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. _____________ / good shooting rhun _____________/