Men's hockey takes on Harvard and Brown in ECAC showdowns

For most students the weekend is a time to relax, recuperate and recharge. That does not describe the prospects for the members of the men's hockey team. After facing last weekend's formidable foes, Colgate and Cornell, the Tigers travel north to Cambridge, Mass., and Providence R.I., to face Harvard and Brown.

Playing the nearly unanimous coaches' and media preseason pick to win the Eastern College Athletic Conference title, the Tigers face a daunting obstacle in Harvard (1-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 ECAC) on Friday night. The Crimson had their first 20-win season last year, accompanied by back-to-back appearances in the ECAC finals and NCAA Tournament. After losing only four players to graduation, Harvard has the experience and talent to be the team to beat in the ECAC.

The Crimson were stunned, however, by a 2-0 loss in their season opener against Brown, the Tigers' opponent on Saturday. While Harvard returned to form with a 6-3 win over Vermont and a hard-fought 2-2 tie against Dartmouth, its players have not lived up to the high expectations placed on them after last year's success.

Princeton is 3-0-1 in its last four games at Harvard over the past four seasons. Last year, the Tigers shocked the No. 12 Crimson by a 2-1 score to gain their third, and final, win of the season.

Senior forward Chris Owen scored both of Princeton's goals, but he reserved optimism when talking about this year's meeting.

"Last year was a great win for us, but this year, we're a different team and so are they," Owen said. "I think we need to focus more on what we do well instead of what they do. To win, we're going to have to play a solid overall game."

In order to generate another impressive performance this year, Princeton must shut down Harvard's powerhouse offense, led by preseason all-ECAC forward Tim Pettit and center Tom Cavanagh. Pettit led the conference in scoring last year with a career best 17 goals, seven of which were netted on the power play. He also accumulated another career best, 30 assists, five of which came in the Crimson's 6-3 win at Princeton last season. Cavanagh was Harvard's most consistent scorer last season, with point scoring streaks of nine and ten consecutive games, and has already tallied two on the season. Senior captain Kenny Smith and junior Noah Welch anchor the blueline corps for Harvard and provide a strong network of support in front of junior goalie Dov Grumet-Morris. He has secured the role of primary goalie after a breakout sophomore performance, highlighted by a .925 save percentage and a goals against average 2.38. He has, however, not been dominating so far this year, demonstrating a tendency to be beaten by shots up high.

Brown (2-1-0, 2-1-0) was picked to finish fourth in the ECAC. The Bears' play early this season shows their determination to prove the experts wrong. After the team's upset win against Harvard, it fell to a persistent Dartmouth team, 3-1, and then came back to beat Vermont, 3-1. The key for Princeton is to find some way to crack the almost impenetrable shield betweeen the pipes, senior goalie Yann Danis.

Danis has been dazzling on the year, accumulating 74 saves in the three games. He added to his record of nine career shutouts as a Bear with the win against Harvard. He was named to the preseason all-ECAC team with good reason — not only were his .929 save percentage and 2.32 GAA impressive statistics, but he also holds records in the ECAC for saves in a single-season and saves in a career. He has been the stalwart of this Brown team.

The Bears return this season with six of their top ten scorers, including the assistant captains, senior Brent Robinson and junior Les Haggett. As the top two point scorers, with 38 and 33 points respectively, they were Brown's first two 30-point scorers since 1995. However, it has been junior forwards Chris Swon and Mike Meech who have been the goto players so far this year.

Although Princeton has been working on improving forechecking, powerplay, and defensive zone coverage, it recognizes that it is the way the team responds to the pressure applied by the opposition that will determine its success. Coming off a weekend in which the Tigers showcased both their promise and their flaws, they will need to establish themselves early as physical forces and scoring threats.

"It's a read and react sport," head coach Len Quesnelle '88 said. "So we need to take care of ourselves and implementing our systems effectively."