Princeton to host Brown in opening-round series

With spring sporting events cropping up all over campus, the men's hockey team must sense that its time is drawing near. But the Tigers (13-13-3 overall, 10-10-2 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League) play host to a first-round playoff series at Baker Rink this weekend hoping to delay the end just a little bit more.

After a wildly successful regular season-ending weekend against No. 13 St. Lawrence (20-12-2, 16-5-1) and No. 6 Clarkson (20-8-5, 12-5-4) — the two top teams in the ECACHL — Princeton has the momentum and the skills to take down Brown (10-13-6, 6-12-4) in the best-of-three playoff series that begins tonight at Baker Rink.

Playoffs come at a time when the Tigers are on an upswing. The upset victories against Clarkson and St. Lawrence concluded an on-and-off season for Princeton, but in total the Tigers reached their highest win count in almost 10 years. Still, even with their recent accomplishments, the Tigers are keeping cool.

"We try not to look at results," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "We're going into this weekend the same way that we go into every weekend."

Though Princeton and Brown are not traditional rivals, their matchups never fail to present challenges to both teams.

"Brown is a fantastic team," Gadowsky said. "Their forwards are tremendous and they all have great individual strengths."

The Tigers and the Bears have had a couple of tough games this season, both ending in overtime ties. The first, in January, was a back-and-forth battle which the Tigers finally took, 3-2, with senior forward Grant Goeckner-Zoeller's goal one minute, 29 seconds into overtime. In February, the Bears came out strong, but the Tigers held them to a 1-1 tie.

Princeton will have to retain all of its strength from last weekend in order to defend home ice Friday and Saturday. The Bears have been struggling of late, having suffered six losses in their last 10 games, but Brown should not be underestimated, since it has the weapons to stay alive in the playoffs.

"They are explosive and scary offensively," Gadowsky said.

Brown also brings some of the league's best scorers, especially junior Jeff Prough.

"[Prough] scored one of the nicest goals we have seen back in January" Gadowsky said.

Prough and the Bears' second-highest scorer, junior Sean Hurley, have scored a combined 26 goals this season, and keeping those two from finding the net will be a key for the Tigers.

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Princeton will also have to stay out of the penalty box, especially in light of senior forward and top goal scorer Darroll Powe's game misconduct against St. Lawrence last weekend.

Powe, who was penalized for goalie interference, will be back Friday, but the Tigers will have to be cautious, since Brown is deadly in a power-play situation, having scored 33 power play goals this year.

This weekend's outcome will also hinge greatly on goaltending. Gadowsky has committed to freshman goaltender Zane Kalemba for the first game on Friday, and plans on putting senior goaltender BJ Sklapsky in on Saturday.

Both goalies have made significant contributions to the team this year, and splitting their time over two games will ensure that both remain fresh and available in he event of a third game.

With solid play in front of the net and offensive momentum from last weekend, Princeton should be in good shape for the first Friday night face-off, though Brown will be anything but an easy first round opponent.

"The league is so tight right now," Gadowsky said. "Hosting is fantastic, but it certainly doesn't mean that we're playing any less of a team."

Spring may be here, but while the snow melts outside, the ice is heating up at Baker Rink.