Men’s ice hockey divides the weekend, defeating Union in a shootout and losing to RPI.
The Princeton men’s ice hockey team (8-14-3 overall, 6-10-2 in the ECCAC) played two conference games this past weekend. On Friday night, the team lost to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers (9-18-3, 6-10-2) before coming back on Saturday to defeat the Union Garnet Chargers (13-14-3, 7-7-8-3) in a shootout.
Despite a season-high 46 shots on goal, the Tigers lose to RPI.
The Tigers’ weekend schedule began Friday night with a game against the RPI Engineers at Hobey Baker Rink. The Tigers were hoping for a repeat performance after defeating RPI 6–4 in Troy, New York, earlier in the season.
Regretfully, the Engineers discovered the rear of the nett before Princeton did. Austin Heidemann, a forward for RPI, took advantage of an orange and black hooking penalty with 11:06 remaining in the first period to blast the puck towards the nett over junior goalie Ethan Pearson’s shoulder.
With ten minutes remaining in the first half and down by a goal, the Tigers attacked. First-year striker Carson Buydens, who had just entered the game during a transition, opened the scoring with his first college goal, a feed from sophomore forward David Jacobs.
After the equivalent face-off at centre ice, Buydens again set the Tigers up. Buydens and junior forward Alex Konovalov gained control by using the forecheck. This allowed them to liberate the ball, which allowed rookie forward Michael Young to skate in front of the nett and score his first goal of the season. Princeton led 2-1 at the end of the first quarter.
RPI scored twice in the offensive play’s second quarter to take a 3-2 lead into the third. In just 14 seconds, the first of the Engineers’ two goals was scored. Twelve minutes later, a slapshot from the blueline went behind Pearson for the second. The Tigers exerted intense offensive pressure during this time, outshooting the Engineers 13–10 and forcing a five-minute penalty for face-masking in the last two minutes of the game.
Ian Murphy, a senior forward, made his ice comeback to open the last twenty minutes of play following a five-game absence due to injury. Joshua Karnish, a first-year forward, attempted a shot that went just wide of the RPI goaltender, but Murphy set himself up perfectly to tap in the rebound for his sixth goal of the year to square the score at three.
Both teams searched for the game-winning goal opportunity throughout the quarter, and RPI got their chance on an odd man rush during transition. The Engineers outperformed Pearson in attacking coordination, taking a 4–3 lead.
As a result, Princeton found itself once more trailing and attempting to catch up. With 2:31 remaining on the clock, the Tigers took a timeout and went on to play their most aggressive hockey of the evening with an extra attacker and no goalkeeper in the nett. With the additional attacker, the team’s total shots on goal for the game reached a season-high 46, however they were unsuccessful in scoring.
The Daily Princetonian was informed by head coach Ron Fogarty, “We have been playing really well in our last four games.” “They are playing good hockey, but it’s really unfortunate that they only have two wins.”
Head coach Ron Fogarty told the Daily Princetonian, “We have been playing really well in our last four games.” “They are playing good hockey, but it’s really unfortunate that they only have two wins.”
Penalty minutes and many men in the box for both teams marred the second period. The Garnet Chargers opened the scoring with two players from Princeton and one from Union in the box with 8:52 remaining in the period. Union forward Liam Robertson took advantage of the 4-on-3 advantage by finding open space and slipping the ball past Smith. With 20 minutes remaining, the Tigers were behind 2-0 when the Garnet Chargers scored their second goal on a power play to end the half.
Princeton proved they could play from behind even with their three-period disadvantage. Before senior defenseman Nick Carabin scored his first goal of the game with 17:45 remaining and a player in the penalty box for each team, the Tigers mounted an aggressive surge that included misses from sophomore defenseman Tyler Rubin and senior forward Nick Seitz.
Carabin told the “Prince” that after the puck struck the goaltender, Seitz passed it to me, giving me a free puck in front of the nett. Princeton was searching for the equaliser for the rest of the half when this deft move pulled them within one. During this period, Smith maintained the Tigers’ defensive competitiveness, making a crucial stop as Union charged the goal on a two-on-zero breakaway.
Carabin forced the Tigers into their ninth extra session of the season in the last minute. Princeton held the puck in the attacking circle with just over 40 seconds left, searching for an opportunity. Carabin found it with a slapshot to knot the score at two.
“I saw nothing at all,” Carabin thought to himself. “I didn’t realise I made the shot until I saw my teammates chasing after me after I scored.”
Union attacking pushes dominated the next 3-on-3 overtime action, but Smith maintained his cool and made five stops to force a shootout. Regarding team mindset, Smith said, “We have confidence in each other going into overtime.” “We have the guys to make those plays, and we know it will come down to one or two big plays.” In the game on Saturday, Smith equalled his career best of 36 saves. Smith is becoming a valuable member of the Princeton team.
After Union’s three consecutive attempts at a shootout were turned down, senior forward Adam Robbins—a late-game hero—scored the shootout’s lone goal.
Carabin commented, “The kid is electric in overtime,” in reference to Robbins’ goal. “He can put the puck in the nett and step up when it matters most.” Robbins won this game in overtime/shootout mode for the fourth time this year.
With no overtime goal, the game finished in a 2–2 stalemate, but Princeton gained two points in the conference rankings going into the final stretch of their regular season thanks to their 1-0 shootout victory.
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