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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hockey Hosts Harvard and Brown to Start 10-Game Run to Playoffs
January 27, 2005 | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 27, 2005
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team returns to ECAC Hockey League action this weekend as it hosts 11th-ranked Harvard and Brown at Baker Rink. The Tigers wrapped up their non-league schedule Tuesday with a win over Bentley and now have 10 more league games remaining as they look to climb into a home-ice spot for the playoffs.
Face-off is set for 7 p.m. on both nights. For ticket information, visit GoPrincetonTigers.com or call the ticket office at (609) 258-3538. Tickets will also be available at the box office prior to the game.
For those unable to join in person, the game will be broadcast live on the Internet at GoPrincetonTigers.com. The broadcast will begin approximately 10 minutes prior to the opening face-off and a link to the broadcast can be found on the hockey schedule page, the athletics front page, and the multimedia page. Additionally, live stats will be available through GameTracker.
Game Notes in PDF Format
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Setting the Scene... The Princeton men's hockey team closes out a six-game homestand as it hosts Harvard and Brown this weekend at Baker Rink.
Last Time Out... Princeton shook off the cobwebs of a 16-day break for exams with a 4-2 win over Bentley on Tuesday night at home.
The Series with Harvard... Princeton has had Harvard's number over the past few seasons, with a 5-2-1 record in the last seven games and a 10-5-2 record in the last 17. Overall, Harvard holds a 139-48-9 series edge with a 49-22-4 record in games in Princeton. Harvard won the previous meeting this season, 8-6.
Scouting the Crimson... Harvard is 10-5-2 overall and 7-4-1 in the ECAC Hockey League to rank fourth in the standings. The Crimson is one of four league teams that is nationally ranked and sits 11th in the latest polls. Harvard has wins this season over ranked-opponents Boston College, Boston University, Vermont, Maine and Cornell. Harvard enters the weekend following a home-ice split with Colgate and Cornell the first weekend in January.
Earlier This Season... On November 14 in Cambridge, Princeton and Harvard played the highest-scoring game thus far this season involving two ECACHL teams, when they combined for 14 goals in an 8-6 Harvard win. Senior Luc Paquin had a goal and four assists for Princeton, while Harvard's Tom Cavanagh and Dan Murphy each tallied three points.
The Series with Brown... Princeton topped Brown 5-1 in November to stop a six-game Brown winning streak in the series. Brown leads the overall series with a 76-51-4 record and is 32-23-3 all-time at Princeton. The Tigers last win prior to that came March 1, 2002 on home ice.
Scouting the Bears... Brown is 9-6-3 overall and 4-5-2 in the ECAC Hockey League to rank eighth in the standings. The Bears started the season, slowly, winning just once in their first five games, but have lost just twice in the 12 games since. Brown's turnaround began with a 2-1 win at then No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth and continued with wins over St. Lawrence, Union, Merrimack and Providence. Brown is unbeaten in its last three, defeating American International and Providence, and tying then No. 15 UMass-Lowell.
Earlier This Season... On November 13 in Providence, Princeton used two goals in the second half of the first period to jump ahead of Brown en route to a 5-1 win. Junior Dustin Sproat had two goals and two assists in the win and sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller added four assists.
The Bentley Game in More Detail... Princeton broke a 1-1 tie on junior Sebastian Borza's second-period goal and never looked back as the Tigers downed Bentley 4-2. Sophomore Kevin Westgarth and junior Seamus Young each had two points while sophomore B.J. Sklapsky made 26 saves in net.
Princeton Non-Conference Wrap... Princeton went 2-4-1 this season in non-conference games, earning wins over American International and Bentley and tying Alabama-Huntsville. Overall, the ECAC Hockey League is 50-46-11 against other conferences this season with only two more non-league games left, both of which feature Harvard against Hockey East teams at the Beanpot.
Reaching Six... Princeton's win over Bentley was its sixth of the season which surpassed its win total of five from a season ago.
Second Time Around... With this weekend's games, the Tigers begin to see league opponents for the second time around. Yale, the Tigers' travel-partner, is the only league team Princeton has faced twice.
Balanced Attack... Ten of Princeton's 18 skaters tallied points in the Bentley game and all four goals came from players ranked seventh or below in overall scoring on the team.
Two Pointers... Two Tigers tallied two points in the win over Bentley. Sophomore Kevin Westgarth had a goal and an assist while junior Seamus Young had a pair of assists. It was Westgarth's second career multiple-point game and his first of the season, while Young reached two points for the fourth time this season and the fifth time in his career.
Atop the Scoring Chart... With seven points over his past four games, junior Dustin Sproat has climbed to the top of Princeton's scoring charts. He now has 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points. Numbers which not only lead the team, but also the league.
Second on the List... Sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller tallied four assists over his last four games and ranks second on the team in scoring with five goals and 19 assists for 24 points.
Leading the League... Junior Dustin Sproat currently leads the ECAC Hockey League in scoring. Only once has a Princeton player led the league in scoring for a season and that was John Messuri in 1987-88. Messuri tallied 39 points that season to lead the league. Princeton's second-most prolific ECAC scoring season was 38 points, which Messuri achieved the following season in 1988-89 and was tied the following season by current Princeton assistant coach Andre Faust in the 1989-90 campaign.
Four in the Top 10... Princeton has four players currently in the top 10 of scoring in the ECAC Hockey League. Dustin Sproat, Luc Paquin and Grant Goeckner-Zoeller currently sit first through third. St. Lawrence's Stace Page is fourth and Patrick Neundorfer is tied with six others for fifth. Princeton has not had a player finish in the top 10 in league scoring since the 2001-02 season when David Del Monte ranked eighth. Princeton's highest finisher in the rankings in the past two seasons ranked in the 30s.
Streaks... Junior Dustin Sproat leads a group of five Tiger players entering this weekend's games with a scoring streak. He has scored points in four straight games. The other streaks belong to senior Neil Stevenson-Moore, junior Sebastian Borza and sophomores Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and Kevin Westgarth. Those four streaks are all at two games.
Against Ranked Teams... The Tigers have faced two ranked teams and are 0-2 in those games. Both were on the road and came during the Colgate/Cornell road trip. Last year Princeton topped Harvard twice while the Crimson was ranked.
On the Offensive... After struggling to score goals for several seasons, the Princeton offense has improved to rank tied for second in the ECAC Hockey League and 20th in the nation. Princeton has scored 59 goals in 19 games for an average of 3.11 goals per game and the Tigers are on pace to score 91 goals in the regular season.
59 Goals... Princeton has 59 goals in 19 games this season. Last season Princeton's 59th goal came in its 30th game, as the third goal in a 5-4 loss at Rensselaer on March 5 in the first ECAC playoff game.
Moving Forward... Princeton heads out on the road for the first time since late December when it visits St. Lawrence and Clarkson next weekend.
Updated Playoff Scenario... Now that all 12 ECACHL teams are within two games played, the standings and playoff races are beginning to take shape as the final month of the season begins. As it stands, Colgate would win its second consecutive league regular season title and along with, Cornell, Vermont and Harvard, receive a first-round bye. Princeton would finish 10th and face Dartmouth in the 7-10 match-up taking place in Hanover. The other first-round match-ups would be No. 12 Yale at No. 5 St. Lawrence, No. 11 Clarkson at No. 6 Union, and No. 9 Rensselaer at No. 8 Brown. Princeton currently sits one point out of ninth with a game in hand and two points out of the final home-ice playoff spot.