Men's Hockey: Prier takes on alma mater

As the men’s ice hockey team enters its third week of regular-season play, it hopes to reverse the tide of its opening games. The Tigers captured their only win a week ago at Harvard, when sophomore forward Eric Carlson helped cap a first-period advantage. As Princeton prepares to host St. Lawrence tonight at 7 p.m. and Clarkson tomorrow at 4 p.m., the Tigers must not only take more early leads, but also use their most recent away game against Dartmouth as a reminder to follow through on early advantages.

Although Princeton (1-3-1 overall, 1-2 ECAC Hockey) earned a first-minute lead against the Big Green when junior forward Rob Kleebaum converted a two-on-one play with sophomore forward Andrew Calof, it lost the edge just two minutes later. The Tigers gave up four more goals and scored only two, losing the game 5-3. But Princeton outshot Dartmouth 39-30 and went 2-for-8 on the powerplay, while Dartmouth only went 0-for-2. Despite the loss, the Tigers’ individual performances and shooting dominance over one of the league’s best teams are reasons for the hosts to have hope this weekend.

So far, Calof and three juniors — Kleebaum, defender Michael Sdao and forward Eric Meland — boast four points each during the regular season, tied as the Tigers’ top scorers. Sophomore Sean Bonar and junior Mike Condon have shared goaltending duties in the first five games. Bonar has maintained a record of 1-1-1 with a 2.94 goals against average and .899 save percentage. Condon has played an 0-2 record with a 3.56 GAA and .873 save percentage.

“We have learned some extremely valuable lessons early on this season, particularly on the defensive side of the puck,” head coach Bob Prier said. “This has been our focus of improvement throughout the week.”

Currently, St. Lawrence goalkeepers Matt Weninger, Robby Moss and David Grilk all have higher GAAs and lower save percentages than both Bonar and Condon. Weninger has started most consistently and shows the group’s best stats, with a 3.64 goals against average and a .856 save percentage.

Despite a slow start, St. Lawrence (1-5, 1-1) leads the all-time series against Princeton, 61-21-9. The two teams have faced each other annually since 1957. Last season, Princeton won both games in the regular season matchup, 5-1 and 5-3, but the Saints took two of three games at Baker Rink in the first round of the ECAC Tournament, ending Princeton’s season.

Last weekend, St. Lawrence hosted Union and Rensselaer, finishing with a 2-0 loss to Union and a 2-0 win over Rensselaer. Kyle Flanagan is St. Lawrence’s leading scorer, having five goals and four assists for nine points.

St. Lawrence is also Prier’s alma mater; he will face the team for the first time tonight. Prier graduated in 1999 and spent nine seasons with the men’s hockey team as an assistant coach.

Clarkson’s only goalie, Paul Karpowich, has maintained a 1.88 overall GAA so far and a .936 save percentage. Based on its current stats and history, the New York team may be the Tigers’ more formidable opponent this weekend as it owns a 71-27 record in the all-time series with Princeton. Last season, Clarkson won the first game 5-3 at Princeton, but the Tigers evened the series with a 4-3 win in Potsdam, N.Y.

Clarkson (6-2-2, 1-1) had a seven-game win streak before losing 3-1 to Union last weekend. Overall, Clarkson’s leading scorers, Louke Oakley and Nick Tremblay, both have six goals; Oakley has added six assists for 12 points.

“St. Lawrence and Clarkson are coming off pretty good weekends defensively, allowing two and three goals over the weekend respectively,” Prier said. “We are expecting two very hard-fought competitions wherein responsibilities in our own zone, being disciplined with the puck and proper execution of special teams will likely be the difference in the games.”