In what Head Coach Brendan Whittet 鈥�94 described as a 鈥渄isappointing鈥� performance, the men鈥檚 hockey team (8-17-2, 6-13-1 ECAC) fell to Princeton (10-14-3, 8-10-2 ECAC) by a score of 5-1. Despite a strong start for Bruno, Princeton鈥檚 dominant offense prevailed, scoring five goals and dropping the Bears to twelfth 鈥� last place in the ECAC standings.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to figure out a way to stop the snowball from going downhill and push it uphill,鈥� Whittet said in an interview with The Herald. 鈥淎nd the only way I know how to do that is by being unbelievably determined.鈥�
Despite an unsightly final score, the Bears had a solid start, displaying offensive aggression from the moment the puck dropped. After just over two minutes of play, Brown had already fired five shots at Princeton, testing the strength of a talented Tigers defense.
But trouble arrived shortly after for Bruno. At the 14:08 mark, defenseman Tony Andreozzi 鈥�25 was called for cross-checking, providing Princeton with a precious power play opportunity. To the Bears鈥� dismay, the Tigers capitalized on the numbers advantage a mere four seconds later. Following a successful faceoff, Princeton forward Brendan Gorman secured the puck, skated a few feet forward and rapidly swung his stick, firing the puck past the Brown defense to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Even after a hard-fought effort from the Bears to open the second period, misfortune struck again. At the 8:06 mark, Princeton forward David Jacobs received the puck on the left point and swiftly rotated his body, launching it past Brown goalie Lawton Zacher 鈥�27 and extending the Tigers鈥� lead to 2-0.
Nevertheless, the Bears demonstrated resilience. Brown forward Ryan Bottrill 鈥�26 navigated near the goal and made a flawless dish to fellow Bear Ryan St. Louis 鈥�26, who quickly blasted the puck behind a pack of Tigers to pull Brown to a 2-1 deficit. 鈥淚 came around the net with the puck and saw St. Louis open in the slot,鈥� Bottrill wrote in a statement to The Herald. 鈥淚 passed it to him, and he made a great play to score on a one-timer while drifting away from the net.鈥�
Still, this would be the last offensive success for Bruno, who failed to score for the remainder of the contest.
Just two minutes later, the Tigers answered. Princeton forward Adam Robbins received a crossing pass that slid inches away from Zacher鈥檚 glove and briskly slapped the puck into the goal to award the Tigers a 3-1 lead after two periods.
鈥淲e just ran out of juice,鈥� Whittet said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e playing a lot of the same guys over, and we鈥檝e got a ton of injuries.鈥�
The third period was more of the same for the potent Princeton offense, who continued to mount their lead. Following a faceoff win, Tigers defenseman Tyler Rubin collected the puck and maneuvered it through traffic and into the net to silence the Meehan Auditorium crowd and hand Princeton a convincing 4-1 lead.
鈥淥ur biggest challenge was establishing sustained offensive zone time,鈥� Bottrill wrote. 鈥淲e had offensive zone time in spurts of 5-10 minutes, but not sustained throughout the game.鈥�
Princeton鈥檚 fourth goal provoked some lineup adjustments from the Brown coaching staff who replaced starting goalie Zacher with backup Tyler Shea 鈥�26. But even with the Bears鈥� personnel shift, Princeton managed to find success through their prolific offense. At the 10:14 mark, Tigers forward Nick Seitz leaped on a rebound and sent the puck flying past Shea to broaden the Princeton lead to 5-1 and quash Saturday鈥檚 competition.
鈥淲e got away from what should be our trademark, which is work ethic, tenacity and energy,鈥� Whittet said.
The Bears will next face Dartmouth on Friday in Hanover, New Hampshire. Overthrowing The Big Green for a second time will be quite the task for Bruno, as Dartmouth is tied for fourth place in the ECAC, while the Bears, following Saturday鈥檚 loss, are in last.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care where we go in the playoffs. We鈥檝e just got to play better hockey, and we will be fine,鈥� Whittet said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna work, and we鈥檒l find a way to make sure on Friday night we are much better than we were tonight.鈥�
鈥淭he results take care of themselves,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f you play hockey the right way, by and large, you鈥檒l have success in some way, shape or form.鈥�
The Bears鈥� penultimate game against Dartmouth will begin at 7 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN+.
Cooper Herman is a senior staff writer covering sports and arts & culture. He is a freshman from Alexandria, Virginia studying Economics and International and Public Affairs.
