Team Notes: Final League Games of Calendar Year on Tap for Princeton
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team will play its final two games before the holidays this weekend, Dec. 10-11. The Tigers host Harvard on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 4 p.m., in the second meeting of the season. On Sunday, Quinnipiac hosts Princeton for a noon game.
Princeton is undefeated in its last three games, going 2-0-1. The Tigers defeated Providence (a team that beat No. 1 Merrimack twice last weekend) 3-1 at the Denver Cup, topped Rensselaer 5-3 on Dec. 2 and came back from a three-goal deficit to tie No. 9 Union on Dec. 3. The Tigers are 4-7-2 overall and 3-5-1 in the ECAC Hockey standings. After a five-point week last weekend, sophomore Jack Berger has moved up the scoring column and sits in first place with classmate Andrew Calof with nine points apiece. Berger has a team-high six goals and three assists, while Calof has three goals and six helpers. Junior Rob Kleebaum and senior Derrick Pallis add seven points each, with Pallis’ all coming by way of the set up. Sophomore goalie Sean Bonar has started in 11 games and has a 4-5-2 record. He has made 264 saves for a .901 save percentage and a 2.84 goals against average. Junior Mike Condon has played in three games and has an .899 save percentage and a 2.90 GAA.
Harvard leads the 109-year series history, 145-55-11. The Tigers have the edge, as of late, with a 2-0-1 record in the last three games. Princeton defeated Harvard 4-3 on Nov. 4 in Cambridge.
Harvard is 3-3-3 on the season and 2-3-2 in league play. Like Princeton, Harvard is unbeaten in its last three games (1-0-2), and has earned ties in its last two games at Dartmouth and Massachusetts. Harvard leads the league in scoring offense, averaging 3.44 goals per game but is last in scoring defense, giving up the same number. The same situation holds true for its special teams, as Harvard’s power play is tops at 29.2% (14/48) and the penalty kill is last at 69.7% (23/33). Four of Harvard’s eight NHL draft picks are the team’s top four leading scorers. Junior Danny Biega has a team-high 10 assists and two goals for 12 points, and senior Alex Killorn has a team-best six goals and five assists for 11 points. Freshman Patrick McNally and junior Alex Fallstrom add nine and eight points, respectively. Freshman goaltender Steve Michalek has started in six games and has a 3-2-2 record. He sports an .896 save percentage and a 3.12 GAA.
Princeton leads the series with its travel partner, 8-6-1. The Tigers are 5-2 when playing at Quinnipiac. The Bobcats took a 5-2 game on Nov. 1 in the league opener. Last year Princeton went 1-0-1 (3-0 win, 1-1 tie) against Quinnipiac.
Quinnipiac is 9-6-3 overall and 2-4-3 in the ECAC. The Bobcats, like Princeton and Harvard, are also unbeaten in their last three games. They earned wins over UMass, RPI and tied Union. Quinnipiac likes to score early putting away 42 percent of its goals in the first period. It averages 3.17 gpg while its opponents score an average of 2.22 gpg. The Bobcats have the top scoring freshman in the league, Matthew Peca. He has four goals and nine assists for 13 points. Their leading scorer junior Jeremy Langlois ranks third in the league in 10 goals (10-7-17), and their assist leader sophomore Connor Jones ranks third in the league with 12 (5-12-17). Sophomore Kellen Jones has 14 points (5-9-14) and senior Scott Zurevinski has 13 points (3-10-13). Junior Eric Hartzell has started in goal in 11 games and has a .906 save percentage and a 2.03 GAA. Senior Dan Clarke has made eight appearances and has an .893 save percentage and a 2.20 GAA.
