Tigers' Comeback Effort Falls Short

Final	1	2	3	Final
Princeton (9-2-0; 8-1-0 ECACH)	0	0	4	4
Mercyhurst (5-8-1; 3-2-1 AH)	4	0	2	6

Scoring Summary
1st - 03:05	PP - Fennell, Matt (Mercyhurst)
1st - 06:38	PP - Coccimiglio, Brandon (Mercyhurst)
1st - 09:05	Cameron, Steve (Mercyhurst)
1st - 17:08	Coccimiglio, Brandon (Mercyhurst)
3rd - 05:13	Jody Pederson (Princeton)
3rd - 10:07	Matt Godlewski (Princeton)
3rd - 17:21	Sam Sabky (Princeton)
3rd - 17:59	Kevin Lohry (Princeton)
3rd - 18:39	Pitt, Scott (Mercyhurst)
3rd - 19:01	EN - Pierce, Matt (Mercyhurst)

Princeton	Mercyhurst
G: 4 Players (#3, #8, #12, #15 - 1) A: 2 Players (#16, #17 - 2) Sh: Brett Wilson - 6 Sv: Thomas Sychterz - 14	G: Coccimiglio, Brandon - 2 A: Toomey, Ryan - 2 Sh: 2 Players (#7, #18 - 4) Sv: Zapolski, Ryan - 46

TEAM STATISTICS	Princeton	Mercyhurst
Power Plays	0 for 7	2 for 5
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	5 (10)	7 (14)
Shots on Goal	50	27
Face Offs Won	44	32

full stats

Boxscore

TROY, N.Y. - Trailing 4-0 entering the third period, the seventh-ranked Princeton men's hockey team rallied to tie Mercyhurst 4-4 with 2:01 left in the third period, but Scott Pitt's goal 40 seconds later gave the Lakers the 6-4 win in the RPI Tournament's championship game.

The Lakers stormed out of the gates early and took advantage of their opportunities to build a 4-0 lead on 11 shots in the first period. Matt Fennell put the Lakers on top 3:05 into the game when he scored on the power play. Skating 4 on 3, Fennell rang a shot off the post seconds earlier, but didn't miss on his second chance as Ryan Toomey fed him for the one-timer.

Brandon Coccimiglio added his first of two goals six minutes later on the power play off the rush. Ryan Raven carried the puck into the zone and fed it to Coccimiglio, whose quick shot found the back of the net. Steven Cameron and Coccimiglio completed the scoring in the opening period.

Princeton looked to climb back into the game in the second period and fired everything it had at Mercyhurst goaltender Ryan Zapolski. Princeton took 21 shots in the period, but Zapolski answered each with a save as he maintained the 4-0 lead for his team through 40 minutes of action.

Princeton continued to come out Zapolski and began to chip away at the Laker lead in the third period. Junior Jody Pederson made the score 4-1 5:13 into the period when he scored his first goal of the season high on the glove side of Zapolski. Junior Kevin Kaiser and senior Brandan Kushniruk assisted on the goal off the rush.

Sophomore Matt Godlewski made it 4-2 midway through the period also off the rush. Senior Brett Wilson hit him with a pass as he trailed the play and he scored through a screen to make it a two-goal game. Senior Brandan Kushniruk also assisted on the goal.

The Tigers moved within a goal with 2:39 to go in the period when sophomore Sam Sabky got his third goal of the season from senior Lee Jubinville and Wilson. The Tigers then drew even 38 seconds later when sophomore Kevin Lohry scored on a delayed penalty. Kaiser carried the puck into the zone and fed sophomore Taylor Fedun, whose point shot was redirected by Lohry to knot the game up.

Mercyhurst called a timeout following the tying goal and went back ahead with 1:11 to go when Scott Pitt scored from behind the net. Pitt gained control of the puck and knocked it in off the back of Princeton senior netminder Thomas Sychterz. Matt Pierce added an empty-net goal.

Princeton outshot Mercyhurst 50-27 but Zapolski made 46 saves to earn the win for Mercyhurst. Sychterz made 14 saves in two periods in the loss while junior goaltender Zane Kalemba had seven saves in the first.

The loss snaps Princeton's eight game win streak and drops the Tigers to 9-2-0 on the season. Princeton is back in action on Wednesday night against Quinnipiac at Baker Rink.