With two wins this weekend at Brown and Harvard, the men's hockey team could move into first place in the Eastern College Athletic Conference race.
With two losses, Princeton could fall to seventh.
The Tigers currently reside in a tie for fourth place in the ECAC, as one of seven teams within three points of the lead. As an indicator of what a close race it is, each of the teams has a winning percentage between .500 and .667.
"Especially since no team is really dominating right now, every single conference game has to be taken very seriously," sophomore forward Josh Roberts said.
The Tigers face both the top and the bottom of the league in the Crimson (6-7-1 overall, 5-3-1 ECAC), who lead the league with 11 points, and the Bears (2-9-0, 1-7-0), who are in the cellar with only two conference points in their first eight games. While it might seem as if Princeton would look past a struggling Brown tonight in anticipation of its contest in Cambridge tomorrow, the Tigers understand that any letdown could cost them when the playoffs start in March.
"Even a tie against Brown would be bad for us. We have to jump on them early and not let the game stay too close," Roberts said.
First thing's first
For Princeton, the top priority is to remain in the Top 5 of the ECAC in order to get a first-round playoff series at Baker Rink. If the Tigers were to win that series they would travel to Lake Placid, N.Y., for the ECAC Final Five.
"Staying in the top five is maybe the biggest thing for us this year considering we haven't proved that we can win away from home yet," Roberts said. "We do think we can win at home, though."
The Tigers will not be in the friendly confines of Baker Rink this weekend, however, as they embark on their third ECAC road trip.
The Crimson took advantage of an easy schedule in the first half of the season to earn its 11 points but has slumped recently by going 2-4-1 in its last seven games, including a loss at Brown. While the Crimson still holds the lead, senior netminder J.R. Prestifilippo must prove to be dominant for Harvard to hold on to the top spot and earn an automatic NCAA berth.
Contrasts
Tied for second with 10 points are Yale and Colgate. While the Tigers split with the Elis (6-4-2, 4-2-2) in a home-and-home series Nov. 19 and 23, they dominated the Red Raiders with a 5-1 win Dec. 4 at Baker Rink.
The Elis have exceeded expectations that had them finishing seventh in the ECAC, especially considering that their top forward Jeff Hamilton is out for the season with an injury.
Colgate (11-5-0, 5-3-0) had a seven-game winning streak going into the month of December before dropping its next two ECAC contests.
Princeton is tied for fourth with perennial league powerhouse St. Lawrence (9-5-1, 4-2-1), who started out the season 8-0-0 before slumping in December. The Tigers lost to the Saints, 3-1, Nov. 5 despite peppering St. Lawrence goalie Sean Coakley with 45 shots.
"St. Lawrence and Clarkson is always a tough away weekend with the crowds up there," head coach Don Cahoon said.
Tsunami
Also making waves this season in the ECAC is Renssalaer, who owns the ECAC's best winning percentage, and former doormat Union, who has surprised everyone this year by starting out at .500 in the league.
With all of these teams in contention for the title, the Tigers cannot take any of their ECAC games lightly. But the other league teams can't look past Princeton either. The Tigers have thus far exceeded expectations that placed them 11th in the preseason poll.
"People had mixed feelings about how we're going to do, but we've proved we can play with anyone," Roberts said.
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