Princeton Takes Down Bemidji State 4-1

Friday, November 24

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

4-4-1

Bemidji State

5-5-2

Bemidji State

Princeton

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

November 24, 2017 | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Ryan Ferland came within 17 seconds of shutting out Bemidji State Friday night, and so what if it was the first 17 seconds. Ferland tightened up the rest of the way and his Princeton teammates had plenty of time to turn that early Beaver goal into a minor footnote of a Tiger win.

Princeton got goals from four different players, Josh Teves assisting on two of them, and Ferland didn't allow a goal over the final 59:17 to lead Princeton to a 4-1 win at Hobey Baker Rink. The win came two days after Bemidji State had won the opener of the two-game series with a 5-3 victory Wednesday night.

It looked like it might be a repeat of that experience when Jay Dickman scored just 17 seconds after the opening face-off, and the visitors from Minnesota had the early lead and momentum. Princeton responded though, wiping out the Beavers offense from then on as the freshman goalie Ferland had another sharp outing.

As for the Tiger offense, it took until the late second period to finally break through. After that, it took less than two minutes to take the lead for good.

Junior Ryan Kuffner scored his fifth of the year with 3:09 left in the second period, and then it was the tenacity of linemate Alex Riche to keep the play alive in front of the net and then be rewarded with the goal, assisted by Kuffner and Max Véronneau, making it 2-1 Tigers 99 seconds later.

It became 3-1 Princeton five minutes into the third when senior Joe Grabowski somehow kept the puck from clearing the zone and then fed classmate David Hallisey, who ripped in his fourth goal of the season. The final score came when sophomore Spencer Kryczka sprung rookie Jake Paganelli on a breakaway, and the freshman Paganelli finished it for his first career goal.

As for Ferland, he finished with 26 saves, the best of which was a sprawling tip of a shot from up top early in the third, with the score still 2-1.

Princeton, now 4-4-1 on the year, returns to its ECAC schedule Tuesday night when it hosts Quinnipiac. Bemidji State, who took a Thanksgiving Day trip into New York City, is now 5-3-2.