Princeton University Athletics
Men's Hockey Travels to Penn State & Hosts US Under-18 This Weekend
| Game 13: Princeton at No. 16 Penn State |
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| Gametime | Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:07 p.m. / Pegula Ice Arena l Tickets |
| Game Coverage | Live Video l Live Stats |
| Twitter: @PUTigers_Live | |
| Series Info | First Meeting |
| Records | Princeton (4-8);Penn State (10-2-3) |
| Princeton | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @PUhockey l Game Notes |
| Penn State |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @PennStateMHKY l Game Notes |
| Exhibition Game: US Under-18 Team at Princeton |
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| Gametime | Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. / Hobey Baker Rink l Tickets |
| Game Coverage | Live Video l Live Stats l @PUTigers_Live |
PRINCETON, N.J. (12/9/15) - Princeton and Penn State will meet for the first time this Friday night as the Tigers travel to Happy Valley for a 7:07 p.m., game. The next night Princeton hosts the US Under-18 team in an exhibition game at Hobey Baker Rink. Game time is at 7 p.m.
EYE ON THE TIGERS
Princeton is 4-8 overall and coming off of a road sweep of Brown and Yale. The Tigers have beaten the last two nationally ranked squads they have played, including No. 10 Yale and No. 20 Clarkson. Princeton is 3-5 in the ECAC and has won its last three league games. Sporting the nation’s fourth-best penalty kill at 90%, the team has allowed just four power-play goals this season.
Freshman Ryan Kuffner has been the leading scorer for the second straight week. He has eight points on four goals and four assist. Sophomore David Hallisey has seven points on a team-best five helpers and two goals. Sophomore Eric Robinson and freshman Max Véronneau have four goals and one assist apiece. Last weekend, five players had multiple points led by junior Ryan Siiro who had two goals and one assist. Junior Garrett Skrbich tallied two goals, while senior Kyle Rankin, senior Tommy Davis and sophomore Joe Grabowski had two assists each. Junior Colton Phinney has every decision in net, with a .940 save percentage, seventh best in the country, and a 2.38 goals against average. This past weekend he stopped 73 of 77 shots in the sweep.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State is off to a 10-2-3 start and ranked No. 16 in the latest USCHO poll. All but two of those games have been non-conference, as the thick of the Big 10 schedule begins in the New Year. The Nittany Lions are unbeaten in their last eight games (6-0-2), with their last loss coming to St. Lawrence on Oct. 30, a 4-2 game. Most recently the team swept Michigan State at home. Penn State has the fourth best scoring offense in the country, averaging 4.27 goals per game, while allowing 2.27 gpg. It’s power play, ranked second nationally at 28.8% (19/66) will meet the nation’s fourth-best penalty kill in Princeton.
Senior Kenny Brooks leads the team in scoring with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points. Both senior Curtis Loik and junior David Goodwin have 15 points on four goals and 11 helpers. Freshman Chase Berger, younger brother of Princeton alum Jack Berger ’13, is next in the scoring column with a team-high nine goals and five assists. Freshman Andrew Sturtz chips in eight goals and five assists for 13 points. Penn State uses two goaltenders, junior Eamon McAdam (NYI) and Matthew Skoff. McAdam is 7-1 with a .933 save percentage and a .201 GAA. Skoff is 3-1-3 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.58 GAA.
THE PRINCETON/PENN STATE SERIES
This is the first meeting between two teams. Penn State is coached by former Princeton head coach Guy Gadowsky. Gadowsky was head coach at Princeton from 2004-11 and led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009 and an ECAC Championship in 2009. He left Princeton after guiding the team to five straight home playoff series. While at Princeton he coached two ECAC and Ivy Players of the Year, who were also Hobey Baker candidates as well as a Hockey Humanitarian.