Petizian, Vermeulen Lift Saints to Tie with Princeton
_Photos/St._Lawrence/Alex_Petizian08.gif?max_width=360)
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton (10-12-3, 6-10-2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| St. Lawrence (14-11-6, 8-6-4) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 18:28 | PP - Arhontas, Matt (Princeton) |
| 2nd - 10:02 | PP - VERMEULEN, Travis (St. Lawrence) |
| 2nd - 15:29 | Bartlett, Dan (Princeton) |
| 3rd - 12:49 | VERMEULEN, Travis (St. Lawrence) |
| Princeton | St. Lawrence |
|---|---|
|
G:
2 Players (#9, #26 - 1)
A: 3 Players (#4, #14, #19 - 1) Sh: Matt Arhontas - 6 Sv: Zane Kalemba - 28 |
G:
Travis Vermeulen - 2
A: Kyle Flanagan - 2 Sh: Kyle Flanagan - 5 Sv: Alex Petizian - 43 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Princeton | St. Lawrence |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 6 | 1 for 6 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 6 (12) | 6 (12) |
| Shots on Goal | 45 | 30 |
| Face Offs Won | 36 | 39 |
Senior goaltender Alex Petizian made a career high 43 saves and senior center Travis Vermeulen scored the game-tying goal at 12:49 of the third period as St. Lawrence University skated to a 2-2 tie with Princeton in a ECAC Division I college hockey game at Appleton Arena Saturday afternoon.
Petizian, making his first appearance since a 4-3 win at Clarkson on Dec. 5, was spectacular in his first start after serving as a backup to classmate Kain Tisi during a string of 15 straight games. The Saints senior made 31 saves through the first two periods and while the shots he saw in the third period and overtime were fewer, he came through with some high-quality saves to preserve the tie. Petizian's previous career high also came against Princeton, 40 saves in a 3-2 win at Princeton a year ago. He has a 3-3-2 career record against the Tigers with a goals against average just over 2.00 goals per game and a save percentage near .930 after Saturday's tie.
"Alex did a tremendous job today," said Saint coach Joe Marsh. "It was disappointing that we couldn't get him a win. He made some huge saves to gain us the point, and every point is important at this stage of the season. We have a tough road ahead of us and need to keep working hard to try to nail down a home ice spot."
St. Lawrence is now 14-11-5 overall and 8-6-3 in ECAC play and in the thick of a battle for a top four finish and a bye and home ice in the playoffs with four games left in the regular season. Princeton is now 10-12-2 overall and 6-10-1 in league play.
The Tigers opened the scoring when junior wing Matt Arhontas put a move on a Saint defender with Princeton on a power play and walked in all alone on Petizian, tucking his fifth goal of the season past the outstretched leg pad at 18:28 of the first period.
Vermeulen tied the game with his 13th goal of the year on a power play for the Saints as he took a pass from freshman wing Kyle Flanagan and ripped a shot past Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba at 10:02 of the second period. Princeton went back in front 5:27 later when senior center Dan Bartlett scored his 16th of the year, poking the puck past Petizian in a melee in front of the Saint net.
Vermeulen scored his second of the night to tie it again at 12:49 of the third, taking a pass from freshman defenseman George Hughes and putting the puck between Kalemba and the post.
Neither team could score the rest of the way as Petizian came up with two big saves, one on Bartlett from the top of the faceoff circle and another on Will MacDonald wide open in front in the extra period. Kalemba also had some big stops in the overtime as the Saints had a late power play but could not convert.
