M. hockey heads north for ECAC games with Vermont, Dartmouth

It is often said that the first win is the hardest to get.

The men's hockey team, having cleared that hurdle with its 4-3 victory over Rensselaer last Saturday, hopes that this old adage holds true as it travels north this weekend. The Tigers will take on Vermont and Dartmouth in two important Eastern College Athletic Conference games. Princeton (1-5-0 overall, 1-3-0 ECAC) will first tussle with the Catamounts.

Last season, the Tigers defeated Vermont in both contests. The first time the two teams played, they traded scores back and forth in a wild third period that featured five goals and eventually resulted in a 5-4 Princeton win.

The second game was more conventional as the Tigers scored four straight goals for a 4-2 victory after falling behind early.

The game is very winnable for Princeton, as Vermont (3-5-2, 1-3-0) is not the ECAC power that it was 10 years ago.

Like the Tigers, however, the Catamounts' record may belie their talent.

Vermont has not shied away from challenging itself this season. The Catamounts opened their season with games against Northeastern, 2002 Frozen Four participant New Hampshire, Boston University and Boston College. The latter three teams are currently ranked Nos. 1, 3 and 2, respectively, in the Hockey East Conference.

Vermont then began its ECAC season by playing the top three teams in the league — Brown, Harvard and Cornell. The Catamounts got their first league victory in a 3-1 win over Colgate — a team the Tigers lost to due to a lackluster work effort.

Most encouraging for Princeton is Vermont's 8-0 loss to Cornell. Though the Tigers lost to Colgate, they put up a solid effort the next night against the Big Red and left Cornell with a respectable 3-0 loss.

Friday's game will take place at Vermont's Gutterson Fieldhouse on an ice surface larger than the Tigers are used to. While the ice at Baker Rink measures 200 ft. by 80 ft., the ice at Gutterson Fieldhouse is 10 feet wider at 200x90.

"The wider ice surface will give us an opportunity to use our speed and creativity," head coach Len Quesnelle '88 said.

After the Tigers play Vermont, they will head east to take on ECAC and Ivy rival Dartmouth.

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The Big Green are coming off their most important win of the season — a 5-2 victory over Cornell last Saturday.

Dartmouth goalie Nick Boucher stood on his head in the third period, as the the then No. 6 team in the nation out-shot his squad, 16-2, in the period.

The Big Green (3-3-0, 2-2-0) have beaten the teams they were supposed to in this young season — such as a 6-2 victory over Colgate — while losing to league frontrunners Harvard and Brown.

In order to beat them this Saturday, the Tigers will have to use some of the lessons they learned last weekend.

"I think from Friday's game against Union to Saturday's against RPI, we had a different level of focus," Quesnelle said.

"The loss to Union got our attention in a hurry as to where our focus needs to be. I think every team in the league is very competitive, and every night you need to bring your best effort."

Princeton will rely on the efforts of players such as sophomore forward Neil Stevenson-Moore. Stevenson-Moore leads the team in scoring with three goals, and netting two in the Tigers' game against Rensselaer.