Icemen seeking to continue hot streak

After a solid start to the new year, the men's hockey team finds itself in the midst of a two-week hiatus as it prepares for the final push in its ECAC Hockey schedule. Since returning to league play on Jan. 6, the Tigers (9-9-2 overall, 6-7-1 ECAC) have recorded two wins and two losses, pushing their conference record closer to .500.

Princeton returns from exam break to finish up its non-league schedule against Robert Morris on Jan. 29. Then, the Tigers will travel north to take on league rivals Brown and Yale on the weekend of Feb. 2.

Heading into Intersession, Princeton is tied with Cornell for fourth place in the ECAC standings, trailing Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence and Clarkson. With just eight games remaining in their league schedule, the Tigers will need to make up ground quickly if they want a shot at the league championship.

Recent success

After a slow start to the season, Princeton has caught fire since traveling to face Harvard — the 2006 ECAC champion — on Nov. 25, a game that the Tigers won, 4-2. Including its victory over the Crimson, Princeton has since gone 8-3-0, a stretch capped off by a dramatic overtime victory against Brown on Jan. 13.

The Tigers' recent surge has put them in a good position to accomplish their pre-season goal of a top-nine league finish to secure a playoff birth. In fact, the team has played so well of late that some of the players are revising their expectations.

"Now we've seen we can play with the top teams," sophomore forward Brett Wilson said. "So we want to see if we can even get a little higher up there, just so that we can get home ice for a couple rounds."

To do so, the Orange and Black must continue its winning ways when it returns from the exam break. For that to happen, however, the team must avenge its loss to Yale on Jan. 12, in which the squad was unable to overcome a fast start by the Bulldogs, ultimately losing 3-2.

"We want to get a better start this time around," sophomore forward Lee Jubinville said. "Last game against them we came out pretty flat, but I think in the third period we showed we can play with them. It's just a matter of coming out right."

"When you get down in a hole like that, it's pretty hard to get out," Wilson added. "Especially in this low-scoring league — if you give up two in the first period, it's going to be a tough game."

Indeed, since facing St. Lawrence on Nov. 10, Princeton has yet to lose a game in which it scored three goals, a feat which it accomplished in 10 of its last 16 games.

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A large part of the Tigers' recent offensive success is the shot advantage they have enjoyed. Averaging nearly seven more shots per game than its opponents, Princeton has managed to turn those opportunities into goals with considerable success.

In addition to a consistent offensive effort led by senior captain Darroll Powe, the Tigers have received some impressive performances from freshman goaltender Zane Kalemba, who has allowed just 2.41 goals per game.

Though the rematches with Yale and Brown loom large, Princeton is not losing sight of its next game, a non-league matchup with Robert Morris, a team that defeated the Tigers by three goals last year. The Tigers hope not to repeat this outcome.

"I think it's good we have that one game against Robert Morris before we get back to our league games, because I know last year we came out a little flat against them, but once the league play started we were ready to go," Wilson said. "I mean hopefully we'll still play well against Robert Morris, but it's good to have that game before we start playing for the ones that really matter."

"Looking back to last year, we played pretty solid hockey after the break," Jubinville said. "If we repeat that this year, we'll put ourselves in a good position."