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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hockey Returns Home to Face First-Place Union and Rensselaer
November 17, 2004 | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 17, 2004
Princeton, N.J. - After back-to-back league weekends on the road, the Princeton men's hockey team (2-3-1; 2-2 ECACHL) returns to Baker Rink this weekend to host first-place Union (5-5; 4-0) and Rensselaer (5-5-1; 1-3). Princeton hopes to keep its offense rolling as the Tigers scored 11 goals in two games last weekend.
Friday's game with is sponsored by the Princeton Packet. There will be a schedule poster giveaway for the first 500 fans and an autograph session and "Skate with the Tigers" following the game. On Saturday, the Princeton men's hockey team will recognize its alumni in attendance. Both games are at 7 p.m., and tickets are available online at GoPrincetonTigers.com, or by calling (609) 258-3538.
Fans can listen to the action live from both games as Dan Loney has the call from the Baker Rink Press Box. The broadcasts will begin at approximately 6:50 p.m. Fans can also follow the action with livestats on Gametracker.
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Setting the Table... The Princeton men's hockey team returns home to Baker Rink to kick off a three-game homestand. Princeton meets first-place Union on Friday night and Rensselaer on Saturday.
Since We Were Here... Princeton has played four games since its last game at Baker Rink. All four games were against ECAC Hockey League opponents, and Princeton went 2-2 in those games, defeating Dartmouth and Brown, and falling at Vermont and Harvard.
The Series with Union... Princeton and Union have met 31 times dating back to 1982. Princeton holds a 17-11-3 edge in the series and is 11-4-1 in Princeton. Last season the teams split, with each team winning away from home. The Tigers posted a 4-0 shutout in Schenectady, while Union won 3-2 in overtime in Princeton in the final regular-season game for both teams.
Scouting the Dutchmen... Through two weekends of ECAC Hockey League play, Union sits alone atop the standings. The Dutchmen are 4-0 after sweeping Clarkson and St. Lawrence at home to open the season and then taking both games from their travel partner Rensselaer in a home-and-home series last weekend. Union is 5-5-0 overall.
The Series with Rensselaer... Saturday night's game between Princeton and Rensselaer will be the 85th meeting between the schools dating back to Jan. 18, 1952. The Engineers lead the series 54-22-8 and hold a 21-11-3 mark at Baker Rink. Last season Rensselaer topped Princeton four times, twice in the regular season and twice in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
Scouting the Engineers... Rensselaer is tied for 10th in the ECAC Hockey League standings following a sweep last weekend at the hands of its travel-partner Union. Princeton split the previous weekend with St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Engineers are 1-3 in the league and 5-5-1 overall.
Last Time Out... Princeton split its league games last weekend, defeating Brown 5-1 on Friday night and falling to Harvard 8-6 on Saturday night. Princeton is now 2-2 in league play and is tied for fourth with Cornell, Colgate and Dartmouth.
On the Offensive... Princeton scored 11 goals last weekend. It was Princeton's highest goal total for an ECAC weekend since Princeton scored 11 on Dec. 9-10, 1994, defeating Rensselaer 9-1 and tying Union 2-2.
Reversal of Fortunes... Princeton's Friday night win at Brown snapped a six-game Bear win streak over the Tigers. Saturday's Harvard win ended an overall three-game Princeton win streak over the Crimson.
14 Goals... Saturday's game was the highest scoring Princeton has been involved in since Princeton won at Clarkson, 8-6, on Dec. 9, 1989.
21 Goals... Princeton has scored 21 goals through six games this season. Last season, Princeton scored its 21st goal in its 11th game. The goal was Princeton's second in a 4-0 win at Union on Dec. 5.
Top Point Getters... Three Tigers tallied six points last weekend: sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller, junior Dustin Sproat and senior Luc Paquin. Goeckner-Zoeller and Sproat each had four points on Friday night, while Paquin had a five-point game on Saturday. Sproat had four goals and two assists, while Goeckner-Zoeller and Paquin had two goals and four assists for Princeton.
Atop the Scoring List... Sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller leads all Princeton scorers with 10 points in his six games. That puts him halfway to his point total of a year ago, when he registered 20 points in 31 games. Juniors Patrick Neundorfer and Dustin Sproat are just behind him with nine points apiece. Neundorfer had 14 a year ago, and Sproat had 11.
In the Net... Junior Eric Leroux continues to lead the Tigers in net with a 2-0-1 record in three starts. He had a 1.95 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage, and had strung together five periods of shutout hockey before Brown scored in the third period last Friday night.
And Nationally... Sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller ranks sixth in the nation in points per game with 1.67. Juniors Patrick Neundorfer and Dustin Sproat are tied for 10th in goal per game (0.87). Senior Luc Paquin ranks third in the nation in points per game by a defenseman (1.33). Junior goaltender Eric Leroux is 10th in the nation in goals-against average (1.95), fifth in save percentage (.946) and third in winning percentage (.833).
Power Play Improvements... After going 0 for 11 on the power play at Vermont and Dartmouth, Princeton was 6 for 10 with the man advantage last weekend. Princeton is operating at a 28.6% efficiency in the ECAC and 25% overall, which is the second best power play in the nation.
First Win... First-year Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky picked up his first win behind the Princeton bench on Nov. 6 at Dartmouth. The game was his fourth at Princeton and through six games, he is 2-3-1. His ECAC opener at Vermont on Nov. 5 was the first time he had faced an ECAC team in his four seasons of playing college hockey at Colorado College and his five season of coaching at Alaska-Fairbanks.
Moving Forward... Princeton continues its homestand Tuesday night when it hosts travel-partner Yale at 7 p.m. The home-and-home series concludes the following Saturday in New Haven at 7 p.m. Princeton's next home game after that will be on Jan. 4, when American International visits Baker Rink. Princeton plays at Colgate, Cornell and Merrimack in that span.
Looking Around the League... Several league teams are in action this weekend. There are two sets of league games, Rensselaer and Union are at Princeton and Yale, and Colgate and Cornell are at Vermont and Dartmouth. In addition, Brown is at Minnesota-Duluth for a pair of games.
So, What do the Polls Mean... Through two weekends of league play, the current ECAC Hockey League standings hardly resemble the league's preseason media and coaches polls. First-place Union was picked for 10th in one and ninth in the other, while second-place Vermont was slotted in 10th and 11th. Princeton, picked 12th in both polls is tied for fourth. In all fairness, Colgate and Cornell, both picked in the top 3, have played less league games.