.png&width=24&type=webp)
.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hockey Heads to Northern New York to Meet St. Lawrence and Clarkson
February 03, 2005 | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 3, 2005
Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Princeton men's hockey team takes to the road for the first time in over a month with its furthest road trip of the season when the Tigers head north to take on St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Princeton dropped a pair of back-and-forth games against the two in early January and will look to reverse the results this weekend in Northern New York.
The Tigers enter the weekend after going 1-2 last weekend at home. The stretch wrapped up a six-game homestand for the Tigers, in which they went 2-4, winning a pair of non-conference games, but falling in four ECAC Hockey league games. Last week Princeton opened the week with a 4-2 win over Bentley in non-conference action. The game closed out the Tigers' non-league schedule for the year with a record of 2-4-1, with wins over American International and Bentley, and a tie against Alabama-Huntsville. The wins and tie all came on home ice.
The Tigers ended the week with losses to Harvard and Brown. On Friday, Harvard opened the scoring 35 seconds into the game and never looked back en route to a 7-0 win, while on Sunday, the Tigers opened the scoring and scored in the second to make it 2-2, but a third power-play goal for Brown gave the Bears a lead they would not relinquish as they posted a 4-2 win.
Following the weekend, Princeton sits 11th in the ECAC Hockey League standings with an outside shot of climbing into the middle four spots and earning a first-round playoff match up. The Tigers sit one point behind a two-team tie for ninth between Clarkson and Rensselaer and the Tigers have two games in-hand on the Engineers. There is a three-way tie for spots 6+8 between Brown, St. Lawrence and Union. Based on the amount of games left, Union is most likely to be the only one of those teams that can be caught as Princeton and Clarkson each have three games in hand on the Dutchmen, who have lost seven straight games. Of course, those numbers will change before and after every game from here on out.
Junior Dustin Sproat had points in two games last week and continues to lead the Princeton scoring charts with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points. Senior Luc Paquin reached the 20-point mark with his two assists, and junior Patrick Neundorfer is one point away with 19. Senior Neil Stevenson-Moore had an assist against Brown, which made him the fifth Tiger this season to reach double-digits in points.
The Tigers begin the weekend Friday night against St. Lawrence. The Saints bring a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) in the series between the two schools into Friday's game. The Saints are 48-15-6 all-time against Princeton, including a 22-6-1 record in Canton. Princeton last won on on Feb. 1, 2002, at home.
St. Lawrence is 13-12-1 overall and 7-7 in the ECAC Hockey League. The Saints are currently in a tie for sixth in the league standings. St. Lawrence has lost three of its last four entering the weekend after being swept at Colgate and Cornell last weekend. Prior to that stretch, St. Lawrence had won five straight, including a 6-4 win at Princeton. On January 8 in Princeton, the Tigers and Saints played a back-and-forth contest that went St. Lawrence's way in the final 2:04 as the Saints erased a 4-3 Princeton lead and went on to a 6-4 triumph. John Zeiler led St. Lawrence with two goals, while Dustin Sproat had two goals and an assist for the Tigers.
The weekend continues Saturday with a key game against fifth-ranked Clarkson as the teams, separated by just a point, battle for playoff positioning. The series between Princeton and Clarkson dates back to 1927. Princeton is 20-62-5 all-time against the Golden Knights and is 2-29 all-time at Clarkson. The second of those wins was the last time that the Tigers defeated Clarkson, a 4-3 win on Nov. 14, 1998. Clarkson enters the game with a 14-game unbeaten streak (12-0-2) against Princeton, including a 3-2 win earlier this season
Clarkson is 8-16-2 overall and 4-9-1 in the ECAC Hockey League and is tied for ninth in the standings, just one point ahead of Princeton. Clarkson struggled early in the season, but has played .500 hockey over its last 10 games. Last weekend the Knights earned a split in Central New York by edging Colgate. On Jan. 7, in Princeton, Clarkson jumped to a 3-0 lead, and then held off a strong Princeton attack to cling on for a 3-2 win. Mike Sullivan scored two goals and assisted on a third, while Dustin Sproat helped set up both Tiger tallies.
This is a quick road swing for the Tigers as they return to Baker Rink for the next two weekends and four games. Next weekend Princeton hosts No. 6 Cornell and No. 11 Colgate, the league's first and second place teams, and then Dartmouth and Vermont visits Princeton before the Tigers close the regular season at Rensselaer and Union.