BRIEF: Tringale Nets Game-Winner in Final Period of Men's Hockey's Win Over Princeton

Last Friday when the Harvard men’s hockey team needed a lift, a Crimson co-captain provided it. This Friday with Harvard seeking a similar boost, another co-captain followed suit.

A week ago it was Alexander Kerfoot, tipping home an equalizer that salvaged a point out of the Crimson’s conference opener against Colgate. And this time it was Devin Tringale, tallying his first career game-winning goal in the third period of a 5-2 victory over Princeton at Hobey Baker Memorial Arena.

With the score even at two, Tringale collected the puck in his own zone and marched his way 140 feet down the ice, swerving through the right faceoff circle before arriving at Princeton goaltender Colton Phinney’s post. There, the co-captain flung a shot that beat Phinney short-side to put No. 10/10 Harvard (4-0-1, 2-0-1 ECAC) in front, 3-2, with 16:24 to play.

That’s how the score would remain for another 11-plus minutes, before another unlikely goal-scorer—sophomore defenseman Viktor Dombrovskiy—put the Crimson in control. Off a perfect feed from junior Seb Lloyd, who circled the Princeton net prior to producing the pass, Dombrovskiy looked the part of a forward as he stick-handled his way into the slot and beat Phinney high stick-side with a sharp wrister.

Sophomore Lewis Zerter-Gossage would tack on an empty-netter—his fourth goal in the last two contests—in the game’s final minute.

Ryan Donato, the wing opposite Zerter-Gossage, kicked off the scoring for Harvard 11:58 into the game. Following a quiet start for both sides, Donato turned things around after spinning off top-pair defenseman Josh Teves in the corner below the end line. With a step on Teves, the Boston Bruins prospect took off for the net and slipped a shot past Phinney from atop the crease to put the Crimson ahead.

Harvard’s lead quickly disappeared in period two, however, as Princeton second-liners Jeremy Germain and Eric Robinson each scored less than four minutes apart in the early stages of the frame. Germain’s goal was poked past Merrick Madsen from just outside the blue paint, whereas Robinson unleashed a rocket off iron and in from the top of the slot.

The Tigers’ lead was their first against the Crimson since March 2013, when Princeton defeated Harvard, 2-1, in overtime. Nonetheless, the Tigers (0-4-0, 0-3-0) have had a knack for giving the Crimson a run for its money as of late. Harvard won both meetings between the two sides a season ago, but each time, the two sides were separated by a single goal early in the third period.

Senior forward Tyler Moy erased the Princeton lead with 2:21 left to play in the second period, picking the upper right corner of the net from behind the left faceoff dot. Tringale picked up an assist on the play, and his eventual game-winner would give him the second multi-point night of his career.

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.