Cynar kicked at the sharp bounce shot, muffling the ball before beginning the clear. But the Crimson could not execute in transition, and the Tigers were back on Cynar less than a minute later.

Middie Brad Dumont hit the rope to start the first half romp only seconds later at 10:27 with a left-handed bullet from a tough angle.

Dumont found space along the left side and moved down towards the flank as though he were wrapping around the cage. With a quick flick, however, he beat Cynar stick side.

It was a strong start for the Tigers, and one of the few times Cynar was beaten from medium range on the day.

"In the first 5 minutes we ran the offense the best we had all year," Primm said. "But after that they ran down and got one quick goal and I think we lost our rhythm after that--we got a bit flustered."

And it showed.

Princeton won the period's remaining face-offs and began to dominate around the Crimson cage.

The Tigers spent much of the period working along the top of the zone in favorable one-on-one match-ups, trying to draw double teams as they cycled through a series of isolation plays. The strategy worked well, as Princeton registered 30 shots in the first half to Harvard's 10.