Friday night at Bright found the Princeton Tigers' excellent team defense
shutting down the Harvard Crimson 3-5.  Harvard got two late power play
goals to make the score look closer than the game was.  Princeton used
tight checking and got some good goaltending to win.
 
In the first period Harvard came out fast and were passing the puck very
well.  Their reward was Ben Coughlin's (Steve Martins, Brad Konik) goal.
Konik had taken a long break out pass right up the gut.  As he was being
hauled down, he dropped the puck to Martins, who shot low for the far
post.  At that point Coughlin, who had been charging down that side was
tripped into the net, with the puck bouncing in off him.  Strange goal.
The Crimson kept the pressure up, but the Tiger's tight defensive work
was keeping them to the outside.  During a shorthanded situation,
Princeton tied the match when Ethan Early (Brent Flahr, Mervin Kopeck)
pulled off a lovely solo burst up the left wing boards.  Early deked
Harvard's Tripp Tracy, and then tucked the puck in at the open far post.
In the second, Early did it again.  Harvard gave the puck away in its own
zone, and Early danced in on net and drilled his shot through the Crimson
goalie.  Princeton was making the most of their opportunities while
playing some excellent aggressive defense.  Harvard started to fade as a
team, and only a few individual solo efforts were keeping the Crimson
hopes alive.  In the final period, Ian Sharp (Gavin Colquhoun, Mike Bois)
knocked home a big rebound during a Princeton power play.  The play came
off some good pressure and passing.  Early then made it 1-4 Tigers when
he completed his hat trick by scoring another oh-la-la shorthanded goal!
He again came up with a burst of speed, held onto the puck, faked a pass,
and then drilled home at the near post.  Princeton finished it's scoring
and send many fans home early with ten minutes left in the game, when
their fore-checking produced another Harvard defensive error.  Kopeck
(Early) sent his rebound high glove side during a 4 on 4 situation.
Harvard came back with two late goals.  Both were power play efforts,
with the goalie pulled for the 6 on 4 advantage.  Kirk Nielsen (Konik,
Cory Gustafson) got the first during a scramble in front.  Doug Sproule
(Konik, Ashlin Halfnight) got the final goal when he deflected in a
shot/pass from the boards.
 
Princeton can play a very tough game.  They have some fast forwards who
take their chances well, and the Tiger team defense worked very well
Friday night.  In goal, James Konte played extremely well, facing the
shooter and making the easy save.  He doesn't give up many soft goals.
The man of the match had to be Ethan Early.  His wonderful solo moves won
the game for the Tigers.  He can really turn in on and has the scorer's
touch.  It was fun watching him play.  I thought all the defenders play
very well, but the pair of Colquhoun and Dan Brown were extra hard to get
around.  On the attack, again coach Don Cahoon has everyone on the same
page and they all played their roles well.  I liked the line of Matt
Brush, Sharp and Bois.  They could motor and strung together some fine
passes.  Overall it was good to see a team come into Bright and execute
its plan so well.
 
Harvard came out big, but faded gradually as the game progressed.  Mostly
that was due to the fine play of the Tigers.  Some of it though was the
frustration the players seem to be having as the latest series of line
changes go into effect with the same old lack of attacking ideas.  Konik
and Martins displayed some great skill on the power play.  Both made some
super passes.  Konik was pushing all night for a break away.  Martins
showed some fast skating and incredible moves, but the finishing or
partner needed to finish was never there.  Halfnight made a couple of
excellent solo rushes, but also gave up the puck a few too many times.
The puck movement on the power play was good, and at the start of the
game they had some interesting patterns on the man up, which were
creating problems for Princeton.  However as the game worn on, they gave
up the movement on the power play and went back to their static set.  In
some ways the Crimson were unfortunate to run into the Tigers right now.
Harvard did come out fast and looked good.  But the leadership of the
team is just not there this year, and when it gets tough, Harvard doesn't
know who to look to.  They certainly have the talent, but someone has to
step forward if this team is going to pick it up.
 
 
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 good shooting
 rhun
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