Gadowsky brings progress to men's hockey in first year at helm

The men's hockey program entered the 2004-05 season with a drastically altered image. Princeton sported a newly refurbished home ice and a brand new head coach, Guy Gadowsky. The Tigers' record improved, too — but not quite as much as they might have hoped it would.

Despite an Eastern College Athletic Association Hockey League-leading 27 points from junior forward Dustin Sproat, the Tigers (8-20-3 overall, 11-12-1 ECACHL) were just barely able to eclipse their six wins of the previous season with eight this year.

Two of those wins, however, came in impressive victories over ECACHL power and Ivy rival Dartmouth. Princeton's first win of the season came against the Big Green in a 3-0 shutout, in which junior goaltender Eric Leroux made 39 saves.

The Tigers got their most exciting win of the season just two weeks later in Baker Rink, when they defeated ECACHL opponent Rensselaer, 3-2. After blowing a 2-0 lead, Princeton drew a power play late in the third period with the score knotted at two. Senior defenseman Luc Paquin fired a shot at goal that bounced off the post and right into the stick of junior forward Patrick Neundorfer, who was able to feed the puck past the Rensselaer goalie.

In addition to Sproat, Paquin and sophomore defenseman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller were both among the top ten point scorers in the league. The increased offensive output this year was undoubtedly due to the emphasis Gadowsky put on opening up the ice to create scoring opportunities.

"I think it's hockey that we all like to watch," Gadowsky said.

This was a shift away from Princeton's defense-oriented play of the past, and while there was an improvement in goal scoring, the defense clearly suffered. The Tigers were outscored 120-81 on the year, and finished second to last in the ECACHL in goals allowed. These statistics would have been far worse if not for Leroux. Sharing time in goal with sophomore goalie B.J. Sklapsky and freshman Jeff Mansfield, Leroux made 668 saves on the year for a .909 save percentage while allowing 3.19 goals per game.

Gadowsky understands that some work is needed on defense.

"We want to stick with our philosophy offensively but we obviously want to get a little better defensively," he said.

Princeton also benefited from a special guest: Philadelphia Flyers' head coach Ken Hitchcock assisted the team while the National Hockey League was locked out.

"I think the highlight of the season was the opportunity for our student athletes and our coaches to work so closely with Ken Hitchcock," Gadowsky said.

The Tigers lose three seniors and a junior heading into next season. Defenseman Jesse Masear, Paquin and Stevenson-Moore will be graduating, while junior Sproat has run out of eligibility. Gadowsky will look to incoming freshman Brett Wilson to help fill the void left by Sproat, but understands that, in reality, it will take a committee of players to replace Sproat's production.