The men's hockey team is approaching the halfway point of the season, a good time for looking back at what's been done and what's yet to come. Fortunately for fans of Princeton (5-7-2 overall, 4-5-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League), a quick glance at the team's mediocre record fails to tell the whole story. Though the Tigers' record merely places them in the middle of the pack in the ECACHL standings, they have played consistently solid hockey since the drop of the first puck.
Six of the team's seven losses have been decided by just one goal, and in total, Princeton has actually outscored its opponents, 46-44. Team offense is ranked fourth in the ECACHL at 3.29 goals per game, in large part thanks to the team's 20 percent power play conversion rate, the second-highest in the league. In addition, the Orange and Black has the most disciplined team in the league, with Tiger skaters spending an average of only 13.4 minutes per game in the penalty box.
The only difference between more recent games and earlier ones is that the team's work ethic and relentless play are finally starting to bring home the wins. Princeton is rolling, with a 4-1-1 record in its last six games, including a convincing 6-2 effort against Rensselaer (4-5-6, 1-2-3) last Saturday.
"The biggest thing is that we haven't panicked these last few games," senior forward Darroll Powe said. "It's easy to go into a slide and start blaming each other, but we've stuck to our game: the pucks started going in, and we're winning some games."
The Tigers hope to augment their recent string of victories heading into the new year. The team has three regular season games and one exhibition match over the break. Each of the games will be played at Baker Rink: Nebraska-Omaha (8-7-4) on Dec. 29, Minnesota State (3-11-3) on Dec. 30, an exhibition game with the U.S. Under-18 Team on Jan. 5 and Quinnipiac (8-4-4, 5-2-3) on Jan. 6. Only No. 20 Quinnipiac plays in the ECACHL.
"I personally like playing conference games more," Powe said of the upcoming match with the Bobcats. "There's more on the line, but every game is just as important for the team."
Princeton hasn't faced Nebraska-Omaha for almost a decade and has never played Minnesota State.
"We haven't really seen Nebraska-Omaha or Minnesota State very much, so we're not really sure how their teams are going to be," sophomore forward Brandan Kushniruk said.
Perhaps the most interesting matchup over the next few weeks will be the Tigers' exhibition game with the U.S. Under-18 Team, a squad which features many of the top amateur players in America, including the younger brother of junior forward Keith Shattenkirk. Kushniruk said most members of the team are looking forward to playing them, while Powe stressed that the younger team should not be taken lightly.
"We played them three years ago, and it was a pretty good game — lots of talent," Powe said. "It's [going to] be a tough game, so we definitely need to be prepared."
Quinnipiac, however, may pose the biggest challenge, as it currently sits atop the ECACHL standings. Only four points separate the first-place Bobcats and sixth-place Princeton, so getting the two points at this stage could have significant effects on the standings.
"Every game from here on out is big," Powe said. "We put ourselves a little bit behind. We weren't playing [badly], we just couldn't win games. We need points, and we need to move up in the standings."
At this point last season, the Tigers owned a 4-10 overall record and were 2-8 against conference rivals. They ultimately finished in ninth place and lost to eighth-seeded Clarkson in the first round of the playoffs.
So far, Princeton's strong play indicates that it deserves a chance to earn a higher seed this year. In a conference with no clearcut favorite and a great deal of parity among the teams, the Tigers could finish anywhere from first to last. Of course, the former is desirable, but for now the Tigers are just concentrating on building on their recent successes.
"We've finally started to generate a little momentum, and if we can keep that up through this stretch, it'll really put us in a good position to make a run at a playoff spot," senior forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller said.
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