Men's Hockey Concludes Regular Season At RPI & Union

Friday, February 24

Troy, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

RPI

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Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Men's Hockey Concludes Regular Season At RPI & Union

February 23, 2023 | Men's Ice Hockey

Princeton (12-15-0, 8-12-0 ECAC) at RPI (13-18-1, 8-12-0 ECAC)
February 17 | 7 p.m. | Houston Field House
ESPN+ | International Stream | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes (PDF)

Princeton (12-15-0, 8-12-0 ECAC) at Union (13-17-2, 7-12-1 ECAC)
February 18 | 7 p.m. | Messa Rink
ESPN+ | International Stream | Live Stats | Tickets

PLAYOFF POSITIONS AT STAKE THIS WEEKEND
As The Tigers head into the final weekend of the regular season, not much is known about what happens next weekend. Princeton can finish as high as sixth and as low as ninth depending on the results of the games around the ECAC this weekend.

No. 6 Clarkson (28 Points); vs. Dartmouth/Harvard
No. 7 Princeton (26 Points); at RPI/Union
No. 8 RPI (23 Points) vs. Princeton/Quinnipiac
No. 9 Union (23 Points) vs. Quinnipiac/Princeton

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
Looking to track how the Tigers can secure a home game next weekend in the one-game ECAC First Round? Here's what to look for on Friday night.

Secure Home Ice
Scenario #1: Win. A regulation, overtime or shootout win at RPI secures at least the No. 8 seed regardless of the rest of the weekend's results.
Scenarios #2: A Princeton overtime loss or shootout loss combined with a Union loss in regulation to Quinnipiac would secure at least the No. 8 seed.

Secure No. 7 Seed
Scenario #1: Regulation win at RPI and any type of Union loss to Quinnipiac
Scenario #2: Overtime win at RPI and any type of Union loss or shootout win against Quinnipiac
Scenario #3: Regulation win at RPI and any type of Union loss or overtime win against Quinnipiac

AHEAD OF THE EXPERTS
Picked to finish 12th in the ECAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Tigers enter this week in seventh place. Princeton's 12 wins overall this season through 26 games are more than its eight in 31 games played last season. The Tigers have also surpassed their seven conference wins from 2021-22, and are 7-7-0 at home this season after going 3-10-1 on home ice last season.

CAREER YEARS
Princeton has 12 skaters returning from the 2021-22 season who have played in at least half the games this season. Of that dozen, 11 have either equalled or set career highs in points, 10 have matched or set career highs in goals, 8 have done so in assists and seven players -- Nick Carabin, Jack Cronin, Noah de la Durantaye, Liam Gorman, Ian Murphy, Adam Robbins, and Pito Walton -- have matched or set career highs in goals, assists and points.

The one skater from that group who has not done so is Spencer Kersten. He has tallied a career-high two short-handed goals while also setting new career-bests in faceoff wins (255) and faceoff percentage (57%).

THREE TIGERS AMONG HOBEY BAKER AWARD NOMINEES
Liam Gorman, Ethan Pearson and Pito Walton represent Princeton on the list of nominees for the fan voting to select the 2023 Hobey Baker Award as announced last week.

SHORT-HANDED SPECIALISTS
The Tigers enter the night ranked No. 1 in the ECAC and No. 4 in the nation with six total SHGs. Liam Gorman and Spencer Kersten each have two of the shorties, also leading the ECAC and sitting No. 6 in the country. Princeton's six team short-handed goals this season are the fourth-most in a season since 2002-03, and only Andrew Calof (3; 2010-11) has had more SHGs in a season than Gorman since that 02-03 season. The short-handed goals scored have helped offset 29 power-play goals conceded -- including 12 over the last eight games.

JACK ATTACK
Jack Cronin has struck for five PPGs -- which is No. 8 in the ECAC and is No. 37 in the country -- and is second on the team with 11 goals overall. He has already blown by his two goals from the 2021-22 season, and his 17 points through 27 games this year already surpass his point total (6) from 23 games last season. His three GWGs lead the team and are No. 20 in the nation.

THE MURPH
Ian Murphy is the top returning scorer from the 2021-21 season, where he posted 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists as a sophomore during his first collegiate season before skating with the Vancouver Canucks during the summer as part of NHL Development Camp. He enters this evening with 23 points (10g, 13a) in 26 games,and has 14 points (8g, 6a) in his last 12 games -- including a 3g, 1a night at Dartmouth three weeks ago.

GATHERING GORMANS
In addition to captain Liam Gorman, the Tigers also will line up his younger brother, Brendan, this season. The brothers join their father, Sean, as Princeton Hockey players. Sean is a 1991 Princeton grad who was drafted by the Boston Bruins out of college. Both Liam and Brendan played high school hockey at St. Sebastian's before joining the Tigers as true freshmen. Last year with St. Sebs, Brendan tallied 49 points (11g, 38a) in 25 games while earning ISL MVP.

LITTLE BRO, BIG GOALS
Brendan Gorman leads Princeton's freshmen in scoring with 16 points (5g, 11a) in 26 games this season, He is fifth overall on the team in points, and fourth in assists.

GORMAN FAMILY SCORING RACE
1. Liam Gorman -- 33 pts. (16g, 17a) in 86 games
2. Sean Gorman -- 23 pts (5g, 18a) in 99 games
3. Brendan Gorman -- 16 pts. (5g, 11a) in 26 games

FRESH FACES
The Tigers are expected to have six of their eight freshmen in the lineup tonight, and that group has acclimated itself well to college hockey. Overall, Princeton's eight newcomers have registered 44 points (12g, 32a) this season -- accounting for 23% of the team's total points.

POWERING UP
Princeton is 19-for-112 on the power play this season. Jack Cronin has five power-play goals, while Liam Gorman (4), Noah de la Durantaye (2), Ian Murphy (2) and Pito Walton (2) each have multiple PPGs. The Tigers have PPGs in 17-of-278 games this season, including at least one in 12 of their last 20 games. The Tigers are 0-for-123 on the PP over their last four games, however.

LEANIN' ON LIAM
Liam Gorman has found his scoring touch in his senior season. Originally a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, Chicago traded for his rights this past summer. He posted his first career two-point night (1g, 1a) against Colgate on 11/5 and now has six multi-point games this season. After registering just 12 points (6g, 6a) over 59 games to start his Princeton career, he has 22 points (12g, 10a) in 27 games this season. Over his last 10 games, he has 13 points (7g, 6a) and has goals in five of those games.

DE LA SOUL
Noah de la Durantaye had 10 points (3g, 7a) last season. This season, he has 4g, 12a -- including 14 points (4g, 10a) over his last 18 games. He spent the summer with the Vegas Golden Knights at NHL Development Camp.

ABOUT ADAM
Adam Robbins had a breakout 2021-22 season, posting 13 points (5g, 8a) over 31 games played. His totals blew by his 2019-20 total of 2 points (0g, 2a) over 18 games. During the 2020-21 year, Robbins won a Clark Cup with the Chicago Steel. So far this season, Robbins has eight assists -- including six power-play helpers -- and 13 points overall.

PITO POCKETS POINTS
Defenseman Pito Walton turned a 6-point 2019-20 season into an 11-point campaign last year. This year, he has set another career high with 6g, 14a for 20 points. He was named ECAC Defender of the Week for his efforts in Princeton's sweep of Union and RPI and ECAC Defender of the Month for December.

SETTING SEITZ
Nick Seitz also had a breakout 2021-22 season, setting career highs in goals (3), assists (6) and points (9). This year, he has followed up with 14 points (9g, 5a) through 24 games. He has goals in five of his last nine games.