Princeton Men’s Hockey Drops Overtime Heartbreaker in ECAC Championship

Do you believe in miracles? Almost.

Predicted to finish eighth in the ECAC preseason coaches’ poll, Princeton came within inches of winning the ECAC Conference Tournament Championship in Lake Placid, New York, before falling to Dartmouth 2-1 in overtime.

Less than a minute into the sudden death extra session, team captain David Jacobs ’26 blasted a shot that beat Dartmouth goaltender Emmett Croteau but clanked hard off the post and bounced away. Princeton had a couple of other near misses before the Big Green’s Tim Busconi fired a slap shot past Tigers goalie Arthur Smith ’27 at the 11:18 mark for the game winner.

Princeton had outplayed Dartmouth in the third period and tied the game at 1-1 with 11:15 remaining in regulation when Joshua Karnish ’27 banged home a centering pass from Malcolm Green ’29. Kevin Anderson ’26 set the play in motion with a massive hit near the blue line that forced a Dartmouth turnover.

“Our group just battled right to the end, and we fought tooth and nail. There was no quit,” said second-year head coach Ben Syer.

The Tigers’ trip to Lake Placid, site of the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s team’s “Miracle on Ice,” was their first since they won the 2018 ECAC Championship. Princeton outshot the Big Green 26-23, and following the game, Dartmouth coach Reid Cashman had high praise for the Tigers. “Princeton was the better team for a lot of the night,” he said. 

Princeton made it to the finals by defeating two-time defending ECAC champion Cornell, the nation’s eighth-ranked team, 3-2. Karnish scored the game winner in that game off of a spectacular pass from Kai Daniells ’27. The Tigers also had goals from Jacobs and Justin Faccianelli ’28.

Smith made some key saves down the stretch and stopped 21 of 23 shots in both games. Forward Jake Manfre ’28 also came up big in the Cornell game, blocking multiple shots in the closing minutes.

Princeton’s 18-13-3 record marked its first winning season since 2018. The team qualified for the final weekend by sweeping a best-of-three quarterfinal series against Union College with a pair of 5-2 wins at Baker Rink.

“It was very exciting. From where we came from freshman year to where we are now,” said Jacobs, who led the team in assists with 26. “I’m proud of the senior group. We’ve stuck together all four years trying to build something good here.”

Speaking at the postgame press conference following the Dartmouth game, Syer said of Jacobs, “There’s not a guy that cares more about Princeton hockey than David. He puts the guys and the program’s best interests ahead of his own.”

As for his team, Syer added, “They came to work all the time. They made hockey a priority to want to get better.”

On the season, Daniells led Princeton with 19 goals and 39 points, including a hat trick in the playoff game against Union that clinched the trip to Lake Placid. Jacobs was next with 36 points, including 10 goals.