Men's Hockey Heads To Harvard For ECAC Quarterfinals

No. 9 Seed Princeton (13-18-0, 8-14-0 ECAC) at No. 2 Seed Harvard (21-6-2, 18-4-0 ECAC)
ECAC Quarterfinals | March 10-12 | Bright-Landry Center
Game 1 ESPN+ | Game 2 ESPN+ | Game 3 ESPN+
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TIGERS AND CRIMSON MEET FOR FIRST TIME IN PLAYOFFS SINCE 2010
Princeton and Harvard have not met in the playoffs since the 2010 ECAC First Round, a 2-0 series win for the Crimson at Hobey Baker Rink. The Tigers are 0-2 in series all-time against the Crimson in the ECAC Playoffs -- the other meeting a 2-0 Harvard sweep in the 1993 Quarterfinals in Cambridge. In terms of playoff games between the two teams, Princeton is 1-4 all-time, with the lone victory a 4-1 win in the 2008 ECAC Championship Game in Albany.

KERSTEN SCORES TWICE IN THIRD TO SEND PRINCETON PAST UNION
A wild affair between the Tigers and No. 8 seed Union sat tied, 4-4, with under five minutes to go in regulation last Saturday when senior tri-captain Spencer Kersten took matters into his own hands. Kersten -- who entered the game with two goals in 29 previous games this season -- scored twice in a span of 2:23 to break the tie and send the Tigers on to the Quarterfinals. The Tigers had led, 4-1, 5:53 into the second period only to see the Dutchmen score three in a row to tie the game with 11:04 to play. Ian Murphy had two goals and an assist for Princeton, while Jack Cronin and Pito Walton had the other goals.

PRINCETON IN THE QUARTERFINALS
The Tigers are 6-8 all-time in the ECAC Quarterfinals, with their last win in this round coming in 2018 as Princeton went on to win the ECAC Championship. Princeton had advanced to the Quarterfinals in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Ron Fogarty is 1-1 in the Quarterfinals as head coach.

AHEAD OF THE EXPERTS
Picked to finish 12th in the ECAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Tigers finished in a tie for seventh place. Princeton's 12 wins overall this season through 29 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 went 7-7-0 at home this season after going 3-10-1 on home ice last season.

CAREER YEARS
Princeton has 14 skaters returning from the 2021-22 season who have played in at least half the games this season. Of that group, 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 eight players -- Joe Berg, 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.

One skater from that group who has not put together career points numbers is Spencer Kersten. He has tallied a career-high two short-handed goals while also setting new career-bests in faceoff wins (279) and faceoff percentage (56%).

SHORT-HANDED SPECIALISTS
The Tigers enter the night ranked No. 1 in the ECAC and No. 7 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.

TIGERS HAVE FOUR NAMED ALL-IVY
Liam Gorman and Ian Murphy were named second-team All-Ivy this week, joined by Pito Walton and Ethan Pearson who garnered honorable mention All-Ivy honors. For Murphy, this is the second All-Ivy honor of his career after being named first-team All-Ivy in 2022.

JACK ATTACK
Jack Cronin has struck for five PPGs and is second on the team with 12 goals overall. He has already blown by his two goals from the 2021-22 season, and his 18 points through 30 games this year already surpass his point total (6) from 23 games last season.

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 29 points (15g, 14a) in 29 games, and has 21 points (13g, 8a) in his last 15 games -- including a pair of hat tricks in February against Dartmouth and RPI. His two hat tricks this season are the most by an ECAC player and No. 2 in the nation.

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 -- 36 pts. (16g, 20a) in 89 games
2. Sean Gorman -- 23 pts (5g, 18a) in 99 games
3. Brendan Gorman -- 19 pts. (5g, 14a) in 29 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 52 points (13g, 39a) this season -- accounting for 24% of the team's total points.

POWERING UP
Princeton is 20-for-121 on the power play this season. Jack Cronin has five power-play goals, while Liam Gorman (4), Noah de la Durantaye (2), Ian Murphy (3) and Pito Walton (2) each have multiple PPGs. The Tigers have PPGs in 18-of-30 games this season, including at least one in 13 of their last 22 games. Ian Murphy's PPG at RPI broke an 0-for-13 streak on the PP.

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 seven multi-point games this season. After registering just 12 points (6g, 6a) over 59 games to start his Princeton career, he has 24 points (12g, 12a) in 30 games this season. Over his last 13 games, he has 15 points (7g, 8a) 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, 13a -- including 15 points (4g, 11a) over his last 21 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 nine assists -- including seven power-play helpers -- and 14 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 7g, 14a for 21 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 returned last week after missing that last four games.

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