Princeton Skates by Rensselaer

Photo by Beverly Schaefer

Final	1	2	3	Final
Rensselaer (3-11, 1-5)	2	1	0	3
Princeton (4-7-1, 3-5)	2	1	2	5

Scoring Summary
1st - 06:44	Laliberte, Jacob (Rensselaer)
1st - 11:15	Berger, Jack (Princeton)
1st - 13:36	PP - Kleebaum, Rob (Princeton)
1st - 16:39	Tinordi, Matt (Rensselaer)
2nd - 07:13	Calof, Andrew (Princeton)
2nd - 18:24	O'Grady, Marty (Rensselaer)
3rd - 07:06	Calof, Andrew (Princeton)
3rd - 19:01	EN - Berger, Jack (Princeton)

Rensselaer	Princeton
G: 3 Players (#15, #27, #28 - 1) A: 4 Players (#7, #22, #24, #29 - 1) Sh: Alex Angers-Goulet - 5 Sv: Bryce Merriam - 19	G: 2 Players (#9, #18 - 2) A: Kevin Ross - 2 Sh: Andrew Ammon - 4 Sv: Sean Bonar - 28

TEAM STATISTICS	Rensselaer	Princeton
Power Plays	0 for 1	1 for 2
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	2 (4)	1 (2)
Shots on Goal	31	24
Face Offs Won	32	29

full stats

PRINCETON, N.J. (12/2/11) - The sophomores shined tonight at Baker Rink, as the Princeton men's hockey team defeated Rensselaer 5-3 on Friday, Dec. 2. Sophomore Jack Berger had three points on two goals and an assist, classmate Andrew Calof scored twice and Kevin Ross picked up two assists as the Tigers won their second straight game.

The teams traded goals back and forth in the first two periods, with a 3-3 score at the second intermission. Calof would score the game-winning goal in the third and Berger would seal the victory with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Jacob Laliberte opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 6:44 when the Engineers used their forecheck to get the puck off the boards in the neutral zone in front of the Princeton bench. Laliberte skated in one on one with netminder Sean Bonar and gave his team the 1-0 lead.

Berger tied the game up at 11:15 when Princeton won a draw to the right of Rensselaer goalie Bryce Merriman. Ross got the puck at the blue line and sent a cross-ice pass to Kevin Mills, who fired a shot towards the goal and Berger was there to tap it in.

Junior Rob Kleebaum gave the Tigers their first lead of the game at 13:36 with a power-play goal with help from Berger, when he went top shelf on Merriman.

Matt Tinordi would tie the game three minutes later with a nice 1-2 with Josh Rabbani. Nick Bailen brought the puck down center ice, dropping it off for Rabbani at the top of the circle and Rabbani sent a pass to Tinordi on the other side for a backhanded goal.

Sophomore Andrew Ammon found Calof for Princeton's third goal at 7:13 of the second period to give Princeton the lead once again.

Rensselaer's third goal was reviewed before it was allowed. CJ Lee ripped a shot from inside the left face off circle that Bonar slowed down with his pads but before the whistle blew the puck slipped over the goal line. After a review, the goal would stand.

Ross collected his second assist of the game when he had the puck at the blue line and sent it to the left boards for freshman Tyler Maugeri. Maugeri rifled a shot that Calof redirected into the back of the net, for what would be the game-winning goal at 7:06 of the third.

Rensselaer pulled Merriman with 1:58 remaining but couldn't get a shot on frame before Berger stripped an Engineer of the puck just inside the Rensselaer zone and shot it into the empty net. After Princeton won the ensuing face off and had a blocked shot, Merriman re-entered the game with 15 seconds on the clock and made one last stop on a Maugeri chance as time expired.

Merriman finished the game with 19 saves for the Engineers. Bonar made 28 stops including 12 in the first period, helping to keep his team alive as Rensselaer came out firing on all cylinders before Princeton was able to find its groove midway through. His biggest save came at 9:26 of the second when Rensselaer was on the power play and Bonar made a crease save on a rebound.

This marks Princeton second straight win, as the Tigers defeated Providence 3-1 in their last game, a team that beat No. 1 Merrimack earlier this evening.

Princeton improves to 4-7-1 overall and 3-5 in ECAC Hockey, while Rensselaer falls to 3-11 overall and 1-5 in league play.

The Tigers host No. 9 Union tomorrow afternoon, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m.