Men's hockey splits two league games

After eight conference weekends, the story is still the same for the men's hockey team. In all but one weekend this season, Princeton has notched two points in the standings in two games against league rivals.

Friday and Saturday were no different for the Tigers (8-14-3 overall, 7-9-2 East-ern College Athletic Conference). The Tigers were shut out by Rensselaer, 1-0, before rediscovering their offense to rout Union, 7-2, the next night. Princeton now finds itself in a familiar place — one of five teams slugging it out for four playoff spots.

"We played a pretty good game [against RPI]," senior forward Shane Campbell said. "Their goalie played well, but we just couldn't get any shots on net. We had about 50 shots, but just [23] were on goal."

Princeton came out with a conservative style of play in Friday's game, having been burned for six goals the last time it played RPI, and the teams remained locked in a scoreless tie through two periods.

With just ten minutes, 32 seconds remaining in regulation, the Engineers' Conrad Barnes beat junior goalie Dave Stathos for his first goal of the season. Princeton's scorers could not answer RPI (14-12-2, 8-8-2) and went down to defeat on the road.

Princeton's offensive potency rallied against the Dutchmen (11-14-3, 7-10-1), continuing the Tiger tradition of splitting the weekend slate.

Princeton's scoring attack struck early and often, as the Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the second period and held on for an easy victory.

Senior captain and forward Kirk Lamb had four assists on the night, giving him 30 for the season, while Campbell had the opening goal, which was scored on a power play, and notched two assists. Sophomore forward George Parros added two assists, and junior defenseman David Schneider scored a goal and added an assist.

In goal, Stathos made 32 saves, while Union used two different goalies in an attempt to slow the Tiger attack. But nothing worked against a determined Princeton offense.

"Lots of guys realized how desperate we were to get a win," Campbell said. "We were able to turn a high level of preparation into a good first period."

The Tigers needed a win against the Dutchmen to keep pace with other ECAC rivals in the end-of-season dash to the playoffs. Ten teams advance to the league's tournament.

Princeton, with 16 points, is tied for seventh in the league with Yale and Vermont. All three teams are just two points behind RPI, and each holds a slim one point lead over Colgate and Union, tied for tenth place.

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One of these teams will be left out of the playoffs, and with only four games remaining in the season, each contest is crucial.

"Winning two out of the four games will probably make it," Campbell said.

If that is true, it should be good news for the Tigers. The one constant for Princeton this year — winning one of two games per weekend — should allow it to qualify for the ECAC tournament.