Men's hockey to host top, bottom of conference talent

Many of the fans who show up at Baker Rink tonight for the men's hockey matchup between Princeton (2-3-1 overall, 2-2-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) and Union College (5-5, 4-0) will be eagerly anticipating the "Skate with the Tigers" promotion that is scheduled to take place after the game. Before that, though, they will get a chance to see whether or not their beloved Tigers are good enough to skate with the league-leading Dutchmen.

While this weekend will also see the team take on the 11th-place Rensselaer Engineers (5-5-1, 1-3-0) in a game Saturday evening, the true test for Princeton should come in the first game.

Although Union was predicted in the pre-season polls to dwell with Princeton among the bottom-feeders of the ECACHL, they have jumped out ahead of the pack early.

At the very least, it seems the Union squad has shown itself to be superior to its traveling partner, Rensselaer. The Dutchmen swept the home-and-home series between the two teams last weekend, with a 3-2 home win following a 5-4 victory on the road. Still, the close margins of those victories, as well as the fact that league powerhouses Cornell and Colgate have played only two league games apiece, may indicate that Union's early lead is a bit misleading.

Princeton, meanwhile, finds itself in a five-way tie for fourth place in the ECACHL, coming off a split of last weekend's games against Ivy League opponents Brown and Harvard. Between the 5-1 victory over the Bears and the 8-6 loss at the hands of the Crimson, Princeton totaled 11 goals — the team's highest weekend output in its last decade of league play.

Fittingly, Princeton's opponents on that high-scoring weekend ten years ago were Union and Rensselaer. On top of that, the team's offense is quickly developing into its strength. The Tigers' 21 goals through six games match the total output of last year's squad through 11 games.

Star sophomore forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller leads the team in points with 10 (four goals, six assists). His points-per-game average of 1.67 is good enough for sixth highest in the nation. Junior forwards Dustin Sproat and Patrick Neundorfer, both of whom have tallied 5 goals, fill out the Tiger offensive attack.

A glance at the ECACHL leader-board suggests that both of this weekend's games could easily turn into shootouts. In league play, Union is tops in both total goals scored (18) and goals per game (4.5).

No other player in the nation has scored more goals than Union captain Jordan Webb, who has 10.

The one player who has equaled Webb's goal total, however, plays for Rensselaer: junior Kirk MacDonald. Two Engineers — forwards Nick Economakos and Kevin Croxton — are also tied for second in the nation in assists, with 13 apiece.

For Princeton to beat Union, they will have to crack freshman goalie Justin Mrazek, a draftee of the NHL's Washington Capitals in 2004 who owns the fifth-lowest goals against average in the country (1.52).

In order for the Tigers to beat Rensselaer in the second game, it would behoove them to simply keep as many men as possible on the ice. Princeton leads the ECACHL in penalty minutes per game (26.8), while the Engineers have scored more goals on the power play (10) than any other team in the league.