Clarkson   2-2-2  6            Clarkson   10-7-6    23
Princeton  0-1-2  3            Princeton  15-17-12  44
 
1st Period
----------
C  Ricci 1 (Morin)                 5:06
C  Wiesel 5 (Wallace, Mulvihill)  19:14
 
2nd Period
----------
C  Tuomainen 17                    6:02  ppg
C  Lipsett 6 (K.Murphy)            7:36  gwg
P  Masters 5 (Brown, Colquhoun)   16:43  ppg
 
3rd Period
----------
Robitaille 22 (Morin, Mueller)    16:41  ppg
Bois 8 (Sharp, Brush)             17:57  ppg
O'Connor 6 (Miller, Masters)      19:10
White 8 (Mueller)                 19:35
 
I thought it was Murphy who put it into the empty net.  The box may be wrong,
or I may be wrong.
 
It wasn't as bad for Princeton as the scoring may indicate.  Overall, you can't
be upset or worried over Princeton.  They didn't fold, they kept working hard,
and made it interesting in the last minute.   The outworked Clarkson, had a
large territorial advantage, they are faster than them and had a ton of shots.
But, bottom line, Princeton doesn't finish well enough to keep up with a
talented Clarskon team that can score out of nowhere.  And Jim Konte was very
off his game in goal for Princeton.  Murphy was not great for Clarkson, he let
up a lot of rebounds.   But the big Clarkson defense cleared the middle.  No
spectacular saves for Murphy in the 44, if you can believe it.
 
Princeton came out flying, but couldn't take advantage of 2 PPs in the first 4
minutes.  At the end of the second one, Todd White created havoc and got a
2-on-1.  Clarkson couldn't connect, but got a faceoff in the Princeton zone as
the penalty ended.  Morin won the draw back to Ricci, who fired a slap shot
between Konte's legs.   Konte wasn't screen, he just missed it.  Should have
had it.
   Princeton continued to outwork Clarkson, doing a great job killing off a
5-on-3 at one point, but out of the blue, with 46 seconds left in the period,
Wiesel scored on another long slapper as he came down the right wing.  Every
time Konte gets beat long, it seems to be from the right side.  He should have
had that one, too.  Princeton, I think, could have dealt with being down 1-0
knowing they outplayed the best team in the league, by far.  But the second
goal was a killer.
 
   Tuomainen then scored the weakest goal I've seen this year, taking nothing
away from him.  He came out of the left wing corner, tried to feed a pass to
the middle. It was a soft pass, Konte came out like he was going to steer it
aside, but it went through his legs.  I still don't know what exactly happened.
 Jason Smith had cleared the slot of Clarkson players, and no one was near
Konte.  The problems were compounded 1:34 later when J.P. O'Connor sent a bad
clearing pass right into the middle.  Kevin Murphy stole it, took the shot, and
Lipsett put in the rebound.
   So without really trying, Clarkson was up 4-0.  Princeton still had the
large advantage, but without any snipers to finish plays, they couldn't keep up.
   Princeton, however, continued to work hard, which was a very good sign.
It's a great sign that they appear unfazed by any team now.  They appeared mad
that they let it get to 4-0 when they knew they could play with Clarkson.
   With three more PP opps. at the end of the period, Princeton finally broke
through, with Freshman Casson Masters getting his first goal since November on
a rebound.  It came after a number of chances for Masters and soph. Verdon, who
hasn't scored since last year's playoffs, despite playing his best overall
hockey at Princeton lately.
 
   Clarkson, uncharacteristically, slowed things down in the 3rd.  Usually,
they get a lead, then go full steam and go for blood.  The couldn't take
advantage Princeton of two more PPs.  Robtaille then scored on the power play
after Brent Flahr went to clear the puck and it bounced off someone's back to
Morin at the side of the net, who fed Robitaille all alone.
   Princeton got late goal from Bois and O'Connor.  Both were nice.  J.P.
really needed a goal.  Last year's leading goal-scorer has been scoreless since
the Dexter Shoe Classic.  The second goal was with 50 seconds left.  Right off
the next draw, Princeton had a quick 3 on 2, but Jon Kelley's blast was
deflected into the crowd, then Clarkson controlled and got the ENG.
 
   There's one point separating 4th from 7th.  Princeton lost their second
chance of the year to go into 4th and really make a name for themselves.  RPI
and Colgate have 17 pts, Princeton and Vermont 16.  It's a big difference
between 4th and 7th in terms of playoff importance.  Princeton has a must win
at Union Friday on a televised game, then a showdown with RPI that could go a
long way toward deciding the 4th spot.  But they must win Friday.
 
                   Adam W.