Uncertainty will keep Sunday's game exciting for both players and fans, as the men's hockey team takes on the U.S. National Under-18 Team in an exhibition game at Baker Rink at 3 p.m.
The Tigers (5-14-1 overall, 5-7-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference) will have the advantage of an older roster and consequently more experience, as well as physically stronger players, entering the contest.
"There is going to be more strength on our team, and that will lend itself to neutralizing their skill," freshman forward Kevin Westgarth said.
The Under-18 Team (17-15-3) has a roster of 25 of the most talented junior hockey players in America, and despite their youth, they come with international experience and topnotch coaching. The purpose of the development program is to prepare athletes for participation on U.S. National Teams and to cultivate their future hockey careers.
'The little things'
"They're young guys, and so we have a lot of experience on them," junior forward Mike Patton said. "We have to do the little things right, and we'll be fine."
Those little things include moving the puck, finding the open man, using the boards and taking the body.
Last weekend, Princeton proved the importance of such details during a weekend homestand against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Both contests moved into overtime, resulting in a tie and loss, respectively.
Despite their efforts, the weekend only yielded one point for the Tigers, causing them to slip in the ECAC rankings from their previous No. 4 slot to No. 9.
However, the Tigers will have had two weeks to rest up and recover from an intense holiday schedule — a mixed blessing for the team.
"It kind of goes both ways," senior captain and defender Steve Slaton said. "On one hand we haven't been practicing as a team or been able to work on team stuff, but at the same time, we've had a lot of guys that have had minor injuries so it was good for them to rest up."
Princeton can look forward to Sunday's contest as a pressure-free warm-up for the final leg of conference games ahead, which will see the Tigers play nine conference games in five weeks.
"We're still going to have to take it seriously," Westgarth said. "But hopefully we are still going to have a lot of fun."
The Under-18 Team will be thinking of the game in a similar fashion, as a tuneup of sorts for their Five Nations tournament in Porri, Finland, the following week.
The match-up
The Under-18 team is lethal on special teams and is efficient at creating scoring opportunities. The team's offense is built around a few key players. Among them is Brandon Scero, who leads the team with 10 goals, including three game-winners. Also, valuable for his versatility and support on offense with numerous goals and assists is Bryan Lerg, who leads the team in points.
Diffusing the American team's offense, the Tigers will look to continue strong defensive play. Led by Slaton, the Princeton defense has the skill and depth of players to stave off the opposition's offense provided the Tigers maintain solid passing and smart checking.
Both teams' defenses are solidified by strong goaltending. However, the goalie situation is another question mark waiting to be resolved for Princeton, which has recently been favoring freshman B.J. Sklapsky over sophomore Eric Leroux. Regardless of who head coach Len Quesnelle '88 decides to start, both goalies have proved quick and reliable under pressure.
Generating scoring opportunities will be the challenge for the Tigers. Chronically outshot, the team showed signs of improvement during the St. Lawrence/Clarkson weekend, moving and creating opportunities.
That same weekend, glimpses of the momentum that the team had accumulated before Winter Break were beginning to be seen again.
"We learned that we put two pretty solid games in," Patton said. "We have to develop that winning attitude now because we know we can win."
Shooting, working hard and having confidence will be the keys to victory for the Tigers during the remainder of the season.
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