Men's Hockey

The men’s and women’s hockey teams each have a pair of big ECAC matchups on tap, as they will both face Brown and Yale this Friday and Saturday.

With fewer than five minutes remaining on the clock in the men’s hockey team’s home matchup Friday night against Clarkson, senior forward Rob Kleebaum drew a tough tripping penalty. The Golden Knights (8-15-7 overall, 7-8-3 ECAC), fighting desperately for the go-ahead goal that would break the 2-2 score line, mounted a high-pressure attack on the power play. Following several nifty passes through the Tiger defense, Clarkson forward T.J. Moor found himself in a one-on-one with Princeton junior goaltender Sean Bonar. Moor’s calmly slotted shot from a few feet out on the left beat Bonar across the goal mouth to the top right, lifting the Golden Knights to a 3-2 lead over the Tigers with only 3:07 left on the clock.

The goaltending tandem of senior Mike Condon and junior Sean Bonar may provide the highest excitement factor on the ice this weekend. After rehabilitating themselves on the road last weekend, the men’s hockey team (9-10-4 overall, 7-6-3 ECAC) returns home to Baker Rink for the beginning of a final, back-to-back home series. Unprepared for Clarkson, whom they will play again Friday, and St. Lawrence, whom they play Saturday, in the first road stretch back in November, the Tigers have ample reasons to be excited and confident going into the rematches. The source of their prowess begins right between the pipes.

The Class of 2011 won more games than any other in the history of the men’s hockey program, but the season ended on a sour note for the most tenured Tigers. Princeton’s season came to a surprising end in the first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament, as St. Lawrence won the final two games of the best-of-three series to upset Princeton at Baker Rink.

Bob Prier will be the next head coach of the men’s hockey team, the athletics department announced in a release on Monday afternoon.