Men's Hockey Hosts No. 12 Ohio State For First Time

Friday, November 29

7:00 PM

Princeton University

No. 12 Ohio State

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Photo by: Kayla Schuberth

Men's Hockey Hosts No. 12 Ohio State For First Time

November 25, 2024 | Men's Ice Hockey

Princeton vs. No. 12 Ohio State | November 29 | 7 p.m.
Baker Rink | Tigers Fight Hunger Game -- Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to be collected and donated to local food banks
Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN+ | International Stream | Game Notes

Princeton vs. No. 12 Ohio State | November 30 | 4 p.m.
Baker Rink
Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN+ | International Stream | Game Notes

LOOSE ENDS
Princeton is 0-6-0 all-time against Ohio State, hosting the Buckeyes for the first time this weekend. The two teams met last year in Columbus with Ohio State picking up a pair of wins (6-3, 4-3). Those were the first two meetings between the two teams at one of their home rinks as the previous four had come at neutral sites -- including a 4-2 Ohio State win in the 2018 NCAA Regional in Allentown, Pa.

TWO FOR THE ROAD
Last year in Columbus. Joshua Karnish tallied two for the road as he scored in each of the two contests. He got the Tigers on the board in the first game, and then scored 3:21 into the third period of the finale to get the Tigers within one in an eventual 4-3 loss. Noah de la Durantaye had two assists in the second game. Arthur Smith started the first game and allowed 4 goals while making 29 saves. Ethan Pearson made 27 saves in the second game while allowing four goals.

THE 'BIG' MUDDY
Princeton is hosting a Big Ten team at Baker Rink for the first time since 2014 when the Tigers split a two-game set with Michigan State November 28-29. The Tigers won the opener, 3-1, before dropping the second game, 4-2. That visit from the Spartans in the only visit from a Big Ten team since the league officially commenced hockey play during the 2013-14 season. Overall, Princeton is 5-3 all-time at Baker Rink against teams who call the Big Ten home -- including a 4-1 record at Baker Rink against Notre Dame. Princeton's all-time overall record against schools playing in the Big Ten is 15-35-1.

HUMAN TOUCH
Princeton has had the first human to touch the puck on face-offs at a good clip to start the season, ranking No. 23 in country in faceoff % at .518 (173-161) through four games. Freshman Drew Garzone is 64% on faceoffs this season (47-27) and ranks No. 4 in the country in faceoff win percentage among players to win at least 47 draws.

NO SURRENDER
There was no retreat from senior defenseman Noah de la Durantaye last season as he had career highs in points (18) and assists (15) while his three goals were one away from his career high. He is Princeton's active leader in games played (94) and assists (35) and second in points (46).

JACOB'S LADDER
David Jacobs had 15 points (5g, 10a) as a freshman in 2022-23 over 32 games before climbing the points ladder last year and becoming almost a point-per-game player with 24 points in 30 games last season as a sophomore. He already has three points (3a) in six games this season.

THE 'E' STREET SHUFFLE
There were some sparks flying in E's crease as Ethan Pearson made 50 saves and allowed just two goals in a 1-0-1 weekend at Yale and Brown to earn ECAC Goaltender of the Week honors. Pearson is 1-3-1 overall this season and boasts a 2.54 GAA (#7 in ECAC and #38 in NCAA) and .898 save%.

WAITING ON A SUNNY DAY
Princeton fans have been waiting on the return of David Ma since the end of the 2022-23 season and he returns to the defensive corps for his junior season after missing all of last season as he dealt with an injury that had limited him to just 35 games over his first two seasons. He had 7 points (2g, 5a) in 18 games in 21-22 before adding 4 assists in 17 games in 22-23. A puck-moving defenseman, Ma won a Clark Cup with the Chicago Steel in 2021 and played for Team USA at the 2019 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. He has three points (1g, 2a) in six games this season -- scoring at Brown (11/16) for his first goal in 1,099 days dating back to 11/13/21 at LIU.

THE RISING
Already through six games this season, Nick Marciano's career high in points has started rising. He has three points (1g, 2a) in six games after posting four total points over his first 48 games.

MAN AT THE TOP
Jake Manfre is the man at the top of the Princeton rookie scoring race with 1-1-2 totals through six games. After tallying an assist in his first collegiate game against Harvard (11/8) and notched his first career goal in his third career game with a redirection at Yale (11/15).