Three-game win streak gives men's hockey high ECAC playoff hopes

With the disasterous mess that was the end of the Eastern College Athletic Conference men's hockey season now a memory, the playoffs can finally begin. The top ten teams from the 12-team conference made the cut, and it was not until last Saturday night that both Union and Vermont lost their playoff bids. Now the tournament begins. This weekend, all ten teams will be playing in a three-game series, in which the top team, Cornell, will host last-ranked Yale, ninth-ranked St. Lawrence goes to Clarkson and so on.

The end of the season resulted in a three-way tie for third place between Harvard, Dartmouth and Rensselaer and a three-way tie for sixth place between Princeton, Colgate and Brown. The tie-breaking procedure broke down to a comparison of results against top-five teams after comparing head-to-head game results of the tied teams. In the end, the Tigers received the sixth seed, Colgate seventh and Brown eighth. Similarly, Harvard received the third seed, Dartmouth the fourth, and RPI the fifth. With these results in, a showdown series was set up between Rensselaer and Princeton at the middle of the pack.

The middle of the pack is truly a spectacular position for the Tigers to find themselves in given where they were towards the end of the season.

With only the last weekend left to go, the points race was such that if Princeton would have lost one game, they still had the chance of being eliminated from playoff contention all together.

"We're all pretty happy about ending the season as high as we could," senior forward Dave Schneider said. "Especially after sweeping Brown and Harvard, everyone is just really happy with how we're playing and really excited about going into RPI."

This season, the Tigers and the Engineers have split, with each team winning at their opponents' rink. When Princeton went to RPI early in the season, the Tigers got a much-needed win, 4-2. However, when the Engineers visited Hobey Baker Rink, they avenged the earlier loss by winning 5-3.

"We played well here and outshot them nearly 2-1," Schneider said. "But silly mistakes by us allowed them to score five goals."

That loss came at a time when the Tigers were facing much inconsistency in their play. It was not until the final games of the season that they were able to sweep a weekend.

Finishing the season on a three game winning streak (finishing 4-0-1 in the last two weekends) has certainly boosted the confidence of the team. However, Princeton finds itself in much the same situation it did last weekend.

"It's do or die," senior forward David Del Monte said. "If we lost last weekend we wouldn't be here, and if we lose this weekend, the season's over. But we have the added confidence of a good weekend and we're all pretty excited about this weekend."

Since the last time these two teams matched up, the Tigers have continued to develop as a team. Defensive play is now the anchor of the team, as exhibited in the first Princeton shutout of Harvard in 50 years.

"Our defensive play is definitley the key to winning any important game," Del Monte said. "It has come a long way from the beginning of the season to the point that we're pretty adept at it."

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The Engineers bring a skilled offensive attack to the ice. Junior forward Marc Cavosie currently leads the conference in total points with 46 and goals with 21. Skating close behind him is senior teammate Matt Murley with 38 total points and 20 goals. With these two leading RPI's offense, any opponent needs its best defense on the ice to counteract the strong duo.

"They have a lot of skilled forwards and they're a pretty good offensive team," Del Monte said. "With our defensive strength, I think that's a good match-up."

That defensive strength is defined by senior goaltender Dave Stathos. After stoning the entire Crimson squad on Saturday and making a career-high 44 saves in the tie to Dartmouth the week before, he will be relied on to take care of the Engineer duo's flurry of shots.

The key to a successful weekend for Princeton will be the team's stamina. While the last two weekends of the season have shown consitenly good play from the Tigers, this weekend will be the greatest test the team has faced all season — playing the same team for a possible three consecutive nights.

"We feel we match up pretty well against them," Schneider said. "Obivously, it all depends on how well we play. If we limit our mistakes and play well defensively, I think we will be successful."