Coming off big road wins this weekend against Colgate and Cornell, the men’s hockey team looks to build upon the success from last weekend that propelled it to the top of the ECAC Hockey standings in a home stand against Harvard and Dartmouth. The Tigers (3-3 overall, 3-1 ECAC Hockey) take on the Crimson (2-2, 2-2) tonight at 7 p.m. and face off against the Big Green (3-2-1, 2-1-1) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
“The ECAC is an extremely competitive conference,” senior goaltender Alan Reynolds said. “To hold on to a spot near the top of the standings, you have to expect to play a lot of close games and find a way to win them. Every single game will likely have an impact on your final place in the standings, so being prepared for the start of every game is imperative.”
Senior forwards Mike Kramer and Matt Arhontas and freshman forward Andrew Calof lead Princeton’s offense.
Calof leads the team with 11 points, and Arhontas has a team-leading five goals. Princeton’s goaltenders have been solid, as Reynolds, sophomore Mike Condon and freshman Sean Bonar have a combined save percentage of .919 during their total net time.
The Tigers have found themselves in several tight contests: Five of their six games have been decided by one goal, and five games were tied in the third period.
“The team is preparing for this weekend just like any other,” Arhontas said. “In practice we have been focusing on getting pucks through the neutral zone and eliminating turnovers. We are looking forward to getting to play at Baker Rink in front of a home crowd after our first six games on the road.”
Harvard is led on offense by forwards Alex Killorn and Michael Biega, who lead the team with three points each. The Crimson defense is anchored by defensemen Danny Biega, who also has three points and a team-leading plus-3 rating.
Harvard leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 1.75 goals per game, and ranks second on the penalty kill, allowing only one power-play goal out of 14 power plays this season. Goaltender Kyle Richter is a wall in front of the net; his .947 save percentage is second in the nation.
“Harvard has a great team, and it is always a huge game to play against them,” Reynolds said. “To prepare, we are focusing on our own game by being sharp in practice and improving the areas where we know we can perform better.”
Princeton is looking to avenge a loss to Dartmouth earlier in the season at Baker Rink on Saturday. At the Ivy Shootout on Oct. 29, the Tigers fell 2-1 to the Big Green in New Haven, Conn. After a scoreless first period, Dartmouth pounced 43 seconds into the second period to go up by one. Princeton tied the game near the end of the second period, as Arhontas scored on the power play with assists from Kramer and Calof. But the Big Green scored early in the third period and did not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game.
Dartmouth’s experience last weekend was similar to Princeton’s, with convincing 7-1 and 6-1 road wins over Clarkson and St. Lawrence, respectively.
The Big Green’s explosive attack, ranked third in the nation, is very well balanced. Forward Matt Limbaud leads the team with six points, while Scott Fleming and Dustin Walsh both have five. After that, three Dartmouth players have four points, four have three points and five have two. Goaltender James Mello has a stellar .980 save percentage, while Jody O’Neill and Cab Morris have also seen time in front of the net.
“Against Dartmouth on Saturday, we want to focus on shooting pucks and getting to their net more, which we did not do enough of the first time we played,” Arhontas said. “They had a great two games last weekend, especially offensively, so it will be important that we play a strong defensive game.”
The Tigers hope to translate their positive success last weekend on the road into two big victories at home this weekend against two important league opponents.
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