Men's Hockey: Princeton plays pair of ECAC foes

The men’s hockey team will face ECAC Hockey bottomfeeder Brown on Friday night, and the matchup could not come at a better time for the Tigers. With a win against the struggling Bears, Princeton could put an end to the three-game losing streak that bounced it from the national rankings. The Tigers will then head to New Haven, Conn., to face the merciless offense of No. 10 Yale in a Saturday afternoon tilt.

To come away with a successful weekend, Princeton (3-5-1 overall, 2-4-1 ECAC Hockey) will look to its points leader, senior forward Dan Bartlett, to generate some much-needed offense. Bartlett dazzled in last season’s playoffs, and the Tigers hoped that he would carry the scoring touch into this year. While Bartlett leads the Tigers with five goals and eight points — including the only Princeton tally in its recent 5-1 loss to conference-leading No. 4 Quinnipiac — the team has not yet found a true offensive spark, mustering an ECAC-worst 2.33 goals per game.

Things have not been much better for the Tigers in their own third of the ice, and head coach Guy Gadowsky has been forced to experiment in the crease. Senior goaltender Zane Kalemba, whose award-winning play backstopped the squad to the NCAA tournament the last two seasons, has yet to find his rhythm. He has struggled to the tune of a 3.65 goals-against average, opening the door for junior Alan Reynolds to see more playing time. Reynolds, who played in just one game last season, already has three starts in the 2009-10 campaign and has a 2.30 GAA so far.

Also entering into the goaltender mix is freshman Mike Condon, who saw his first collegiate action last week after Kalemba was pulled during the second period against Quinnipiac. Condon, a butterfly goalie who stands at six feet, two inches and 200 pounds, surrendered just one goal on 12 shots in more than 33 minutes of play in relief of Kalemba.

Whoever coach Gadowsky decides to put in net for Saturday’s Yale game will likely have his hands full. The Bulldogs (5-3-2, 2-1-2) are second in the conference in goals per game (4.10) and have scored five or more goals in six of their 11 contests, including a 5-2 victory over the Tigers on Oct. 31.

Leading the Yale attack are several familiar faces. Junior forward Broc Little, who tied for the team lead in points last season, is once again pacing the Bulldog offense. Little has already tallied nine goals, and his 13 points are tied with sophomore forward Brian O’Neill for the team lead.

In addition to returning their top 10 scorers from last season, the Bulldogs have gotten production from some fresh talent, including rookie forward Andrew Miller, who has a team-leading nine assists.

Yale’s offense is certainly imposing, but the Bulldogs have had goalie struggles of their own this year as they scramble to fill the void left by the graduation of Alec Richards. Nick Maricic and Ryan Rondeau have each gotten four starts, and neither has been particularly impressive. Maricic’s numbers are better, but his 2.89 GAA and .889 save percentage are a far cry from the performance of the now-departed Richards. Also seeing time in net for the Elis is Jeff Malcolm, who posted a respectable 26-save performance in Yale’s last game, a 1-0 loss to No. 19 Vermont.

On paper, Yale will present a much greater challenge than Princeton’s Friday opponent, perennial ECAC whipping boy Brown (2-7-1, 1-5-1). But the Bears are fresh off a 4-1 victory over Harvard — their first conference win of the season — and they are occasionally capable of scoring in bunches. Last weekend, Brown delivered an 8-1 thrashing of Connecticut behind a hat trick from junior forward Jesse Fratkin.

Compared to Yale and Princeton, Brown has had slightly more stability in the crease, but the results have been mediocre. Sophomore goaltender Mike Clemente has started seven of nine games for the Bears, posting a 1-5-1 record and a 3.56 GAA.

With the calendar now flipped over to December, all three teams will look to answer pressing early-season questions with their play this weekend. Both Princeton and Yale will need to show that they have reached midseason form if they hope to keep their NCAA tournament aspirations alive.