Princeton Faces Union in ECAC Quarterfinals

Friday, March 9

Schenectady, NY

7:00 PM

Princeton University

Union

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Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

March 07, 2018 | Men's Ice Hockey

ECAC Quarterfinal Series: Princeton at No. 16 Union
Game Times	Friday, March 9 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 10 at 7 p.m., Sunday, March 4 at 11 p.m. (if necessary)
	Messa Rink l Tickets
Game Coverage	Live Video l Live Stats
Series Info	Princeton trails Union 35-22-7 (streak: 17 Union wins, 3 losses)
Princeton	Roster l Schedule l Stats l @PUHockey l 15-12-4, 10-10-2 - No. 7 seed l Game Notes
Union	Roster l Schedule l Stats l @UnionMHockey l 21-13-2, 16-5-1 ECAC - No. 2 seed

EYE ON THE TIGERS
Princeton is 15-12-4 on the season and knocked off Brown last weekend in the first round, outscoring the Bears 15-3. Princeton set a program record for goals in a playoff game, surpassing the six it had against Cornell in 1999. The Tigers are led by the junior duo of Ryan Kuffner and Max Véronneau, who are at the top of the charts in the national statistics. Both have 40+ point seasons with Véronneau leading the charge with 50 points on 15 goals and 35 assists. Kuffner has 28 goals and 20 assists for 48 points (see more below). They aren't the only two that can score. Sophomore Jackson Cressey and senior David Hallisey also rank in the top 30 in the nation in points per game, as Cressey has 36 points and Hallisey 35. Junior Josh Teves leads the defensemen in scoring with 28 points in 26 games to rank first in the nation in points per game for a defenseman. Overall the Tigers rank fourth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 3.71 goals per game. It's the highest team ranking for Princeton - they also lead the nation in power play. The special teams unit is 34 of 116 for 29.3 percent. Freshman Ryan Ferland has started in all but one game in goal and has a .911 save percentage and a 3.04 GAA. He's made 30+ saves in 16 games this season - and most notably made 14 saves in a five-minute overtime period against No. 1 St. Cloud to preserve a 3-3 draw.

THE PRINCETON/UNION SERIES
Princeton is looking to end a winless drought against Union, a drought of 20 games. Union is 17-0-3 in the last 20 meetings with Princeton's last win being a 3-1 game during the 2009 ECAC Quarterfinals at Hobey Baker Rink, when the Tigers won the series to advance to semifinals. The last two meetings in Schenectady have been tight and were both decided in overtime with Union taking the wins. In the playoffs last year it was a Mike Vecchione penalty shot that decided the game and the series, while this year a Princeton penalty decided November's game as Union scored on the power play to end things 4-3.

SCOUTING THE DUTCHMEN
Union is 21-13-2 overall and has lost just one game in the last 12 times out, which was a 4-3 loss at Cornell before inciting revenge two weeks ago with a 4-3 win at home over the Big Red. Senior Ryan Scarfo leads the offense with 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 points. Junior Cole Maier has a team-high 22 assists and 10 goals and for 32 points and junior Sebastian Vidmar adds 30 points. Junior Brett Supinksi and sophomore Anthony Rinaldi are also closing in on 30-point seasons. Overall the Dutchmen average 3.06 points per game (24th) while allowing 2.50 (15th) Junior Jake Kupsky (SJS) has started in 22 games and has a .922 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA.

THE ONES FROM OTTAWA
Ryan Kuffner and Max Véronneau both scored their 100th career points last weekend in the series with Brown. Kuffner now has 104 points on 52 goals and 52 assists (13th all time at Princeton) and tied the Princeton record for goals in a season, matching NHLer Jeff Halpern's 28 from the 1997-98 season. Nationally, Kuffner ranks first in goals per game (0.90) and is third in points per game (1.55). Véronneau has 102 points (15th all time at Princeton) with 37 goals and 65 assists. He is first in the nation in assists per game (1.13) and is second in the nation in points per game (1.61). Véronneau is three assists away from matching the Princeton record for assists in a season (38), currently held by John Messuri from 1988-89 with 38.

FIERY FEBRUARY
Ryan Kuffner had a 16-point month with 10 goals and six assists in eight games to be named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Month. He recorded two hat tricks, had a +7 on-ice rating, won 64.7 percent of his face offs and blocked four shots. Kuffner had a point in every single game during the month, and stretched that into January, as he currently rides a 12-game point scoring streak. He was named ECAC Player of the Week after leading the nation in scoring last week, while Luke Keenan was Rookie of the Week.