Men's Hockey Secures Bye To ECAC Quarterfinals With Two Points At No. 12/14 Dartmouth

Bye secured!

A gritty effort against No. 12/14 Dartmouth in front of a Thompson Arena-record 5,195 fans in Hanover saw Princeton secure two points via a shootout victory to lock up the No. 4 spot in the ECAC Standings and a trip straight through to the ECAC Quarterfinals.

The Save.

The Celly.

The Bye.

A lot to enjoy about this stop from Arthur Smith!@ecachockey | @TeamECH | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/Y7eP14wzyy
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) March 1, 2026

With the two points, Princeton (15-12-3, 11-9-2 ECAC) secures a bye for the Opening Round of the 2026 ECAC Championship Tournament and will be off until they host a Quarterfinal series March 13-15 at Hobey Baker Rink.

The bye is the first for the Tigers since the 2008-09 season and will bring playoff hockey back to Hobey Baker Rink for the first time since the 2017-18 ECAC Opening Round.

Princeton will await the highest-remaining seed from the teams set to compete in the Opening Round March 6-7.

Postseason Matchups
Opening Round
#5 Union vs. #12 Brown - Saturday, 3/7 at 5 PM
#6 Harvard vs. #11 St. Lawrence - Friday, 3/6 at 7 PM
#7 Colgate vs. #10 Yale - Saturday, 3/7 at 7 PM
#8 Clarkson vs. #9 RPI - Friday, 3/6 at 7 PM

Quarterfinals - Friday 3/13, Saturday 3/14, Sunday 3/15
#1 Quinnipiac - Friday 7 PM, Saturday 4 PM, Sunday 4 PM
#2 Dartmouth - Friday 7 PM, Saturday 7 PM, Sunday TBD
#3 Cornell - Friday 7 PM, Saturday 7 PM, Sunday 4 PM
#4 Princeton - Friday 7 PM, Saturday 7 PM, Sunday 4 PM

Arthur Smith made 23 saves in goal in addition to stopping all three shots faced in the shootout.

The Shootout-Winning Snipe!

Kai Daniells with the patience and the precision!@ecachockey | @TeamECH pic.twitter.com/slaORITovs
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) March 1, 2026

Princeton opened the scoring with 4:08 to play in the first period when Joshua Karnish scored his third goal in three games. Tyler Rubin looped a long pass down the left wing from deep inside Princeton's end, and Karnish picked it up in stride before cruising towards the Dartmouth net and sliding a shot through Croteau's pads and in.

Karnish With The Opening Serve!

Tigers lead at #12/14 Dartmouth, 1-0.@ecachockey | @TeamECH | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/78O0jMvf59
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) March 1, 2026

David Jacobs needed just 0:56 to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead as he finished off a 2-on-0 with Kai Daniells that started after a pair of Big Green defenseman collided at the Princeton blue line.

Second Service!

Jacobs and Daniells cash in a 2-on-0 to make it 2-0!@ecachockey | @TeamECH | @NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/laArt39fRu
— Princeton Men's Ice Hockey (@princetonhockey) March 1, 2026

The Big Green finally got on the board 3:39 into the third when Hank Cleaves got a step on a Princeton defender and tucked a shot inside the far left post.

Moments after the Big Green netted their first goal, their most dangerous player had a chance to even the game as Hayden Stavroff broke free but was denied by the left pad of Arthur Smith with just under 16:00 to play the game.

Dartmouth would tie the game with 1:10 to play in regulation when Cleaves scored again off a scramble in the net front that saw Smith get knocked down by a Big Green skater who was pushed into him by a Princeton player.

With a point secured, the Tigers had a prime chance in overtime to secure the second after an interference call on C.J. Foley 0:23 into overtime but the Big Green killed off that penalty and neither team was able to score in the extra period.

In the shootout, Arthur Smith stopped all three Dartmouth attempts, while Kai Daniells scored in the second round to net the difference-maker.

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