Late Rally Falls Short For Men's Hockey In 4-2 Loss To No. 18 Quinnipiac

Friday, January 10

7:00 PM

Princeton University

6-7-1, 3-5-1

No. 18 Quinnipiac

12-7-1, 7-3-0

Quinnipiac

Princeton

Photo by: Sideline Photos, LLC

Late Rally Falls Short For Men's Hockey In 4-2 Loss To No. 18 Quinnipiac

January 10, 2025 | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

For the second game in a row, Princeton spotted a ranked opponent a three-goal lead and couldn't complete the comeback as the Tigers were edged by No. 18 Quinnipiac, 4-2, at Hobey Baker Rink.

The Bobcats led by two goals after the first period and added a third early in the second before goals from Jaxson Ezman and Tyler Rubin clawed the Tigers to within one early in the third.

WHAMMY!

Tyler Rubin steps into a Kai Daniells pass and it's a one-goal game at Baker Rink!@ecachockey | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/D1zVXXubII
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) January 11, 2025

Princeton pushed and pushed the rest of the way, killing a pair of third-period Bobcat power plays, but couldn't find the equalizier before a long-range empty-netter from Aaron Bohlinger with 2:31 remaining provided insurance for the Bobcats.

Arthur Smith made 30 saves for the Tigers, while Dylan Silverstein made 16.

SMITH SAYS NO!

Sliding stop from Arthur Smith keeps it a one-goal game! pic.twitter.com/aIOxAfFiyu
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) January 11, 2025

Special teams played a key role as the Bobcats were 2-for-4 on the power play while Princeton was 0-for-2.

Quinnipiac outshot the Tigers, 14-7, in the first period and connected for a pair of goals in just past the midway mark of the opening stanza.

Elliott Groenewold struck first 10:40 into the game when he capitalized on a third-chance opportunity for the Bobcats after initial shots from Andon Cerbone and Travis Treloar were denied by Arthur Smith.

The Bobcat lead was extended to two goals 2:25 later when Jack Ricketts funneled home a power play goal with assists to Mason Marcellus and Tyler Borgula.

Quinnipiac tacked on a second power-play goal 4:40 into the second period when Aaron Schwartz one-timed a Jeremy Wilmer pass by a sliding Arthur Smith. The goal came with the net off its mooring, but the sequence was self-inflicted when Smith went post-to-post. The Tigers challenged, but after video review the call stood and the deficit was three.

Jaxson Ezman got the Tigers on the board late in the second period, swatting home the rebound of a Joshua Karnish net drive with 2:16 left in the middle period. The play started all the way down the other end of the rink as Nick Marciano sent a quick stretch pass from behind his own net to Karnish just outside the Quinnipiac blue line and allowed him to drive to the goal. Karnish's burst drew a Bobcat delayed penalty, but that was washed away when Ezman picked up a loose puck and flipped it over a prone Dylan Silverstein for his second goal of the season.

Stop. Pop. Swat It Home. Open Up Shop.

That's how Jaxson Ezman Rolls. pic.twitter.com/xJi3GtkKtz
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) January 11, 2025

The Tigers made it a one-goal game 3:28 into the third period when Tyler Rubin scored his second goal in as many games. A forecheck from Jake Manfre denied a Quinnipiac clearing attempt and Kai Daniells threaded a pass to a wide open Rubin in the high slot and he made no mistake with a hammer past Silverstein early in the third.

The late insurance tally from Bohlinger came after an attempted Princeton entry was stalled at the blue line and he looped a long shot from inside his own zone into the open net with just over two minutes to play.

The two teams reconvene in Hamden on January 11 to complete the home-and-home at M&T Bank Arena at 7 p.m.