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Princeton University Athletics
A New Season Begins
October 29, 2003 | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 29, 2003
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team opens the 2003-04 regular season with a pair of non-conference games at St. Cloud State this weekend. The Tigers are ready to put a dissapointing 2002-03 season behind them and the chance to do so starts at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night.
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**Note... The Princeton stats used throughout these notes reflect Princeton's exhibition game last weekend against Guelph and do not count towards official 2003-04 stats.
Last Time Out... The Tigers have only played once this season, an exhibition game against Guelph last Friday night. The Tigers won the game 6-4. St. Cloud took 3-of-4 points from Michigan Tech in WCHA play at the National Hockey Center.
The Series... Princeton and St. Cloud have met once in the histories of the two school's hockey programs. That meeting came on Dec. 2, 1987 at Baker Rink in Princeton. The Tigers rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to earn a 4-3 win that day. Current Tiger head coach Len Quesnelle played in that game.
Scouting St. Cloud... The Huskies are 3-0-1 this season and have played only league games. They began the with an exhibition win over St. Clair, then swept Wisconsin at home. Last weekend, they posted a win and a tie against Michigan Tech.
Common Opponents... In 2002-03, Princeton and St. Cloud shared three common opponents: North Dakota (Prin 0-1-0; SCSU 1-3-0), Providence (Prin 0-1-0; SCSU 2-0-0) and Rensselaer (Prin 2-0-1; SCSU 1-1-0). Princeton vs. the WCHA... Princeton is 4-19-0 all-time against the WCHA and is 4-16-0 versus WCHA teams on the road. St. Cloud and Minnesota-Duluth are the only league teams that Princeton is at-or-above .500 against. Princeton's senior class has played in three games vs. the WCHA and is 0-3-0 in those games. They include match-ups with Wisconsin and North Dakota at the 2000 Badger Showdown and a home game with the Fighting Sioux to begin last season. Steve Slaton leads the Tigers with four points in three games against the WCHA.
The Waiting Game... Because of Ivy League rules regarding the length of the season, Princeton and the five other Ivies have had to wait until this weekend to officially begin the season. In fact, when St. Lawrence met Miami on Oct. 3 in the first game of the college hockey season, Princeton was still 12 days away from officially being allowed to practice.
ECAC vs WCHA... This weekend there are three series' pitting the ECAC against the WCHA. Aside from tonight's game, Yale visits North Dakota and St. Lawrence travels to Michigan Tech.
Rankings Game... St. Cloud State entered the polls this week at No. 13 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/AHM Poll. Last season Princeton was 1-6-0 against ranked teams, the lone win being a 2-1 triumph at Harvard. The losses came to North Dakota, Providence, Ohio State, Cornell (2) and Harvard.
Minnesota Homecoming... Senior defenseman Steve Slaton is the only member of the Tiger roster that is a native of Minnesota. Slaton is from Plymouth, Minn., and attended Wayzata and Burnsville High Schools before playing a season of junior hockey prior to attending Princeton.
Looking Ahead... Princeton kicks off its 2003-04 ECAC schedule next weekend at Baker Rink vs. Colgate and Cornell. Last season Princeton was 0-1-1 against Colgate and 0-2-0 against Cornell.
Strength of Schedule... The 2003-04 Princeton hockey schedule is one of the toughest in the nation. The Tigers currently have 11 opponents on their schedule that are either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the three national polls; five of which played in the NCAA tournament a year ago.
Recent Result... Princeton scored six times on 50 shots to defeat Guelph last Saturday night. The Tigers fell behind early as Guelph scored three goals in the game's first six minutes, but were able to tilt momentum in their favor and pull out the victory.
Hyphen Happy... Not only does Princeton lead the nation in players with hyphenated names, but two of them combined to score five goals against Guelph. Senior Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer found the twine three times for the hat trick, while freshman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller added two goals in his first appearance wearing the Orange and Black.
Pass 'em the Puck... Two Tigers posted multiple assists in the game vs. Guelph. Junior Mike Patton assisted on Fouladgar-Mercer's second and third goals, while sophomore Patrick Neundorfer assisted on both of Goeckner-Zoeller's goals.
Instant Contribution... While the stats from Saturday's exhibition game do not count towards the year-end totals, several new Tigers contributed with points. Goeckner-Zoeller had two goals, while fellow freshmen Kevin Westgarth, Ian McNally and Max Cousins all posted assists in their Baker Rink debut.
Back Between the Pipes... Sophomore Eric Leroux established himself as Princeton's No. 1 goalie down the stretch last season, playing to a 2.33 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in his last three starts of the 2002-03 season, one-goal losses to Cornell and Brown (2).
Give Me 40... Junior Trevor Clay earned all three Princeton wins last season and in each outing, he made over 40 saves to earn the win. He made 45 saves twice in wins over Rensselaer and Harvard, and made 42 on another occasion to earn another win versus Rensselaer.
Leaders of the Pack... Princeton recently announced that seniors Chris Owen and Steve Slaton would serve as the squad's captains for the 2003-04 season. Owen had a breakout season in 2002-03, tallying 17 goals and 23 points, while Slaton has amassed double-digit points totals twice in his career while also serving as a defensive mainstay.
Party On 'Garth... The 2003-04 Princeton lineup boasts brothers for the first time since 1996-97. Freshman forward Kevin Westgarth joins sophomore defenseman Brett Westgarth as being the first Tiger-brother teammates since Michael and J.P. Acosta.
Capital Gains... Senior Matt Maglione is the only Tiger to have been drafted by a National Hockey League team. Maglione was chosen 249th overall in the eighth round of the 2001 entry draft by the Washington Capitals.
In the Pros... Six former Tigers have reached the NHL, most notably, current Washington Capitals center Jeff Halpern. At the start of the 2003-04 season, there was one Tiger on an NHL roster, three on AHL rosters, five playing in the ECHL and several playing in Europe.
Mariucci Magic... This season Princeton competes in the Dodge Holiday Classic, formerly the Mariucci Classic, at the University of Minnesota. The last time Princeton was in the tournament, the Tigers earned wins over ranked powerhouses Boston University and Minnesota to claim top honors.
Behind the Bench... Len Quesnelle '88 begins his fourth season as Princeton's head coach. Quesnelle holds the distinction of being the only coach in school history to lead the Tigers to consecutive seasons at or above .500 in ECAC play. A native of Bramlea, Ont., Quesnelle spent 12 years as an assistant coach at Princeton before becoming the program's 14th head coach in the spring of 2000. As an assistant, Quesnelle was a part of Princeton's only team to ever win the ECAC championship and reach the NCAA tournament. Quesnelle was a standout defenseman at Princeton, appearing in 106 games and earning All-Ivy League honors.
One Wise Man... Former Michigan standout Brian Wiseman joined the Princeton coaching staff this summer after working with the Dallas Stars as a video coach. Wiseman had a six-year professional career, then worked at his alma mater for two seasons.
Husky Hmm... The Princeton women's hockey team also opens the 2003-04 season this weekend against the Huskies, the Connecticut Huskies that is. The games are Saturday and Sunday afternoon in Storrs, Conn.
Middle Ground... Through 80 seasons at Baker Rink, Princeton is exactly .500 on home ice, playing to a record of 425-425-96.
Brainiacs... The Princeton men's hockey team led the ECAC with 12 of its members named to the 2002-03 ECAC All-Academic Team. To qualify for the honor, players must have a GPA above 3.00 and have appeared in over half of the team's games during the season. Returning players named to the team were Trevor Clay, Jesse Masear, Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer, Dan Hursh, Chris Owen, Mike Patton and Steve Slaton.