Box Score
BURLINGTON, Vt. (12/30/12) - Second period penalties kept
the Princeton men's hockey team from maintaining a lead as Vermont upended the
Tigers 6-3 in the final game of the Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount Cup on Sunday,
Dec. 30 at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Princeton took an early lead and had a 3-1 edge at the start
of the second period. Five penalties would keep the Tigers from skating at full
strength for 10 minutes, half of the period. Vermont scored two power-play
goals and used the momentum to expand on the lead.
"I think a lot of guys played well," Princeton coach Bob
Prier said. "We got some younger guys into the lineup, that got healthy like
Ambrosia, Zajac and Rankin. Our leaders are playing better, a lot better. It was
great to get Kleebaum going and Berger going, and I think they had great
weekends."
"I think the younger guys are getting some experience and
figuring it out and I think our older guys are really starting to play a lot
better. I think that we are hopefully going to gel here soon and start putting
some wins together. I don't think we are that far off. "
Princeton's own power play helped it take a 2-1 lead in the
opening period.
Freshman Mike Ambrosia scored his second career goal in his
second game back following an injury that benched him for eight games. Ambrosia
fired a shot from the point with help from sophomore Tyler Maugeri and junior
Andrew Calof at 4:32. The goal came on the Tigers' first power-play opportunity
and first shot on goal of the game.
Vermont evened the scoring at 1-1 at 14:18 on an
even-strength goal from Robert Polesello. Polesello roofed a shot over the left
shoulder of netminder Sean Bonar after getting the puck from behind the net
from Pete Massar. Anders Franzon got the secondary assist.
A 4x3 goal by senior Michael Sdao put Princeton back on top
at 15:22. Sdao ripped a shot from the top of the key with Calof and Ambrosia collecting their second points of the game.
Senior Rob Kleebaum, who was named to the All-Tournament
Team, expanded Princeton's lead to 3-1 with a goal 54 seconds into the second
period. Senior Will MacDonald intercepted the puck in the neutral zone and gave it to
Berger on the right boards. Berger centered to Kleebaum who ripped a high shot
into the back of the net. Sophomore Tom Kroshus earned the secondary assist.
Vermont turned the tables and scored three straight to take the lead. Power-play
goals by Jacob Fallon and Brett Bruneteau knotted the game at 3-3. Anthony Decenzo gave the Cats their first lead of
the game at 16:28. The second period saw shots fall 20-8 in favor
of Vermont as they skated with a man-up for half the period.
Ryan Rosenthal's goal with 3:49 remaining in regulation put
the game even further out of reach for the Tigers. Bonar skated to the bench
with 1:24 left on the clock but the Cats would seal the win with an empty-net
goal with 10.7 seconds left.
Yesterday's Player of the Game, Bonar finished the game with
35 saves, while Brody Hoffman stopped 20 for Vermont.
Princeton was 2 for 2 on the power-play and 6 for 8 on the
penalty kill. The Tigers had 36 seconds of power-play time and scored twice. Vermont was on the power play for 13:09 and scored just twice.
The Tigers fall to 3-7-4 overall but head home for a five-game homestand. It will be a welcome change as Princeton has played just three home games this season.
