as well in the first period,” Syer told the ‘Prince.’ “So, there was obviously a little more of a heated discussion in between periods. I thought we needed to get going.”
Midway through the second period, sophomore forward Jake Manfre drifted into space between the circles and snapped a feed from junior forward Kai Daniells, rewarding the Tigers’ clean exits and steady transitions with a 1–0 lead.
After around 90 seconds into the third period, Princeton’s continued aggressive pressing forced an RPI penalty, giving the Orange and Black their third power play of the night.
One minute into the power play, Daniells skated down the right, worked a give-and-go through the seam with senior defender Tyler Rubin and senior forward David Jacobs, and launched the puck into the back of the net, giving Princeton a 2–0 cushion.
Three minutes later, the Orange and Black struck once again. Jacobs forced a turnover high in the zone, Daniells shoveled the puck into the slot, and Manfre arrived on time to snap in his second of the night.
The Engineers tried to bounce back, earning a power play right before the 7th minute, but Princeton allowed no shots on goal. Sophomore forward Luc Pelletier followed by jumping a turnover at the blue line and flicking a quick finish for 4–0.
Callaghan once again controlled a dangerous chance for RPI in the 12th minute.
“I was just focused on getting into a good groove to start the game and taking it one shot at a time,” he wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “I had a lot of confidence in the guys in front of me to play a really good 200-foot game, which they did, and it’s what helped us get the ball rolling and get the job done tonight.”
Princeton outshot RPI 35–22, went one for four on the power plays, and went three for three on kills.
“I think it’s a focus of being able to play fast and not hurry,” Syer told the ‘Prince.’ “I thought our guys did that, they tried to move pucks, not panic with them, but to move [them] quickly. And as a result, I think we got some opportunities from that.”
Having been perfect at home (5–0) but winless away before Friday, the Tigers climbed to a 2–4 away record, sending them into the holidays with momentum.
“I think there was a focus on playing good road hockey and understanding how hard it is to win on the road,” Syer told the ‘Prince.’ “It takes having a more dialed-in mindset to try to earn momentum, and that was certainly something that was prevalent in our guys throughout the weekend.”
The Tigers return to Brown in three weeks, looking to bring the same energy they found this weekend.
“It’s really important for us as a team to stay focused on the task at hand,” Callaghan wrote. “We have some time off to take care of our bodies so we can come back strong and gear up for a big second half.”
Zeke Arnold is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince’.
Kai Kim is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince’.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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