The team is coming off a weekend split at Baker Rink, where it fell to Cornell 2-1 in the final minutes on Friday but rebounded with a 5-4 victory over Colgate.
Princeton’s game against Sacred Heart (3-13-5) will be its last nonconference competition of the season and the first time the teams have faced each other in program history. The Pioneers have yet to find a consistent rhythm to their season and just recently ended their third winless streak of at least four games with a 4-2 victory over Air Force. The team has allowed twice the amount of goals it has scored and has given up at least six goals in eight different games. The Pioneers are still looking for their first victory in an away game.
After playing Sacred Heart, the team will continue the back half of its ECAC Hockey schedule and end Intersession with away games against St. Lawrence (6-10-3, 3-6) and Clarkson (11-8-2, 5-3-1). The Tigers will be going for a sweep against the Saints having dominated the first matchup 5-1, and they will try to salvage a split against a Golden Knights team that beat them 5-3 on Dec. 3 at Baker Rink.
Princeton’s last game against St. Lawrence turned into a rout when the Tigers exploded for four goals in the second period, including two scores by freshman forward Matt Farris. The squad will look to emulate that performance against a Saints team that has been struggling against ECAC Hockey rivals, losing four of its last seven conference games after beginning the year with wins over Cornell and Colgate.
The Tigers will be paying close attention to two young up-and-comers on St. Lawrence. Sophomore Kyle Flanagan, who also attended high school in Canton, N.Y., now leads his hometown’s university in points with 19. Freshman Greg Carey has already won ECAC Rookie of the Week three times and is currently tied for the league lead in goals.
Yet it would appear that Princeton is more than up to the task. Sophomore goalie Mike Condon and freshman goalie Sean Bonar have excelled while splitting time behind the net for the Tigers. In his seven games as starter, Bonar leads the ECAC with a 1.28 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.
Princeton will be looking for redemption against Clarkson after a frustrating first game of the series. The Tigers outshot the Golden Knights 42-27, but four unanswered scores and an empty-net goal gave Clarkson a 5-3 win. That victory was the team’s third in a four-game ECAC win streak, the program’s longest in 10 years. Union recently snapped the Golden Knights’ hot play with an 8-1 pounding.
Princeton’s lines will focus on taking advantage of Clarkson’s tendency to give up shots. The Golden Knights’ goalies have made 51 more saves than any other team in the conference at 680, and as a consequence have also given up the second-most goals in the ECAC.
The Tigers also seem posed to take advantage of Clarkson’s weaknesses. With 16 assists and three goals, freshman forward Andrew Calof still leads the team in points. Senior Kevin Lohry has also caught fire of late, scoring five goals and earning seven points in the team’s last five games.
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