Slumping men's hockey lacking offensive spark

In men's ice hockey's 3-1 loss to Northeastern Tuesday night, backup junior goalie Nate Nomeland played a perfect first period in goal. After 20 minutes, with the Tigers up, 1-0, it looked promising for Princeton, as Nomeland made save after save to give the Tigers the lead against a team they hadn't beaten since the 1975-1976 season. It seemed as if the Tigers might have found the answer to their recent woes in Nomeland. But after Northeastern scored three unanswered goals in the final two periods against an offensively flat Princeton squad, and Princeton squandered a two-man advantage in the final minutes, it became clear that scoring, and not goaltending, was what the Tigers really need.

Since the team scored a season-high five goals on its way to a one-goal victory against Vermont Nov. 11, it has scored five goals in four games on its way to one win – in overtime against Yale last Tuesday – and three losses, while its opponents have netted 19 goals.

Though it is true that Princeton cannot expect to win games where it gives up five or more goals — as it did in its 5-2 loss to Dartmouth and 6-1 loss to Yale in the last week and a half — it also cannot expect to win games where it only scores one or two goals.

Tuesday night's loss to Northeastern was the kind of game that Princeton could have won. Nomeland was strong in net, and the Tigers got their share of opportunities. But after senior defenseman David Schneider put the Tigers up, 1-0, in the first period, Northeastern stormed back with three unanswered goals. Unable to score in the final two periods, Princeton seemed to seal its own fate just as it has done many times this season.

It was as if Princeton's offense was challenged to score with time winding down in the third when two quick Northeastern penalties gave the Tigers a two-man advantage for 50 seconds. A quick goal would have put Princeton within just one goal and would have kept the team on the power play for over a minute.

In a flurry of plays, however, Princeton not only couldn't put the puck past the Huskies' freshman goalkeeper Keni Gibson, but failed to register a shot. Skating five men to Northeastern's three, Princeton's power play was led by Schneider, who controlled the puck at the point. Faking the shot on net, he quickly fired a slap shot pass to senior forward David Del Monte in front of the net. Surprised, Del Monte was unable to control the first pass, and it raced to the boards.

Schneider tried the same exact play to Del Monte two other times over the next 30 seconds, with each ending in failure. On the final attempt, Del Monte's stick blade broke and the puck was cleared. Princeton once again missed a chance to score.

Part of the offensive problem was the opposing goaltending. Tuesday night Princeton faced a freshman goalie who won the game for the Huskies by stopping 29 of 30 shots.

"We outshot Northeastern," head coach Len Quesnelle '88 said. "We're getting our chances. But we're having tough luck around the net."

In a game of momentum, however, where a goal — or a missed one — might be the difference between a win or a loss, Princeton has been missing more goals than it has been scoring.

At Yale last Saturday, with Princeton down, 1-0, the Tigers had a breakaway while Yale was on the power play. A goal would not only have tied the score, but also given the Tigers momentum. But Princeton could not convert on the scoring chance, and Yale proceeded to explode for five more goals on its way to a 6-1 blowout.

One might say that the recent offensive slump could be attributed to Princeton's offense being in the midst of a recovery period. Its biggest offensive threat for this season, senior Brad Parsons, is injured. The team is also sorely missing its offensive heart — forwards Kirk Lamb, Chris Corrinet, and Shane Campbell — from last season, all players that graduated last year and were the first, second, and fourth leading scorers on the team, respectively.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The recovery might take awhile, but there is still much hope for the team in its remaining 20 games.

"Good things will happen," Quesnelle said. "Sooner or later we'll have our share."

The team has reason to be optimistic. The Tigers' most promising offensive hopes are grouped together on a freshman line featuring Neil Stevenson-Moore, Mike Patton, and James Fitzpatrick. These players will look to fill the shoes of the graduating scorers from last season.

The freshman line looked especially strong in the Tigers' sloppy 5-4 victory against Vermont, in which Stevenson-Moore scored two goals, including the game winner, and assisted on Fitzpatrick's goal. With experience, these young players will only improve.

Parsons, third in the team in points last season, is also expected to return to the lineup within the next week.