Princeton men’s ice hockey (15–12–3 overall, 11–9–2 ECAC) took to the road for their final two games of the regular season, facing two Ivy League foes in Harvard (14–14–2, 11–10–1) and No. 14 Dartmouth (19–7–4, 13–5–4). Despite having played both of these opponents earlier in the season, these final two matchups proved to be crucial in establishing the postseason landscape for the Tigers.
After surrendering their early lead to Harvard on Friday night, falling 5–3, the Tigers bounced back in their match against Dartmouth, tying in the game, but winning the points advantage in the shootout. The dominant shootout performance secured the team’s first round bye and home ice advantage for the ECAC quarterfinals.
Crumbling in Cambridge
Friday’s game was hard fought and very evenly played from the first faceoff. The matchup started with Harvard dominating offensive control, getting off 10 shots to Princeton’s one and scoring the first goal of the game on a Harvard power-play.
Princeton responded with a breakaway goal in the 13th minute by junior forward Joshua Karnish. Princeton struck again shortly after, with a one-timer shot from senior forward Brendon Gorman to flip the game on its head to give Princeton a 2–1 lead.
The second period opened with a flurry of shot attempts from Harvard, as they pressed hard to even the score, but junior goalie Arthur Smith held the Crimson off again. Both teams traded shots until the Tiger offense took control and junior forward Kai Daniells scored his 16th goal of the season to bring the Princeton lead to 3–1 halfway through the second period.
“I thought our second period was one of our best of the year,” Daniells told The Daily Princetonian postgame. “We were playing to our identity shift after shift and got rewarded for it.”
Unfortunately for the Tigers, after their early second period surge, the tide turned in favor of Harvard. The Crimson scored in the final minute of the second period to go into the second intermission down one goal.
When Harvard returned to the ice in the third, they came out firing. The Crimson scored two goals in the first two and a half minutes to take the lead at 4–3. Other than a burst of shots on a power play, the Crimson played very conservative down the stretch focusing on playing solid defense.
Smith was pulled out of goal in the final two minutes, and the Tigers offense battled to tie the game in the waning seconds, but it was to no avail. The Orange and Black were unable to score, and the Crimson scored an empty-netter to seal the game with a score of 5–3.
The Tigers played a close game and only faulted defensively for about five minutes of game time which allowed for Harvard to come back.
“We had some really good moments during the game, but at this time of year you need to play the full 60:00,” Syer told the ‘Prince.’ “We know that is what will be required at Dartmouth in a game that means a lot to both teams heading into the postseason.”
Handling things in Hanover
In their last regular season game, the pressure was on the Tigers to secure home ice for the upcoming ECAC playoffs. In a slim 12-team playoff bracket, prior to Saturday night, Princeton sat near the middle of the pack with postseason seeding still up for grabs. With little room for error, the Tigers were able to hold their own against the Big Green powerhouse for the second time this season, leaving Thompson Arena with the league advantage they needed to put them back onto their home ice for their first playoff outing.
It was the Tigers who struck first after successfully killing a Dartmouth power play and sitting on the defensive side of the ice during the Big Green’s advantage. Working the puck up from their defensive zone off of a Dartmouth clear, the Tigers transitioned into the offensive with Karnish sealing the play for the Tigers, slicking the puck through the legs of the Big Green’s goalkeeper.
Karnish has three goals this season, coming in each of Princeton’s last three games. After putting the Tigers on the board against Dartmouth, the Orange and Black held a 1–0 lead to close out the first period.
To open the second period, the Tigers looked to keep their momentum, though the Big Green would not make it easy. The next 20 minutes were scoreless, and Princeton narrowly outshot Dartmouth 14–13. Defensively, the Orange and Black outblocked the Big Green 11–8, but endured more penalties on the defensive end of the ice. Going into the final period of play, the Tigers maintained their one goal lead.
Princeton came out of the locker room firing, opening the third period with a near perfect sequence to double their lead. After forcing a clean turnover in their own defensive third, senior forward Jaxson Ezman slicked the puck up the middle for senior forward David Jacobs who passed it off to Daniells before rerouting the puck back to Jacobs on a give-and-go. Jacobs finished the job for the Orange and Black, slinging the puck into the back of the net. With 19 minutes to go in regulation, Princeton led 2–0.
Just three minutes later, Dartmouth was able to regain their footing. Big Green forward Hank Cleaves broke away up the right wing of the ice, working his way to the left goal post and slotted the puck into the back of the Tigers’ net, cutting the deficit to one.
Cleaves proved to be the hero for the Big Green, keeping the team’s hopes alive near the end of the period. Still trailing by one with two minutes left on the clock, Dartmouth pulled their goalie into the attack, giving them a man advantage. The Big Green possessed the puck in the Tigers’ defensive zone, and after a Dartmouth collision with Smith pulling him out of the net, Cleaves launched a deep shot into the back of the open cage to tie the contest with just one minute remaining.
Regulation ended in a 2–2 stalemate, forcing a five-minute fourth period in which Princeton earned a power play but did not capitalize, despite outshooting Dartmouth 6–2. The contest officially ended in a tie, but continued to a shootout to decide who would claim the extra ECAC point to determine postseason standings.
Dartmouth began the shootout, but the shot was blocked by the stick of Smith. Senior forward Brendan Gorman was unable to convert the first attempt for the Tigers, but another save by Smith on Dartmouth’s first attempt kept spirits high for the Tigers.
Up next was Daniells, who slowly approached the net, swerving closer and closer before nailing a decisive shot through the legs of Dartmouth’s goalkeeper to give Princeton the advantage.
With the Orange and Black now leading the Big Green, the pressure was on Smith to prevent the puck from getting behind him on what could be the Big Green’s final attempt. Dartmouth’s shooter skated down the middle of the ice before lifting the puck, aiming for the top right corner of the net. Reading the play perfectly, Smith scooped the puck in his glove, leaving no doubt of the Tiger victory and sealing the earned extra point in ECAC standings for the Orange and Black.
With the advantage, Syer and the Tigers earned a bye for the first round of ECAC playoffs, as well as home ice advantage in the quarterfinal round. Princeton will play their first game of the three-game series on Friday, March 13 at Hobey Baker Rink at 7 p.m.
Zeke Arnold is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Lily Pampolina is a head Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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