PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Princeton’s offense is tough enough to contain as it is. But give the Tigers plenty of space in the offensive zone, and that task becomes impossible, as Brown learned Friday night at Meehan Auditorium.
Senior David Hallisey had a goal and four assists as Princeton beat the Bears 7-2 to extend its winning streak to five games. The Tigers have scored at least four goals in each of those games.
“Our managing of the puck in the neutral zone is a lot better,” Princeton coach Ron Fogarty said of the Tigers’ winning streak. “Our entries are smarter and that leads to more offensive zone time.”
Hallisey was one of six Princeton skaters with multiple points, a group led by Jackson Cressey (two goals, two assists), and Max Veronneau (two goals and one assist). With the win, the Tigers moved into a three-way tie with Colgate and Dartmouth for fifth place in ECAC Hockey.
“Once you get a whole string of them going, it feels like a habit,” Hallisey said. “I think the key here is to keep doing the exact same thing over and over again, even though sometimes it might get boring, but that’s how you win games.”
The Tigers took advantage of several Brown defensive breakdowns throughout the night. The Bears trailed 2-0 late in the first thanks to goals by Reid Yochim and Veronneau, but pulled to within 2-1 when Tommy Marchin redirected a shot past Princeton goalie Ryan Ferland (33 saves) 17:50 into the opening period.
But any momentum that Brown (6-13-4, 5-11-1) could carry into the first intermission was snuffed out when Hallisey took a pass from Cressey on the rush and skated uncovered to the right circle, snapping a shot past Bears goalie Gavin Nieto to make it 3-1 in the final minute of the period.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of work, I just think it’s being mentally dialed in, working smart,” Brown coach Brendan Whittet said. “A lot of times we’re out there and we’re working and there’s no understanding of what is going on around us. We have to be better. That third goal is indicative of that. We didn’t really pick up anybody.”
Princeton extended its lead to 4-1 midway through the second when Eric Robinson sprung free for a breakaway goal, beating Nieto at 9:07.
“Our skill took over on a couple of plays where we capitalized on a quick hitter and scored,” Fogarty said.
The Tigers made it 5-1 less than three minutes later when Cressey scored from amongst a crowd of player in front of the Brown net.
That spelled the end of the night for Nieto, who was replaced by freshman Luke Kania after allowing five goals on 16 shots. That performance came after the sophomore had 47 saves in a 3-0 win at Princeton when these teams last met on Nov. 18.
Brown’s Zach Giuttari scored a power-play goal late in the second to make it 5-2, but that was as close as the Bears would get, as Cressey and Veronneau each scored in the third period.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead 4:28 into the first when Yochim took a pass on the rush and wristed a shot past Nieto. It was the second consecutive game with a goal for the freshman, who scored the game winner against then-No. 3 Clarkson last Saturday.
Princeton (11-10-3, 8-8-1) extended its lead on Veronneau’s power-play goal at 14:11 in the opening period.
“I think we just made great decisions with the puck,” Hallisey said. “It’s kind of an underrated stat, you can’t really keep that.”
With the loss, Brown now has one win in its last 13 games (1-8-4) and has allowed thirteen goals in its last two games following a 6-4 loss to Connecticut last Saturday.
“We had been playing really good defensive hockey, Whittet said. “But we were very loose tonight and we were loose last weekend too.”
