FACING OFF: Princeton University men’s hockey player Jackson Cressey, right, battles for the puck on a face-off in a game last season. Princeton will be looking to senior forward Cressey to be a key offensive playmaker this winter. The Tigers open their 2019-20 campaign with a two-game set at St. Cloud State on November 1 and 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

The trio of Ryan Kuffner, Max Veronneau, and Josh Teves left an indelible mark on the Princeton University men’s hockey team’s record book before they graduated last June.

Kuffner ended his career as the program’s all-time leading goal scorer with 75 while Veronneau was the fourth leading scorer with 143 points and Teves set a program mark for most assists (69) by a defenseman.

While it would be understandable if Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty lamented the exit of his three blue-chip stars who all went on to see NHL action last spring, he is ready to turn the page.

“The best part about college athletics is that each year it is a new team; I am used to seeing guys come and go,” said Fogarty, who guided the Tigers to a 10-18-3 record last winter.

“My philosophy is that you work your hardest when they are here and make it a great four-year experience. You want them to succeed in four years with that diploma. They have done their development, they have gotten their degrees, and it is time to move on.”

Looking ahead to the 2019-20 season which starts for Princeton when it heads to Minnesota this weekend to play a two-game set at St. Cloud State, Fogarty believes this year’s team can have a great experience.

“It has been a positive mood in the dressing room and even on the ice for our two scrimmages against Brown and Yale,” said Fogarty.

“The guys have been working hard and they are coachable. There is a lot of new opportunities at hand for special teams. I am really excited about the group here. I like the guys; the last two months have been good and I am looking forward to our St. Cloud series.”

Fogarty is looking forward to deploying senior forward Jackson Cressey, the team’s leading returning scorer after having tallied 23 points on six goals and 17 assists in 2018-19.

“Jackson has been consistent through his three years,” said Fogarty. “My expectation after seeing him play over the past three seasons is that he will be an offensive playmaker who can create on the rush and be a player who is going to quarterback the power play.”

Another player to watch for Princeton will be sophomore Corey Andonovski (5 goals and 4 assists in 2018-19) who appears to have made a big jump from last season.

“Andonovski has had a great summer; he came back in great shape and is utilizing his speed, strength and size,” said Fogarty.

“He had a terrific showing during the scrimmage. It looks like he took his game to a different level over the summertime by getting his body into great condition. He looks more powerful on the ice.”

Princeton’s other returning forwards, which include junior Jake Paganelli (1 goal, 9 assists), senior Liam Grande (2 goals, 4 assists), sophomore Christian O’Neill (1 goal, 5 assists), sophomore Luke Keenan (3 goals, 2 assists), and senior Jeremy Germain (2 assists), should take things to a higher level this winter. “The group in general is good, they all look really good right now,” said Fogarty, who expects freshmen Adam Robbins, Nick Seitz, Liam Gorman, Spencer Kersten, and Matt Hayami to make an impact.

“We will have a better assessment after St. Cloud and a couple of games. We are juggling lines and our defensive pairs right now so it is a work in progress with a lot of opportunities for different roles.”

As for the Tiger defensemen, senior Derek Topatigh (6 goals, 4 assists) figures to lead a battle-tested unit along with junior Matthew Thom (4 goals, 5 assists), sophomore Matt Kellenberger (1 goals, 4 assists), and junior Reid Yochim (2 assists).

“It is going to be a tough decision; we have eight defensemen who can play and obviously we dress six,” said Fogarty, who sees freshman Pito Walton also being in the mix.

“Derek is doing very well as a leader; he has done a great job heading up the leadership group. He will see some time on the power play on the top unit as well.” At goalie, junior Ryan Ferland (3.08 goals against average and .904 save percentage in 2018-19) and sophomore Jeremie Forget (1.80 GAA, .941 save pct.) are battling for time between the pipes along with freshman Aidan Porter.

“All three goalies look fantastic, it is a new slate for the two of them – Ferland and Forget,” said Fogarty.

“Porter is pushing them as well. They all played very well in the scrimmage. It is going to come to this Thursday afternoon before we decide the starter. I am not sure of how the games are going to play out, one leading to the next one but there is going to be opportunity most definitely for all three to play early in the season.”

A major point of emphasis for Princeton this winter will be tightening up things along the blue line.

“The one area where we have been concentrating is on the defensive side of the puck, trying to eliminate options,” said Fogarty.

“Our philosophy is still the same – we are a puck possession team but the structure within it has changed a little bit more towards the defensive side because that is a statistical part of the game we have to improve upon.We can’t have around 3.0 goals on average to be successful because we realize that we don’t have the firepower up front. One part we can control is that our structure defensively will be executed. We have been paying strong attention to that.”

As the Tigers take on St. Cloud (1-1-2), Fogarty’s preparation for the opening weekend is more focused on getting Princeton in synch than the challenges presented by the Huskies.

“It is like every year, we have to worry about what we need to do better,” said Fogarty.

“If you look at our history, it has been around or after Christmas where we have really had the freshmen incorporated into most of the games and they develop very well by then. It will be St. Cloud’s fifth game, that is a great advantage to have. We know that and that is why we have to be really strong on the defensive side.”