Princeton Takes Round One
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Lawrence (10-20-5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Princeton (17-11-2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 01:40 | Calof, Andrew (Princeton) |
| 2nd - 06:18 | Arhontas, Matt (Princeton) |
| 2nd - 07:39 | PP - Sdao, Michael (Princeton) |
| 2nd - 11:34 | PP - FLANAGAN, Kyle (St. Lawrence) |
| 3rd - 07:22 | Kleebaum, Rob (Princeton) |
| St. Lawrence | Princeton |
|---|---|
|
G:
Kyle Flanagan - 1
A: Justin Baker - 1 Sh: Pat Raley - 3 Sv: Matt Weninger - 20 |
G:
4 Players (#18, #24, #26, #39 - 1)
A: 2 Players (#12, #16 - 2) Sh: 2 Players (#14, #16 - 5) Sv: Sean Bonar - 22 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | St. Lawrence | Princeton |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 2 | 1 for 3 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 3 (6) | 2 (4) |
| Shots on Goal | 23 | 36 |
| Face Offs Won | 25 | 40 |
St. Lawrence University's men's hockey team will have to pull itself off the mat after Princeton University scored goals just 21 seconds apart in the second period and went on to a 4-1 win over the Saints in game one of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey playoff series at Hobey Baker Rink Friday night.
The 6th-seeded Tigers, 17-11-2, will try to end the series with game two Saturday afternoon at 4 pm, while the 11th seeded Saints, 10-20-5, will try to send the series to a Sunday game three with a win in game two.
"Princeton played a very solid game," said Saint coach Joe Marsh. "I thought we came out with some good jump and put some early pressure on, but they handled the pressure and turned around and scored the early goal. That first goal is a big one in a game like this, and if we could have gotten it back, it might have been a different story. They played very well with the lead and once they got the two quick ones, we were in a deep hole."
The Saints pressured Princeton right from the opening faceoff, but the Tigers finally broke through the pressure and scored on their first shot on goal as rookie Andrew Calof drove hard to the net, got inside a Saint defender and tucked the puck between SLU starter Robby Moss and the post for his eighth of the year 1:40 into the game.
The rest of the first period was nearly dead even as Moss stopped nine first period shots and Princeton freshman goaltender Sean Bonar made eight saves. It was back and forth to start the second period as well until the Tigers pounced for two quick goals, one a flutterer and the other a bomb.
Matt Arhontas was credited with the second Princeton goal at 6:18 as he was stationed at the top of the blue and a shot by Eric Meland hit his stick, then the top of Moss' goalie stick, flipped up into the air and went end over end over Moss' shoulder and into the net to make it a 2-0 game. The Saints took a penalty just over a minute later and Princeton needed just five seconds to make them pay as Meland won the faceoff in the Saint end back to Kevin Lohry, who sent the puck to Michael Sdao at the right point and Sdao blasted a one timer that Moss never saw as it sailed just inside the near post at 7:39.
Freshman Matt Weninger took over for Moss after the third Princeton goal and kept the Saints in contention with a series of big saves among nine in the period.
Kyle Flanagan got one back for the Saints at 11:34 on a power play as he took a pass from Justin Baker, who worked his way through traffic to keep the puck in the attacking zone. Flanagan snapped a hard shot from the center slot which beat Bonar inside the post to make it 3-1 after two.
Princeton iced it at the 7:22 mark of the third when Calof sent Rob Kleebaum away on a breakaway and Kleebaum put one in the upper corner for the 4-1 lead. The Saints pulled Weninger, who had 20 saves in 29 minutes, for an extra attacker with just over three minutes to play, but could not come up with a second goal
The Saints, who were outshot 36-23, will try to keep their season alive with Saturday's game and to extend a streak of three straight post-season series wins. The last time the Saints advanced on the road in the first round was as 10th seed in 2004, beating Yale twice in overtime, both by 4-3 scores.
