Princeton to play first home conference games

After an unremarkable start to the season, the men's hockey team will have its first home conference games this weekend, looking to build on its recent success.

Coming off their first Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hockey League (ECACHL) victory last Saturday — a 3-2 upset win against Clarkson — the Tigers will look to gather momentum as they head into the heart of the season. The team will face off against No. 12 Cornell tonight at 7 p.m. at Baker Rink, and Colgate on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Standing with a 1-4-1 record (1-3-0 ECACHL) thus far, the Tigers have had an underwhelming start to the season, but have more than enough time to make up ground.

"We have not been happy about the results," senior forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller said. "But we have played well in parts of games. Now we just have to put it together."

Indeed, all of the team's six games have either been decided by one goal or ended in a tie, and half have gone into overtime. Unfortunately for the Tigers, most of those games have not gone in their favor.

"We feel pretty good and have yet to lose a game by more than one goal," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "But playing well and learning how to win close games are two different things."

Led by Gadowsky and senior captain Darroll Powe, Princeton will look to build off its win over Clarkson, a team that the Tigers had not previously beaten in nearly eight years.

"After our last win [against Clarkson], we do have some more confidence," Goeckner-Zoeller said. "This weekend should be a good test."

The weekend's games, however, will be no easy task for the Tigers; both teams were ranked higher than the Princeton squad at the outset of the season, and both are traditional powerhouses.

"They're going to be tough, but they certainly won't catch us by surprise," Gadowsky said.

"Hopefully, we'll win both of them," Goeckner-Zoeller said.

First up for the Tigers is tonight's game against Cornell (5-1-0, 3-1-0 ECACHL), a team that was only just handed its first loss a week ago against Dartmouth.

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"We have to be ready to play and get off to a good start," Gadowsky said. "They're a tough team to come back on so we can't be caught down."

"The Cornell game is usually the most intense of the year," senior Kevin Westgarth said. "They always bring a huge fan base."

Saturday night's matchup against Colgate (3-6-2, 0-3-1 ECACHL) will also be a trying one for the Tiger squad. Despite their underwhelming record thus far, the Raiders remain a dangerous team, picked to finish first in the ECACHL this year in both the coaches and media polls.

"They haven't gotten the results they wanted yet, but they have the talent," Gadowsky said. "The league is holding its breath to see when they catch fire."

"If the past is any indication, watch Tyler Burton," he added. "He's an excellent hockey player and can win games almost on his own."

If this weekend's games prove to be tight matchups, as they are expected to be, the Tigers must find a way to turn their history of close losses into close wins.

"We have been doing some things well," Gadowsky said. "We got a nice performance from our goalie [freshman Zane Kalemba] and the freshmen have done a good job."

With victories this weekend, the Tigers will be right back in the chase for the conference championship. Though optimistic for their upcoming games, they are nevertheless cautious about predictions for the rest of the season.

"Our goal is to improve and get better. I'm not necessarily going to give statistical goals yet," Gadowky said. "It's a process to end up where we want to be and as long as we keep working we should get results."

Westgarth, for one, is confident that Princeton has what it takes to meet with success this weekend.

"If we're playing our game, we can beat either team," Westgarth said.