Clarkson Edges Princeton, 3-2

Went to Princeton last night for the Tigers’ 3-2 loss to ECAC rival Clarkson in front of 1,852 fans at Hobey Baker Rink on Bobblehead Night, as the visiting Golden Knights scored twice in the final 5:30 of play to pull out the victory.

Following a scoreless opening stanza, Matt Zarbo put Clarkson up when he knocked home the second rebound in front of Princeton netminder Sean Bonar at the left post. Before the period was over, however, the host Tigers (9-11-4 overall, 7-7-3 ECAC) responded with goals just under three minutes apart, by Ken Kleebaum from the left circle and Michael Sdao from the left point.

The third period was largely an offensive onslaught by the Golden Knights (8-14-7 overall, 7-7-3 ECAC) , who launched 11 shots on goal in all and finally got the equalizer from Simon Bisette at 14:30. Just over two minutes later on a power play, T.J. Moor skated in with speed, took a pass, and fired a high shot past Bonar to put Clarkson ahead for good.

Bonar finished with 35 saves for Princeton, while Greg Lewis made 25 stops for the Golden Knights. The two teams combined to go 1-for-6 with the man-advantage.

Clarkson outshot Princeton, 38-27, and moved onto a sixth-place tie with the Tigers and Dartmouth in the ECAC standings. The Golden Knights also swept the season series, as they defeated Princeton by a 7-2 count in Potsdam, N.Y. back in November, and have now won three consecutive games against the Tigers.

Princeton hosts St. Lawrence tonight, while Clarkson visits No. 1 Quinnipiac, which suffered its first loss in 22 games last night when the Bobcats lost to SLU, 2-1.

This One at Princeton Had It All

Princeton and visiting Dartmouth skated to a 3-3 tie in an ECAC matchup on Friday night at Hobey Baker Rink, and this one truly had it all.

There was end-to-end action, three lead changes, 71 shots on goal, several spectacular saves, a post-game youth-centered Skate with the Tigers—and to top it all off, an hour-long game delay after a Dartmouth shot broke the glass behind the Princeton net, just beneath the press box, with 12:36 remaining in the third period. The glass was replaced and the ice completely resurfaced before both teams resumed play after a five-minute warm-up session, but neither could get the go-ahead goal despite going to overtime.

The Tigers, who are now 2-1-4 in their last seven outings overall, got a goal and an assist from Rob Kleebaum, plus 29 saves from Mike Condon before 2,292 spectators at Baker Rink, where Princeton has gone 4-3-3 so far this season. Eric Neiley scored twice for the visiting Big Green, which also got 36 stops from Jody O'Neill.

Dartmouth improved to 9-9-4 overall and 6-6-3 in ECAC play, and is now sixth in the conference standings, while Princeton (7-10-6, 5-8-3 ECAC) ranks eighth. The Big Green, which is 2-1-2 in its last five games to date, plays at Quinnipiac on Saturday, while the Tigers will be idle until they visit Clarkson on Feb. 10.