Men's Hockey Opens 2024-25 Hosting Harvard And Dartmouth

Friday, November 8

7:00 PM

Princeton University

Harvard

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Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Men's Hockey Opens 2024-25 Hosting Harvard And Dartmouth

November 07, 2024 | Men's Ice Hockey

Princeton vs. Harvard | November 8 | 7 p.m.
Baker Rink | Ben Syer Replica Jersey Rally Towel Giveaway To First 200 Fans!
Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN+ | International Stream | Game Notes

Princeton vs. Dartmouth | November 9 | 7 p.m.
Baker Rink
Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN+ | International Stream | Game Notes

Hello again, hockey fans! Welcome back to another season of Princeton Hockey! The Tigers are one of two remaining Division I teams yet to open their season, and will do so November 8-9 hosting Harvard and Dartmouth at Hobey Baker Rink.

This weekend marks the debut of new head coach Ben Syer behind the bench as he takes over the team while serving as the 18th head coach in program history. A 25-year veteran of college hockey coaching, including the last 13 on staff at Cornell, Syer brings over two decades of championship pedigree to the Princeton locker room.

A few notes to get you "Syre-d Up" ahead of this weekend's games..

LOOSE ENDS
Princeton is 59-166-14 all-time against Harvard and 28-62-6 in Princeton dating back to a series which started in 1902 with a 6-3 Harvard win in New York City on March 1. The Tigers were 1-0-1 against Harvard last year in the regular season, including a 5-1 win at Baker Rink. The Crimson got the better of things in the playoffs, scoring a 1-0 win in Cambridge in the ECAC First Round. Looking ahead to Saturday, Princeton is 93-110-16 all-time against Dartmouth with a 46-47-8 record at Baker Rink.

LONG TIME COMIN'
Princeton is one of two remaining Division I men's hockey teams yet to play an official game this season, joining Brown who also opens up this evening. Dating back to Princeton's last game – a 1-0 loss at Harvard in the first round of the ECAC Playoffs – it has been 245 days since the Tigers last played a game.

GLORY DAYS
The Tigers have won the ECAC Championship three times, doing so in 1998, 2008 and 2018. Princeton's four Ivy League championships came in 1941, 1953, 1999 and 2008. The Tigers have played in four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the national tournament in 1998, 2008, 2009, 2018.

DANCING IN THE DARK
Princeton had the spark to start the fire in the crowd, inciting Tiger fans to cheer and dance in the dark often to the tune of the No. 5 Scoring Offense in the ECAC and No. 29 in the nation last year, coming in at 2.97 goals-per-game. The Tigers scored 2+ goals in 26 of 30 games, and were not shut out until a 1-0 loss at Harvard on the first round of the ECAC Playoffs.

HUNGRY HEART
The Tigers laid down their money and played their part on the power play last season, leading the ECAC and ranking No. 4 in the country going 25-for-90 to the tune of a 27.8% conversion rate. Princeton returns 64% of its power play scoring from last year, including Kai Daniells who had five PPGs as a freshman. Jack Cronin has 10 career power-play goals entering his senior season, with 10 of his 25 career goals (40%) coming on the man advantage.

LUCKY TOWN
Princeton played nine overtime games out of its 30 contests last season, posting a 5-0-4 record in games going more than 60:00 to lose the blues they found along the way. No team in the country played as many overtime games without suffering a loss in them as Princeton did. The five OT wins in a season set a new program record and were one off the ECAC record held by Colgate (2008-09) and Cornell (1985-86).

HIGH HOPES
Seven of Princeton's 13 returning upperclassmen from last season are coming off seasons where they set a new career high in points and have high hopes to build off that for 24-25. David Jacobs (+9), Tyler Rubin (+8), Jaxson Ezman (+5), Brendan Gorman (+5), Jack Cronin (+1), Noah de la Durantaye (+1), and Brendan Wang (+1) all set new career highs last season.

I'M A ROCKER
Princeton has a lot of rock stars back and returns 53 of its 89 goals scored last season, accounting for 60% of its total goals. Jack Cronin is the leading goal scorer back for the Tigers, with 11 goals last season and 25 for his career. Kai Daniells is next with eight tallies last season as a freshman. The goal number matches up closely with the overall points back as the Tigers return 144 of 245 points registered last season (59%).

COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT)
Ben Syer is the 18th head coach in program history and his 17 predecessors have had split results in terms of opening night success – going a combined 7-7-3 in their debuts behind the bench. The last Princeton head coach to win his debut was Len Quesnelle who guided the Tigers to a 3-1 win over Niagara on November 3, 2000 at Baker Rink. Since then, the next three head coaches have gone 0-1-2 in their debuts.

BORN TO RUN
Princeton has four seniors about to embark on their own "last chance power drive" in Noah de la Durantaye, Jack Cronin, Ethan Pearson and Alex Konovalov. They started their careers during a 2021-22 season which was full of starts and stops due to COVID-19 protocols and now have played 252 combined games with one appearance in the ECAC Quarterfinals. The four seniors on their roster are the fewest of any ECAC team and tied for second-fewest among all Division I teams. Only Northern Michigan (3) has fewer seniors than the Tigers.