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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Hockey Closes Regular Season at Dartmouth and Harvard
February 25, 2009 | Men's Ice Hockey
#6 Princeton at Dartmouth
GAMETIME: Friday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. (Note game time change)
2008-09 RECORDS: Princeton (20-7-0, 14-6-0 ECAC); Dartmouth (13-10-3, 10-8-2 ECAC)
SERIES RECORD: Dartmouth leads 90-81-13 and is 39-31-7 at home
LAST MEETING: Dartmouth won 4-0 on Jan. 4, 2009 at Princeton
STREAK: Dartmouth won the last game
#6 Princeton at Harvard
GAMETIME: Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
2008-09 RECORDS: Princeton (20-7-0, 14-6-0 ECAC); Harvard (7-14-6, 7-7-6 ECAC)
SERIES RECORD: Harvard leads 144-52-9 and is 70-14-4 at home
LAST MEETING: Princeton won 5-1 on Jan. 3, 2009 at home
STREAK: Princeton has won two straight
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This Week's Storylines
Regular Season Finale
The Princeton men's hockey team closes the 2008-09 regular season on the road at Dartmouth and Harvard. Princeton split with the pair at Hobey Baker Rink in January.
Where Things Stand
Princeton is 20-7 through 27 games played and sits second in the ECAC hockey standings at 14-6 with 28 points. The Tigers are currently ranked sixth nationally in both polls.
The Lay of the Land
With its sweep last weekend, the Tigers secured a first round bye in the upcoming ECAC playoffs. Princeton also gained three points on first-place Yale and enters the final weekend two points behind the Bulldogs. Yale, Princeton and Cornell, in some order, will finish first through third. There are currently four teams with a mathematical chance at the fourth spot. They are Dartmouth, St. Lawrence, Harvard and Quinnipiac. A brief list of who can finish where is listed below.
Yale 1-3 (clinched bye, needs three points to clinch #1 seed)
Princeton 1-3 (clinched bye)
Cornell 1-3 (clinched bye)
Dartmouth 4-7 (clinched at least first round home ice, needs four points to clinch bye)
St. Lawrence 4-8 (clinched at least first round home ice)
Harvard 4-9 (needs one point to clinch first round home ice)
Quinnipiac 4-9 (needs two points to clinch first round home ice)
Clarkson 5-10 (needs three points to clinch first round home ice)
Union 5-9 (needs four points to clinch first round home ice)
Colgate 9-11 (will travel first round)
Rensselaer 10-11 (will travel first round)
Brown 12 (seeded 12th)
Sweeps Week
Princeton recorded its first home league weekend sweep of the season with its wins over Brown and Yale. Princeton had split three of its previous league weekend at home and was swept once.
vs. Brown (4-1 win)
Brett Wilson had two goals and an assist to surpass 100 points for his career in Princeton's 4-1 win over Brown. Lee Jubinville and Tyler Beachell also scored in the win. The Tigers win was its third this season over Brown.
vs. Yale (2-0 win)
Zane Kalemba made 31 saves to backstop Princeton to a 2-0 shutout of Yale. Both goalies were exceptional as it took more than 45 minutes for a goal to be scored. When one came, it was Jody Pederson's blast from the point on the power play that put the Tigers up 1-0. Kevin Kaiser added an empty netter.
20 Wins
Princeton recorded its 20 win of the year against Yale, giving Princeton its third 20-win season in program history. Two of those have come in the last two seasons, as the Tigers set a program high with 21 last season. Princeton also won 20 games in the 1998-99 campaign.
ECAC Wins
Princeton also recorded its 14th league win of the season against Yale, tying its 2007-08 total for league wins. That was a program high, besting the 13 wins recorded in the 1998-99 season. Princeton can top that with a win this weekend.
ECAC Finish
Princeton is guaranteed a top three finish in the ECAC standings for the second straight season. Last year's second was the higest a Princeton team had ever finish. Princeton's previous best finish was fourth in 1999.
Balanced Attack
Princeton has gotten contributions from all lines this season as 19 skaters have contributed at least a point and 12 Tigers have reached double digits. With four points last weekend, Brett Wilson climbed to the team lead with 23 points. After him, the Tigers have 11 players seperated by seven points.
Fire Away
Princeton currently ranks first in the nation in shots on goal per game with an average of 38.11 shots per game this season. Yale ranks second with 37.30 and Air Force, North Dakota and Miami round out the top five. Princeton has 40 or more shots in 14 of 27 games played this season.
Disciplined
The Tigers are the least penalized team in the nation, averaging less than five minors for 10 minutes of penalties per game. Princeton is averaging nearly two minutes less per game than any other team. Providence is the second-least penalized team with 11.3 penalty minutes per game.
All Types of Rankings
Princeton ranks sixth in both the USCHO.com and the USA Today Polls. The Tigers have been ranked as high as fifth this season, which is the all-time high for the program. Princeton is also ranked in the objective computer ranking formulas used. Princeton is sixth in the Pairwise, seventh in the RPI and ninth in the KRACH.
Home and Away
Princeton is 10-5 this season at home, 9-1 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites.
Stingy Defense
Princeton remains one of six teams in the nation surrendering an average of less than two goals per game this season. The Tigers have allowed a goal or less in 17 games this season. Princeton ranks third in goals against at 1.85 goals per game. Alaska (1.72) and Notre Dame (1.82) rank ahead of the Tigers.
Fit to Be Untied
Princeton and Michigan are the only two two teams in the country that have not played to a tie yet this season. Princeton went without a tie last season as well and has not tied a game since Feb. 2, 2007 at Brown, a span of 74 games. Princeton has only been to overtime twice in the past two years, both wins this season against Colgate. Princeton went 97 games without a tie from 1970 to 1974.
Upcoming Opponents
Princeton vs. Dartmouth
Princeton trails its all-time series with Dartmouth 81-90-13 and trails 31-39-7 in games played at Dartmouth. The Tigers defeated Dartmouth in both games last season, but Dartmouth blanked the Tigers earlier this year.
Previous Meeting
Dartmouth used a late first period goal and an early second period goal to build a 2-0 lead and Jody O'Neill made 41 saves to lead the Big Green to a 4-0 shutout win at Princeton on Jan. 4. Dartmouth scored two empty-net goals in the win.
Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth is 13-11-3 overall and 10-8-2 in the ECAC. The Big Green are currently tied with St. Lawrence in fourth-place in the ECAC standings. Dartmouth has just one win in its last four games, and was swept at Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend.
Princeton vs. Harvard
Harvard leads the all-time series with Princeton 144-52-9 and is 70-14-4 in the series at home. Princeton has won four of the last six meetings in the series
Previous Meeting
Princeton defeated Harvard 5-1 on Jan. 3 at Baker Rink. Brett Wilson had two goals and an assist in the win and Dan Bartlett scored the game-winning goal midway through the first period on the power play.
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard is 7-14-6 overall and 7-7-6 in the ECAC entering the weekend. The Crimson currently rank sixth in the standings. Harvard in unbeaten in its last four games, topping Colgate and Cornell, and tying at St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
Non-Conference Wrap
Princeton finished its non-league schedule with a 6-1 record. Princeton played at least one team from each Division I conference and picked up wins over Brown, Northeastern, Quinnipiac, Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha and Robert Morris.
Team Notes
Against Ranked Teams
Princeton is 5-3 against ranked teams with wins over Northeastern (#4), Minnesota State (#17), Nebraska-Omaha (#16), Cornell (#5) and Yale (#7), and losses to Cornell (#17), Dartmouth (#20) and Yale (#18). Princeton is 3-0 against teams ranked in the Top 10.
Offense From the Back
Three of Princeton's top 12 scorers are defensemen as Jody Pederson, Matt Godlewski and Taylor Fedun have eclipsed 13 points. The Tigers have gotten 61 points from defensemen this year for an average of 2.26 points per game, which ranks ninth among all teams in the nation.
Even or Ahead
Princeton has been even or ahead on the scoreboard for 79.2% of the minutes played this season. The Tigers have only trailed for 338:16 all season and have been behind in 10 of the 25 games played.
Game Winners
With his game-winning goal against Robert Morris, Brandan Kushniruk moved atop the category with three this season. That also ranks eighth nationally. Four others?Derrick Pallis, Matt Arhontas, Jody Pederson and Mark Magnowski?have two game winners this season. Twelve Tigers have netted game winners this year.
On the Horizon
Princeton has already clinched a bye for the first round of the ECAC playoffs. The Tigers will return to Hobey Baker Rink to host a quartefinal playoff series March 13-15.