Men's Hockey Opens Home Schedule with Dartmouth and Harvard

Nov. 2, 2005

Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team opens its home schedule this Friday night when Dartmouth visits Baker Rink. The weekend continues on Saturday night when 15th-ranked Harvard visits Princeton. The Tigers opened the season last weekend with a non-conference win and loss at Notre Dame.

The opening weekend of Princeton hockey is presented by Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield and PNC Bank. It begins on Friday night against Dartmouth when the first 500 fans in attendance for the game will receive a free Princeton hockey schedule poster. Intermission promotions will include the Slap Shot Shootout and the Chili's Crazy Chair Contest. On Saturday, the first 250 fans in attendance who are wearing orange will receive Princeton pom-poms. Intermission promotions will include the Tiger T-Shirt Toss.

In the first intermission on Saturday, several Princeton alumni will be recognized. There will be an alumni game scheduled earlier in the day from 1:15-3 p.m. at Baker Rink and fans are welcome to attend.

For ticket information, please call the ticket office at (609) 258-3538 or visit GoPrincetonTigers.com.

For fans unable to make it to Baker Rink, the game will be broadcast online. Links to the broadcast can be found by visiting the Princeton hockey schedule. A link to GameTracker can also be found there.

Saturday night's game will be broadcast by Patriot 8 in the Princeton area. The game will air tape delayed on Patriot next Monday and Wednesday at 9:30pm. Patriot can be found on channel 24 on the Princeton campus.

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This Week's Storylines

Back at Home
Princeton opens the home and league portions of its schedule this weekend as Dartmouth and Harvard visit Baker Rink.

CIII
The 2005-06 season marks the 103rd season of varsity men's hockey at Princeton. The first game was played on Nov. 30, 1900 against the Drisler School. Princeton did not compete for three seasons during World Wars I and II.

A New Look
In the 2005-06 season, the Tigers will wear new jerseys for the first time in several seasons. The jerseys share the striping of the Montreal Canadiens jersey, with the Princeton shield on the chest. The home jerseys are white, while the road jerseys are black.

On the Tube
At least five of the Tigers' games in the 2005-06 season will be broadcast on television. The schedule begins this Saturday when Patriot 8, a local cable company in the Princeton area, televises the game with Harvard. Princeton's game at Quinnipiac on the Saturday after Thanksgiving will be live on NESN, while both of Princeton's games at the Denver Cup on Dec. 30 and 31 will be on FSN Rocky Mountain. Lastly, Princeton's game at Dartmouth on Feb. 11 will be live on ESPNU. NESN, FSN-RM and ESPNU are all available on Directv. Additional Patriot games may be added as the season continues.

Last Weekend
Princeton earned a non-conference split in its opening weekend at Notre Dame. On Friday night the Tigers used a three-goal second period to post a 5-3 win, while on Saturday night, Notre Dame scored twice in the second in a 2-0 win.

Home Openers
Princeton is 43-32-4 in its first home game of a season. Princeton last won a home opener at the start of the 2001-02 season. That year Princeton edged Vermont 5-4.

The Series With Dartmouth
Princeton is 77-86-12 all-time against Dartmouth and is 38-39-6 against the Big Green at home. Last year Princeton defeated Dartmouth twice, posting a 3-0 shutout in Hanover and a 6-2 win at Baker Rink.

Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth is 0-1 after a loss last Saturday night at Harvard. The loss knocked the Big Green out of the national polls after being ranked in the preseason. Dartmouth was picked to finish second in the preseason coaches poll and third in the preseason media poll.

The Series With Harvard
Princeton is 48-140-9 all-time against Harvard and 22-50-4 against the Crimson at home. Last year Harvard won twice against Princeton, snapping a stretch where Princeton had won three of the four previous games.

Scouting the Crimson
Harvard won its season opener last Saturday night over Dartmouth 6-2. The win lifted the Crimson to the No. 15 ranking in the USCHO.com poll. Harvard was selected third in the preseason coaches and fourth in the preseason media poll.

Looking Back a Week
The Princeton offense scored five goals in last Friday night's win at Notre Dame and four players registered multiple points in the win. Junior Kevin Westgarth had three assists, junior Grant Goeckner-Zoeller had two goals, and senior Patrick Neundorfer and sophomore Erik Pridham each posted a goal and assist in the win. Junior goaltender B.J. Sklapsky stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced to earn the win in goal.

Talk About Production
Princeton's first line of Kevin Westgarth, Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and Patrick Neundorfer was responsible for the first three goals on Friday night. The line had three goals and four assists in the win.

More Production
Princeton's fourth line in the game Friday night scored the final two goals. Junior Christian Read and sophomores Erik Pridham and Kyle Hagel were responsible for two goals and two assists.

One to Remember
Friday night's win at Notre Dame was a memorable night for Kyle Hagel. The defenseman-turned-forward began the night back on defense. He then moved up to forward in the second period after freshman Will Harvey received a game misconduct. Hagel capped the night by scoring his first career goal late in the third period to give the Tigers a little insurance in the win. The goal came in his 27th game in the Orange and Black. There are now only two returning players on the Tiger roster that have not yet scored a collegiate goal.

Protecting the Net
Princeton received strong goaltending performances on both nights at Notre Dame. On Friday night, junior B.J. Sklapsky made 34 saves to notch the win. Meanwhile on Saturday, senior Eric Leroux made 28 saves in the loss.

Turning it Up Ice
Three Princeton defensemen earned assists in Friday's game. Senior Seamus Young, junior Max Cousins and sophomore Mike Moore all earned assists on breakout passes originating from the Princeton end of the ice.

Party on Garth!
Kevin Westgarth tallied a career-high three points, all assists, in Friday night's game. The three assists equals his season assist totals from both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Westgarth is almost half way to reaching his 2004-05 point total of seven, after just two games.

Making them Count
Princeton scored five goals on 13 shots in its win Friday night. At one point in the second period, Princeton had three goals on four shots.

A Good Way to Start
Princeton won its opener this season for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when the Tigers defeated Niagara 3-1. That season Princeton was unbeaten through four games (1-0-3) and started the season 5-3-3 through 11 games. Princeton is now 57-42-4 in season openers and 10-12 in openers on the road.

Non-Conference Win
The Tigers' win over Notre Dame was Princeton's first non-conference win over an opponent from the CCHA, WCHA or Hockey East since a 4-2 win at Bowling Green on Jan. 4, 2002. Princeton was 0-16 against the three conferences since that win up until Friday night's win. Princeton did pick up non-league wins over Atlantic Hockey and ECAC opponents in that span.

Who is Left?
Princeton has faced 48 of the 58 possible Division I men's hockey opponents. Princeton has not faced Canisius, Connecticut, Ferris State, Mercyhurst, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Quinnipiac, RIT, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart. Two of those teams are on the 2005-06 schedule and there can be one more depending on how the first round of the Denver Cup plays out.

81 Goals
Princeton scored 81 goals in 31 games last season. That number was 19 more than the total of 62 that Princeton scored in 31 games last season. Princeton managed only 62 goals in each of the past two seasons and 66 in the one prior to those. Princeton has five goals through two games this season.

More About Goals
After two seasons of not having a player in the top 30 in league scoring, Princeton had the league's top scorer, Dustin Sproat, and three players in the top 10 last season (Sproat, Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and Luc Paquin).

Field General
Guy Gadowsky enters his second season behind the Tiger bench. He will be joined by three new assistant coaches this season; Keith Fisher, John Riley and George Bosak. Fisher comes to Princeton from the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, Riley from the Brunswick School, and Bosak has been working with area goaltenders for several years.

Wearing the `C'
Senior Patrick Neundorfer will wear the captain's `C' for the second-straight season. Neundorfer enters his senior season with 44 career points after posting 22 during the 2004-05 campaign.

And Now an `A'
Junior Darroll Powe will don the assistant captain's `A' in the 2005-06 season. Powe had 16 points in 59 games through two seasons at Princeton.

Returning in 2005-06
Princeton returns 21 players from its 2004-05 roster, including seven of its top 10 scorers. That group is led by junior Grant Goeckner-Zoeller whose 52 career points lead all Princeton skaters entering the season.

Trial by Fire
Princeton welcomes a class of five freshmen that will have an immediate impact on the program. The class includes forwards Will Harvey, Lee Jubinville, Brandan Kushniruk and Brett Wilson, and goaltender Thomas Sychterz.

Polling Station
Princeton was picked to finish 10th by both the coaches and the media in the ECACHL preseason polls. Dartmouth and Harvard were both selected in the top third of both polls.

On the Horizon
Princeton continues playing league games next weekend as it begins a four-game stretch of playing away from home. The Tigers visit New York's Capital District next weekend to play at Union on Friday and at Rensselaer on Saturday. The following weekend the Tigers will add another four hours onto the trip and head to the North Country to play Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

Princeton Pro Report
This season there are two Princeton alums playing professionally in the National Hockey League. Six-year NHL-veteran Jeff Halpern '99 is the captain of the Washington Capitals, while George Parros '03 is in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Kings.

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