Tigers shut out Dartmouth

With an impressive effort from junior goalie B.J. Sklapsky, the men's hockey team won its first league game of the season against Dartmouth on Friday night at Baker Rink. Sklapsky had 41 saves as the Tigers (2-2 overall, 1-1 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hockey League) went on to shut out the Big Green, 3-0. The following evening, however, Princeton dropped a 2-1 game to Harvard (2-1, 1-0).

Dartmouth (0-3) came out strong, testing Sklapsky early by taking a total of 14 shots on goal in the first period, 12 of which occurred in the first 12 minutes. Senior forward Patrick Neundorfer was called for a high-sticking penalty at one minute, 12 seconds. The penalty gave the Big Green a two-minute window in which Dartmouth took eight shots, three of which were on goal and saved by Sklapsky.

At the conclusion of this power play, the Tigers' junior goalie continued to be tested, picking up another three saves in the next two minutes.

A flurry of penalties changed the momentum in favor of Princeton starting at 14:02 in the second. The Big Green's Jon Grecu gave the Tigers a power play opportunity. Unable to capitalize immediately, Princeton found itself on the wrong end of a penalty call when junior forward Kevin Westgarth was given two minutes for slashing. The Tigers chose junior forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller to serve the penalty, which ended the power play and left a total of 10 men on the ice.

When Grecu returned, Dartmouth had a one-man advantage for a minute until Garret Overlock was called for interference, bringing the number of players on the ice back to 10. Twenty seconds later, at 17:38, Goeckner-Zoeller came back on the ice to give Princeton another power play. The Tigers took advantage of this opportunity as Goeckner-Zoeller drew first blood in the 19th minute off an assist from sophomore defender Mike Moore and senior forward Brian Carthas.

Princeton went the entire second period without scoring, but Sklapsky's nine saves maintained the Tigers' 1-0 lead.

With time running out, the Big Green stepped up their game in the third period, taking twice as many shots as it took in the second. Rallying behind Sklapsky's looming shutout, though, the Tigers answered this aggressive play with two more goals. Neundorfer scored the second goal of the game for Princeton in the sixth minute of the third period, assisted by sophomore forward Erik Pridham.

With one second left in the game, sophomore forward Keith Shattenkirk scored an empty-net goal, providing the final goal in the Tigers' 3-0 win.

Commenting on the first shutout of his career, Sklapsky was very humble, insisting on shining the light on his team.

"All I had to worry about was stopping the first shot," Sklapsky said. "The defense did a great job of stopping them from getting second looks. I can't really take credit for any of it."

Crimson too tough

Saturday night against Harvard was less thrilling for Princeton fans, as the Crimson defeated the Tigers, 2-1, in front of a packed Baker Rink.

Freshman forward Will Harvey scored the only goal of the game for Princeton. Harvey got his look on a power play after Harvard goaltender John Daigneau blocked a shot from junior defender Brett Westgarth and then another shot from junior forward Darroll Powe.

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The Tigers went into the third period with the game tied up at one. They were short a man as sophomore defender Mike Moore had been charged with slashing with 13 seconds left in the second period. The Crimson was unable to capitalize on this advantage, in the fourth minute Harvard's Jon Pelle scored, giving the Crimson the lead. Princeton was unable to come back from this deficit.

"I thought it was a pretty solid start to league play," Carthas said. "We definitely came out strong against Dartmouth on Friday. The difference Saturday was that we weren't able to put away some opportunities that we had."

As the Tigers prepare for Friday night's game against Union, they have to tie up a couple of loose ends in their game.

"This week in practice," Neundorfer said, "we will be focusing on quick transitions and moving the puck forward from defensemen to the offense."

Princeton has reason to be very optimistic about the season. Its recruiting class has already provided valuable contributions and should continue to do so. The team is gelling in a way that shows good potential for future success.

"The guys on the team are great," Harvey said. "I haven't been on a team like this before. It's not hard to figure out that you're pretty lucky to be on a team that is this close."

The Tigers will face off against Union in Schenectady, N.Y., on Friday at 7 p.m.