Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – Sophomore defenseman Mathieu Brisson scored his first collegiate goal and freshman forward Cole Bardreau added a power-play strike late in the second period, but Princeton rallied for a 3-3 tie against the Cornell men's hockey team on Saturday at Hobey Baker Rink. The deadlock runs the Big Red's unbeaten streak to five straight games.
 
The Tigers scored three unanswered goals in the third period to steal a point from the first-place Big Red (10-4-3, 7-1-2 ECAC Hockey), which ended its six-game stretch away from home with a 3-1-2 mark. Linemates freshman Joel Lowry and senior Sean Collins had two assists apiece, giving Collins eight points in his last five games.  
 
After some back-and-forth play in the early going, Cornell gradually took the territorially edge in the first period. Junior forward Vince Mihalek had a semi-breakaway thwarted at the 4:06 mark, then Princeton goalie Mike Condon gloved junior forward Greg Miller's shot from the right faceoff dot about two minutes later. With 5:15 remaining in the frame, quick transitional passes from Keir Ross and Joakim Ryan sent freshman forward Joel Lowry up the left wing on a rush. He cut to the inside of his defender and started bearing down on goal at the 14:45 mark, then feathered a pass into the slot that got mired in back-checking traffic.
 
The Big Red's first power play didn't yield any offense, then the Tigers' first man advantage was cut short by a penalty to create a four-on-four. It was with both sides short a skater that Cornell broke through for the game's first goal. Mihalek blocked a shot from a Princeton defenseman in the Big Red zone, then beat his man down the wing to create a two-on-one. With the lone defender closing quickly, Mihalek saucered a pass to sophomore forward Dustin Mowrey breaking toward the top of the crease, and he chipped a shot over Condon with 2:54 left in the period. It was Mowrey's second goal and Mihalek's second assist of the season.
 
Princeton (6-10-5, 5-8-2) made a bid to equalize 13 minutes into the second period on a frenetic series of plays that started when sophomore goalie Andy Iles getting a blocker to Michael Sdao's point shot. The Tigers' Jack Berger tracked down the puck in the right circle and was turned away again at close range, then flicked a backhanded rebound over a wide-open cage.
 
Cornell answered with Brisson's goal on the next shift. Though his name doesn't appear on the scoresheet, junior defenseman Braden Birch started the play with a breakout that drew two Princeton defenders and a delayed penalty call. Lowry sent a pass up the left wing to Collins on a three-on-two rush, then Collins found Brisson coming open in the slot. His shot beat Condon low to the keeper's blocker side.
 
Bardreau then extended the Big Red lead to 3-0 just 1:22 before the second intermission with the Big Red's first power-play goal since Dec. 30. Collins and Lowry exchanged a series of passes before Lowry's shot from the center point forced Condon to make a save. With freshman forward John McCarron occupying a defender on top of the crease, Bardreau was free to corral the puck, make a move to his backhand and find the net to give Cornell the three-goal lead.
 
As it turned out, all of the goals were necessary.
 
Eric Carlson got Princeton on the board 3:13 into the third period, then a failed clearing attempt led to Andrew Calof's rebound goal at the 9:38 mark. Kevin Ross then netted the tying tally on the power play with 7:46 remaining.
 
Iles then made some pivotal saves in overtime to preserve the tie. He made a blocker save on Rob Kleebaum's breakaway with 1:30 left in the extra frame, then denied Calof on a rebound attempt of a three-on-two rush with 48 seconds remaining. Iles finished 28 saves.
 
Cornell maintains a one-point lead in the ECAC Hockey standings over Union, which notched a pair of victories over Harvard and RPI this weekend – though the Dutchmen have played one more game than the Big Red. This is the first time since the 2006-07 season that Cornell did not suffer a loss to Princeton in their regular-season series.
 
The Big Red returns home for its first home games in seven weeks when it welcomes Dartmouth and Harvard to Lynah Rink on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21, respectively.
 
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