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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hockey Visits Dodge Holiday Classic This Weekend
December 18, 2003 | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 18, 2003
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team (5-9-0; 5-6-0 ECAC) completes the 2003 portion of its schedule at the Dodge Holiday Classic this weekend, hosted by ttwo-time defending national champion Minnesota (7-8-1; 4-7-1 WCHA) and featuring No. 13 Miami (10-6-2; 8-3-1 WCHA) and No. 6 New Hampshire (10-5-2; 5-3-2 HEA).
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Last Time Out... The Tigers climbed into a tie for second-place in the ECAC with a 2-1 win over Harvard Tuesday night at Baker Rink. Freshman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and senior Chris Owen provided the goals, while sophomore Eric Leroux turned aside 31 shots for the win.
Tournament Timeline... Princeton meets tournament host, and two-time defending national champion Minnesota on Saturday at 7 p.m. central time. Regardless of the game's outcome Princeton will play at 4 p.m. central time on Saturday against either No. 6 New Hampshire or No. 13 Miami.
Princeton at the Dodge Holiday Classic... Princeton's appearance this weekend marks its second visit to the tournament, formerly the Mariucci Classic. The last time Princeton was in the tournament, the Tigers defeated Minnesota 4-1 in the opening game, then topped Boston University 3-0 in the championship game to win the tournament.
The Series with Minnesota... The Golden Gophers are 6-2-0 all-time against Princeton, playing to a 5-2-0 record on home ice. Princeton's lone wins against Minnesota came on Jan. 29, 1936 and on Dec. 28, 1998, the last meeting between the two squads. Princeton vs. Defending National Champs... Saturday's game with Minnesota will be the 19th time that Princeton has faced a defending national champion since the NCAA began crowing champions in 1948. Princeton is 2-16-0 in those games with wins over Rensselaer in 1955 and Boston University in 1972. The last time Princeton faced a defending champion was on Dec. 30, 2000, a 5-4 loss to North Dakota at the Badger Showdown in Milwaukee, Wis. Facing Miami... Princeton and Miami have only faced each other once in previous meetings. That meeting came on Dec. 27, 1986 at the Schweppes Invitational in Cincinnati. Princeton won the game 3-2. Princeton head coach Len Quesnelle was a junior on that team that faced Miami.
What about UNH... New Hampshire is the most familiar opponent to Princeton in the tournament. The teams have met 13 times, with the Wildcats holding an 11-2-0 advantage. Princeton's last win came in 1980 and New Hampshire has won four-straight since then, including a 6-3 win in Durham on Dec. 16, 2000. Current Tiger seniors Chris Owen and Steve Slaton each had an assist in that game.
Playing out of Conference... Princeton's games this weekend will be it's fourth and fifth non-conference games of the season. The Tigers are currently 0-3-0 in those games with two losses coming at St. Cloud State and one at Northeastern.
Recent Non-League History... The Tigers have not won a game against a non-league opponent since Jan 4, 2002 at Bowling Green, a span of nine games. However, Princeton did defeat Rensselaer in a non-league game last season, 4-3, in the HSBC/Rensselaer Holiday Tournament.
Good Friday... Friday night has been Princeton's best night this season, posting a 3-2-0 record in Friday night games with both losses coming in overtime. Conversely, on Saturday nights, Princeton is 0-7-0 and has allowed an average of over five goals per game in those seven losses. Princeton is 2-0-0 in midweek games, topping Yale and Harvard on Tuesday nights. Looking Ahead... The Tigers complete their non-conference schedule the first weekend of January with two games at home against Merrimack of Hockey East.
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 who are either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the three national polls. Five of those opponents competed in the 2003 NCAA tournament a year ago, and three were in the Frozen Four.
Five Wins... Princeton's win Tuesday night was its fifth of the season. That number surpasses the total of last season. In 2002-03, Princeton was 3-26-2.
Hexing Harvard... Princeton continued its success against Harvard with Tuesday's win. With the win, Princeton swept its season series with the Crimson and for the second time in three seasons, and is now 5-1 in its last six games versus its Ivy rival.
Shutting Down the Opponent... Sophomore goaltender Eric Leroux has been in net for all 14 Tigers games this season and holds a 5-9-0 record. Leroux also has recorded two shutouts and has kept opponents at or under two goals in six games.
Power Play Wake Up... After struggling on the power play to begin the season, Princeton has scored power-play goals in 10 of its last 11 games, including a tally by freshman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller on Tuesday. In that span the Tiger pp has jumped from 4.3% to 14.8% efficiency.
Century Mark... Senior captains Steve Slaton and Chris Owen both played in their 100th games as Tigers at Yale. The next Tiger to reach the milestone will be Matt Maglione who is one game away from his 100th.
Points Leader... With his assist on Goeckner-Zoeller's goal on Tuesday, junior Mike Patton earned his team-leading 10th point of the season. He now has three goals and seven assists, and all the points have come in league games. Patton tied for the team lead in points in 2002-03, registering 10 goals and 13 assists.
Hollywood... Freshman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller, a native of Los Angeles, scored his third goal and eighth point of the season on Tuesday night. He currently ranks second on the team and first among freshmen in scoring.
Middle Ground... Princeton's win over Harvard was Princeton's third win at home this season. Through 80 seasons at Baker Rink, Princeton is exactly .500 on home ice, playing to a record of 428-428-96.
OT Struggles... The last time Princeton defeated Yale was on Nov. 20, 2001 in overtime. Since then Princeton has a string of nine overtime games without a win. The Tigers are 0-4-5 in that stretch.
Hyphen Happy... Not only does Princeton lead the nation in players with hyphenated names, but all three sit among the team's top six-scorers. Junior Neil Stevenson-Moore and freshman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller are tied for second on the team with seven points and senior Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer ranked fifth with sixth points.
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.