Team Notes: Princeton Competes at Mariucci Classic on New Year's Weekend
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team resumes action this weekend at the Mariucci Classic at the University of Minnesota. The Tigers will face Northeastern in the first game on Friday, Dec. 30 at 4 p.m., and either Minnesota or Niagara on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 3 or 6 p.m. All times are local.
Princeton is playing its first games in 19 days and its final games of the calendar year this weekend at the Mariucci Classic. The Tigers are 4-9-2 overall and 3-7-1 in ECAC Hockey. Princeton is coming off of two one-goal losses to Harvard at home and Quinnipiac on the road, games occuring just 15 hours apart. Sophomore Jack Berger leads the team in scoring with six goals and five assists for 11 points. Classmate Andrew Calof is one point back with four goals and six assists for 10 points. Junior Michael Sdao has nine points, and junior Rob Kleebaum and senior Derrick Pallis both have seven points. Sophomore Sean Bonar has started in 12 games in goal and has a 4-6-2 record, a 2.96 goals against average and an .897 save percentage. Junior Mike Condon has started in three games and has a 2.96 GAA and a .906 save percentage. LAST TIME WE WERE HERE This is Princeton’s first visit to the state of Minnesota since the final game of the 2008-09 season. Princeton lost 5-4 to Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA West Regional Semifinal on March 27.
This is the Tigers’ second time competing in the Mariucci Classic. Princeton won the Classic in 1998, defeating Minnesota 4-1 and Boston University 3-0. Jeff Halpern, Jackson Heglund, Steve Shireffs and Syl Apps (MVP) were named to the All-Tournament Team. Princeton also competed in the Dodge Holiday Classic at the Mariucci Center in 2003. Princeton fell 9-0 to Minnesota and 5-3 to Miami.
Northeastern leads the all-time series with Princeton, 25-13-3. Princeton has a 2-1-1 record over Northeastern when playing on neutral ice. The teams last met on Nov. 28, 2008 when Princeton took a 5-3 game in Troy at the RPI Tournament, which snapped a 16-game losing streak in the series.
Northeastern is 7-7-2 on the season and has won its last six games after starting the season 1-7-2. Most recently the Huskies knocked off No. 18 UMass Lowell, swept No. 2 Notre Dame in a set, and topped No. 11 Michigan. Northeastern has seven NHL draft picks on its roster. Junior Steve Quailer leads the team offensively with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. Rookie Ludwig Karlsson has six goals and eight assists for 14 points. Sophomore Braden Pimm and junior Vinny Saponari each have 11 points and junior Justin Daniels has 10 points. Junior Chris Rawlings has started in all but one game in goal. He has a .933 save percentage and a 2.30 GAA. Sophomore Clay Witt owns a .911 save percentage and a 3.59 GAA in 83 minutes played.
Princeton and Niagara have met on just five occassions, with Niagara having a 3-1-1 edge. The Purple Eagles swept the series in Nov. 2001 in Niagara Falls, the last time the teams played. The Tigers were 1-1-1 when playing Niagara when assistant coach Greg Gardner was a player at Niagara.
Niagara is also on a tear as of late, unbeaten in its last six games with 3-0-3 mark. The Purple Eagles are 5-5-6 overall and are led by sophomore Scott Arnold with 12 points on seven goals and five assists. Junior Marc Zanette has six goals and four assists and sophomore Patrick Divjak has three goals and a team-high seven assists. Sophomore Ryan Rashid adds nine points. Niagara has utilized four goaltenders. Sophomore Cody Campbell has played the most minutes, having started eight games. He has a .918 save percentage and a 2.54 GAA with a 2-1-3 recrod. Senior Chris Noonan however has played in the last three games and has a.928 save percentage and a 2.32 GAA in 258 minutes. Freshman Colby Drost has played in four games and sophomore Carsen Chubak has played in one.
Minnesota leads the all-time series 7-2. The Golden Gophers are 5-1 when playing at home and 2-1 when playing at neutral sites. Minnesota has never played in Princeton. The last time the teams met was Dec. 20, 2003 when Minnesota took a 9-0 game at the Dodge Holiday Classic.
Ranked second in the nation, Minnesota boasts a 14-5-1 record. The squad split its last weekend on Dec. 9-10 with Michigan Tech. Seventeen members of the team are NHL draft picks. Sophomore Nick Bjugstad has 27 points with a team-high 16 goals and 11 assists. Classmate Erik Haula has 25 points on nine goals and 16 helpers. Freshman Kyle Rau and sophomore Nate Schmidt have 22 and 21 points, respectively. Five other skaters are in double digits in scoring. Senior Kent Patterson has played every minute in goal and has a .921 save percentage and a 2.04 GAA. The squad averages 4.15 goals per game (second in the nation) and is limiting teams to 2.05 gpg.
