Men's Hockey Opens ECAC Playoffs At Harvard

Friday, March 8

Cambridge, Mass.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

Harvard

Tickets

Photo by: Erica Denhoff

March 07, 2024 | Men's Ice Hockey

Princeton at Harvard
March 8 3 | 7 p.m. | Bright-Landry Center
ESPN+ | International Stream | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Notes

TIGERS AND CRIMSON MEET IN PLAYOFFS FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
Princeton and Harvard had not met in the playoffs prior to last year since the 2010 ECAC First Round, a 2-0 series win for the Crimson at Hobey Baker Rink. Last year, the Crimson swept the Tigers in the Quarterfinals by matching scores of 6-1. The Tigers are 0-3 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 1-6 all-time, with the lone victory a 4-1 win in the 2008 ECAC Championship Game in Albany.

"TOP TEN" TIGERS
Princeton has made a habit of appearing on SportsCenter's Top-10 Plays over the past two years. Tiger players have made five appearances on the nightly highlight reel dating back to last season, with Ian Murphy's appearance at #1 on March 2 the pinnacle.

The appearance was Murphy's second of the season -- he was #6 after combining with David Jacobs for a pretty play on January 6.

Adam Robbins has made two appearances over the past two seasons, coming in at #5 on November 11 following his OT winner against Yale this season and taking the #4 spot on January 7, 2023 after a penalty shot goal against Harvard.

Aidan Porter earned the #6 play on March 11, 2023 following his sliding save against Harvard in the ECAC Playoffs last year.

CARDIAC CATS
So far through 29 games this season, Princeton has reached overtime nine times, with another decided by one goal with under 1:00 left in regulation. The Tigers have won five of their nine overtime games during the 5:00 OT period and claimed the shootouts over Harvard and Union in official shootouts held.

Overall, the Tigers are 5-0-4 when games reach OT. There are five teams in the country without a loss in overtime this season and none of those teams have played more OT games than Princeton's nine.

The NCAA Record for OT wins in a season is 7 -- set by the 2011 Minnesota Duluth team and matched by Omaha this season. Nine teams in the history of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey have won six OT games in a season -- including Clarkson, Arizona State and Ferris State this season. The 2023-24 Princeton Tigers are one of 18 teams to win five OT games in a season -- including Colorado College as well this season.

One more OT win for Princeton this season will match the ECAC record for OT wins in a season currently held by Colgate (2008-09) and Cornell (1985-86) and tied this year by Clarkson.

THE MURPH
For the second year in a row, Ian Murphy is the top returning scorer on the team. After posting 9-10-19 numbers in 2021-22, he tallied 15-14-29 last season to lead Princeton in goals, assists, and points. This year, he is just under a point-per-game player (11-12-23) to start the season with points in 17 of his 24 games -- including a seven-game point streak (2g, 6a) from 11/18-12/9. He missed five games with an injury suffered at Cornell but has 9 points in his six games since returning -- including a 6-point (3g, 3a) weekend at Yale and Brown which included a hat trick at Yale.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Ian Murphy enters this weekend with 71 career points (35g, 36a) in 79 games. His 69 career points rank No. 42 all-time and No. 7 by a player who has played just three seasons.

JACK ATTACK
Jack Cronin struck for five PPGs and was second on the team with 12 goals overall last year. He scored 10 more goals last year than he did in his freshman season, and his 12-point growth from 2021-22 to 2022-23 was the most of any player on the team.

Cronin's 25 career goals are second-most by an active Princeton player.

DE LA SOUL
Junior defenseman Noah de la Durantaye tallied a career-high 17 points last season, up from 10 as a rookie in 2021-22. He leads all returning defensemen in goals (4), assists (13) and points (17).

This season, he has 18 points (3g, 15a) in 28 games played and has points in 8 of his last 12 games (2g, 7a).

GORMAN FAMILY SCORING RACE
Sophomore Brendan Gorman has chased down his older brother, Liam (Class of 2023), and father, Sean (Class of 1991) on his family's all-time scoring leader list.
1. Brendan Gorman -- 43 pts. (12g, 31a) in 59 games
2. Liam Gorman -- 36 pts. (16g, 20a) in 91 games
3. Sean Gorman -- 23 pts (5g, 18a) in 99 games

ABOUT ADAM
Over his first 49 games of college hockey, Adam Robbins tallied 15 points (5g, 10a, 0.3ppg). Since then, he has registered 43 points in 60 games played (16g, 26a, 0.7ppg).

He has a career-high 29 points (11g, 18a) through 29 games this season, also setting career highs in goals and assists. He enters the game with points in 18 of his last 22 games, tallying 25 points (10g, 15a) in that span.

Robbins scored the OTGWG against Yale, landing at #5 on that evening's Sportscenter Top-10 Plays -- the second time in his career he landed on the #SCtop10 following a penalty shot goal against Harvard on 1/6/23 which was #4.

Robbins enters the weekend No. 10 in the country and No. 2 in the ECAC with 369 faceoff wins. He is 66-for-107 (.617) over his last four games.

SETTING SEITZ
Another NYC product had a standout 2022-23 in Nick Seitz. Last year, he connected for a then career-high 15 points (9g, 6a) in 28 games after tallying 11 points (3g, 8a) over his first 56 games. He has 23 points (5g, 18a) in 29 games this season, including 3-assist games at Dartmouth (11/4), against Harvard (12/30) and at Yale (2/23).

Seitz rides a five-game point streak into this weekend, talling 8 points (1g, 7a) over that span.

CARABIN CARRIES HIS WEIGHT
Assistant captain Nick Carabin stepped into a larger role last season as a junior and delivered with a career-high 11 points (1g, 10a) in 32 games after registering just one assist in 21 games during the 2021-22 season.

He has 17 points (5g, 12a) in 26 games this season, and had a five-game point streak snapped against St. Lawrence last weekend.

KD ON THE PP
Freshman Kai Daniells ranks No. 6 in the ECAC and No. 46 in the nation with five PPGs -- a number which is No. 9 among freshmen in the country.

DJ SPINS GOLD
David Jacobs had 15 points (5g, 10a) as a freshman last year over 32 games. He had five different one-goal games, and is looking for his first career multi-goal game.

To start this season, Jacobs has 24 points (7g, 17a) including 3-point games against Yale ((1g, 2a) in November and St. Lawrence (1g, 1a) last weekend. He was 14-for-18 on faceoffs against Army after being just 24-for-50 over his previous 51 college hockey games.