Men's Ice Hockey: Exhibitions a mixed bag for Princeton

The men’s hockey team played a pair of exhibition games this past weekend, facing Morrisville State on Friday and the University of Windsor on Sunday. Princeton dominated Morrisville, 7-0, with seven different Tigers scoring, but the team came up short against Windsor, falling 5-3.

The Tigers took the loss to Windsor in perspective, noting that the pressures of competition were diminished in the scrimmage. They acknowledged, though, that they lost to a team they were fully capable of beating.

“We are concerned [in that] we want to win every game we play, and we lost one this weekend,” sophomore forward Marc Hagel said.

“There were some things this past weekend we know we want to do better,” junior goaltender Alan Reynolds said. “Every time a goal is scored on you, there’s concern from everyone on the team … [That said,] there was nothing we can’t prevent in the future.”

These scrimmages are meant to strengthen aspects of the Tigers’ game like aggressiveness to the puck, fore check, penalty kill and avoidance of unnecessary penalties.

While Princeton struggled with penalties during Sunday’s second period, the penalty kill performed well over the weekend. The Tigers held Windsor to four shots over four penalties and Morrisville State to seven shots over seven penalties, only allowing two goals.

As has become characteristic of the Tigers’ up-tempo play over the last few years, the team generated a dramatic shot discrepancy over the weekend. Princeton had 58 shots to Morrisville State’s 15 on Friday, and 49 to Windsor’s 24 on Sunday.

Unsurprisingly, the Tigers scored more goals in periods in which they took a high volume of shots. On Friday, Princeton scored four goals in the second period and three in the third when they took 18 and 19 shots, respectively. Against Windsor, the Tigers scored two in the second and one in the third, when they took a combined 30 attempts.

The early games have been important for acclimating the six Princeton freshmen to the pace of college play. All of the freshmen except forwards James Kerr and Will MaDonald received minutes in both games over the weekend, and head coach Guy Gadowsky tinkered with line combinations during each game.

“The freshmen are learning our system, they’re right with us, and they’re learning well,” Hagel said.

Gadowsky has given few indications of the lines he may favor entering the season, but some personnel groupings showed promise in the scrimmages.

The forward line of senior Tyler Beachell and sophomores Hagel and Brodie Zuk scored three goals, one on the power play, against Morrisville.

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The grouping of senior forward Mark Magnowski and Meland was +3 in the Morrisville game and added a power-play goal in the contest.

“We all try to play the same way, so we should all be able to work well together in our system,” Hagel said, noting that he has become comfortable playing with Beachell, Zuk and senior forward Kevin Kaiser over the course of the exhibition season.

“Everyone can score,” Reynolds said. “We’ve got a bunch of really skilled [potential] lines, and each of these can score any night.”

Each goalie played one period in both the Morrisville and Windsor games. Senior netminder and preseason Inside College Hockey All-American Zane Kalemba started both games, leaving little question as to who will mind the net in the regular season opener this Friday. Kalemba saw nine shots over the weekend and blocked eight.

Freshman Mike Condon was the most prolific of the Princeton goaltenders in the exhibition contests, recording 15 saves during his 40 minutes in goal, only allowing a pair of goals against Windsor.

The Tigers now look ahead to the opening of their regular season Friday against Brown at Baker Rink. Princeton then squares off the following night against defending ECAC Hockey champion Yale.