Men's Hockey: Princeton faces pair of ranked opponents

The men’s hockey team will certainly have its hands full this weekend as it hits the road and takes on two nationally ranked conference opponents. On Friday, Princeton (2-4-1 overall, 2-3 ECAC Hockey) will battle No. 18 Cornell (3-2, 3-1) before finishing the series on Saturday against No. 17 Colgate (6-4-1, 2-2). It is still early in the conference season, but the Tigers can leap to the front of the pack with two victories this weekend.

Last year’s team found relative success against both Cornell and Colgate. The Tigers split the season series with the Big Red last season, with both games at a close 2-1 score. Colgate was not as lucky, as it dropped both games against Princeton last year by a one-goal margin.

Many of the Tiger players are familiar with both squads, as is first-year head coach Bob Prier, who was an assistant coach for a St. Lawrence team that went 3-1 last season against these two teams. Prier will try to extend that success against these two familiar teams in his search for career coaching victories three and four.

The ECAC Hockey conference is no stranger to nationally ranked teams, and playing two in the same weekend is an obstacle Princeton must face nearly every season. Currently at 2-4-1, the Tigers will have to beat what Prier describes as two “very good teams” to get to the .500 mark.

“Cornell is and always has been a team that is extremely systematic,” Prier said. “They are also very good at home. Colgate is a little more hybrid, but we will be able to get a feel for their special-teams tendencies and the adjustments that we need to make.”

Prier also said that he is “not concerned with where [Colgate and Cornell] are ranked at this point,” stating that the Tigers’ “main focus will be on improving [their] own game throughout the weekend.”

The Tigers are coming off a 3-0 victory against Clarkson and look to win back-to-back games for the first time of the season. Even with so many games ahead of them, these early contests are pivotal in determining the seeding for the ECAC Hockey conference tournament at year’s end.

“We are at the point where we have to start putting together some winning streaks,” Prier said. “We will build off of our overall team effort against Clarkson. We have to continue to be responsible with the puck and be aware of our own duties on the defensive side of the puck.”

Raiders forward Austin Smith is currently tied for first in the conference with 10 goals and 15 points. In comparison, no Tiger player has more than four goals or five points. In fact, the Tigers have only netted 18 total goals this season, compared to the Raiders’ 34 tallies. The decision on which goaltender will have to keep Smith off the scoreboard has yet to be made.

“[Sophomore goalie Sean] Bonar will play on Friday night,” Prier said. “Saturday’s starter will be determined on Saturday morning after reviewing video.”

Coincidentally, both Cornell’s and Princeton’s leading scorers are junior defensemen. Michael Sdao leads the Tigers with four goals and five points, while Cornell’s Nick D’Agostino tops his squad with four goals and eight points.

Last season, former captain Taylor Fedun ‘11 provided significant scoring from the back end, and after his departure, Sdao has stepped up. When asked about Sdao’s emergence, Prier said he was “not overly surprised” by it.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“Mike is always working on his game, always doing extra reps in the mornings,” Prier said. “It seems to be paying off for him — he has an incredible shot from the point.”

While Sdao’s scoring is an asset, the Tigers will need their forwards to start registering more points if they wish to compete against premier teams like Colgate and Cornell.

Hopefully for fans of the Orange and Black, that starts to happen this weekend.