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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hockey Heads to Dartmouth and Vermont
February 19, 2004 | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 19, 2004
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team heads north this weekend for its final regular season road trip with games at Dartmouth and Vermont. The Tigers split with the two opponents earlier this season in Princeton.
Drop the Puck... The Princeton men's hockey team remains on the road for its final two regular season road games. Friday night Princeton visits Dartmouth and Saturday the Tigers meet Vermont.
Last Time Out... The Tigers dropped both ends of their trip to Central New York, falling 6-1 on Friday night at Cornell and 4-2 Saturday against Colgate. At Cornell, the Big Red scored twice in each period to distance itself from the Tigers, while at Colgate, the Raiders scored four straight goals after Princeton jumped ahead 1-0 after a period.
The Series with Dartmouth... Princeton is 73-86-11 all-time against Dartmouth and is 27-35-5 versus the Big Green in Hanover. The Tigers have dropped three straight in the series and are winless in the last six games against Dartmouth (0-4-2). Princeton's last win in the series was a 6-0 triumph at Dartmouth on Nov. 18, 2000. Scouting the Big Green... Dartmouth has spent much of the season at or near the top of the ECAC standings. The Big Green is 10-7-8 on the season and enters the weekend on a three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2). Dartmouth currently sits fifth in the league standings at 8-4-6is one of three team's in the nation to have eight ties. The other two are Bowling Green and Canisius.
Earlier this Season... Dartmouth scored four second-period goals to overcome a 2-1 deficit and post a 6-3 win over Princeton at Baker Rink. Nathan Szymanski led all scorers in the game with two goals and two assists. Princeton sophomore Patrick Neundorfer had a goal and an assist.
The Series with Vermont... The Tigers are 13-35-2 in their all-time series against Vermont. The Catamounts lead the series in games played in Burlington by a 21-6 margin. Princeton enters the game off a 2-1 win in the teams' meeting earlier this season in Princeton, while Vermont took both meetings a season ago, including a 5-4 overtime win on Burlington.
Scouting the Catamounts... Vermont enters the weekend on a roll after a North Country sweep of Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend. The Catamounts are 3-2-1 in their last six games and both losses were by a goal, including one in overtime. Vermont is 6-19-4 overall and 4-13-1 in the ECAC and sits just two points behind Princeton in the league standings.
Earlier this Season... Princeton scored twice in the first period and limited Vermont to nine shots over the final two, to earn a 2-1 win over the Catamounts on Nov. 21 for the Tigers first win of the season. Freshman Colin Koch and senior Steve Slaton scored the Tiger goals in the win, while Eric Leroux earned his first career win in goal.
A Look at the Standings... Princeton is currently 11th in the ECAC standings with 11 points. The Tigers are only four points out of a home-ice playoff spot in the first round. Clarkson and St. Lawrence are currently tied for that spot with 14 points. Bothe Knights and Saints hold the tiebreaker over Prineton. Union currently sits 10th with 13 points.
A Look Ahead... Princeton wraps up the regular season next weekend at home against Rensselaer and Union. In December, the tiebreakers won at Union, before falling at Rensselaer.
Ranked Opponents... Princeton's game with Colgate was its seventh game this season against a ranked opponent. The Tigers are 1-6 in those games. The win came at Harvard, while the losses came to Miami, St. Cloud State (2) and Colgate on the road and to Cornell and Brown on home ice.
Opening Goals... Princeton scored the first goal in Saturday night's game at Colgate. It was the first time Princeton opened the scoring in a game since the Clarkson game on Jan. 10. It was the sixth time this season Princeton has opened the scoring in a game.
Hollywood... Los Angeles native Grant Goeckner-Zoeller stands atop the Princeton point standings with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 25 games. That point total surpasses the rookie totals of sophomore Dustin Sproat (11 in 2002-03), junior Neil Stevenson-Moore (12 in 2001-02) and senior Steve Slaton (10 in 2000-01). His point total is the highest for a Princeton freshman since Benoit Morin had 24 points in the 1997-98 season. He has tallied 13 points in his last 14 games.
Career Highs... Slaton's assist on Friday night marked his 11th point of the season, which surpasses his point totals of his freshman and junior years for the highest in his career. His three goals this season is already a career high.
More Scoring... Sophomore Mark Masters and freshman Kevin Westgarth scored Princeton's goals at Colgate. It was Masters' third of the season and Westgarth's second.
Party On Garth... In Saturday night's game at Colgate, sophomore Brett Westgarth posted his first point of the season, an assist of sophomore Mark Masters' goal. Later, his younger brother Kevin, scored Princeton's second goal. It was the first time this season the pair has tallied points in the same game.