Ivy League tests loom for Princeton

Amateur skaters are out in droves, happily partaking of the ice on Carnegie Lake for the first time in years. Even with the painful cold, outdoors is the place to be — except for this weekend.

Friday and Saturday the action will heat up on the indoor ice at Baker Rink, as the men's hockey team (9-11-3 overall, 6-8-2 ECAC Hockey) takes on two major Ivy League rivals: the Dartmouth Big Green and the Harvard Crimson.

After disappointing outings against Brown and Yale last weekend, the Tigers are not eager to have anything less than success in future league contests. Dartmouth and Harvard were both successful games for Princeton earlier this season, and the tie against Dartmouth on Nov. 24 in Hanover was a part of Princeton's first big weekend of the season, a real turning point for a team that struggled during the beginning of its season.

Having already beaten Harvard, Princeton has an advantage beyond just home ice; however, the Crimson is never a team to underestimate, and the Tigers are well aware of the challenge that this weekend presents.

Between Dartmouth and Harvard, Princeton will have to focus on dominant defensive and offensive forces, respectively. While the Dartmouth net has always been well protected, Harvard's top scorers have been tearing up the ice in its most recent games. Princeton will have to pull out all the stops to come away with two wins this weekend.

Harvard is a first-period team. Taking the ice with force is every team's goal, but the Crimson attacks instantly, having scored 22 goals in the first period already this year. Harvard is generally successful at maintaining its initial pace, having netted 21 goals in the second period.

The Tigers will have to counter the Crimson's early push with one of their own, of which they are certainly more than capable. Princeton's best plan will be to play up its own endurance, as the Tigers score the majority of their goals in the second two periods. While matching the Crimson's initial intensity will be important to combat any early goalscoring opportunities, if Princeton holds its own through the first half of the game, it can pull past the Crimson.

To hold Harvard until the second half of the game, the Tigers will have to keep watch on two key Harvard forwards: Ryan Maki and Alex Meintel. Together, Maki and Meintel have scored 19 goals and nine assists and are fed by a number of strong defensemen and wingers who have helped Harvard to one of the highest assist percentages in the league. Meintel, coming off a banner weekend and a hat trick against Union, will be a force to be reckoned with, and Princeton will certainly have its hands full.

Dartmouth, while not the scoring powerhouse that Harvard represents, is also a formidable opponent this weekend — though Princeton has all the right tools to push past the Big Green barriers. Dartmouth junior goaltender Mike Devine has only continued to improve since the Tigers faced him last November, rising to a 91 percent save average. The Big Green has stepped up its defense, too, holding opponents to an average of only two goals per game.

Princeton should not be hampered by the Dartmouth defense, however, as it has already proven itself capable of solving the Big Green. Princeton has risen to three goals per game on average and has fine-tuned its special team tactics so that Dartmouth's eight penalties per game will be a huge Tiger advantage. The Tigers have formidable stats of their own to bring up against Harvard's and Dartmouth's this weekend. Freshman goaltender Zane Kalemba has been one of the Tigers' greatest assets this season, with a 90 percent save average. The last game against Dartmouth was his first big weekend in the Princeton net, and Kalemba will be ready — and considerably more experienced — when facing the team he started out against last fall.

Princeton will have to employ its own scoring powerhouses this weekend, sophomore forward Lee Jubinville and senior forward Darrol Powe. The Tigers must also make sure that the defensive experience of junior defenseman Mike Moore and senior defenseman Brett Westgarth plays a significant role. As playoff time creeps nearer, Ivy League wins become increasingly important, and Princeton is well aware of the consequences that losing these two games would bring. Though the cold seems to have settled on Princeton, the temperature continues to rise at Baker Rink.