SEEING AHEAD: Princeton University men’s hockey David Hallisey, right, goes after the puck in recent action. Last Saturday, senior forward Hallisey tallied a goal and an assist in a losing cause as Princeton fell 5-2 to Harvard. The Tigers, now 5-6-1 overall and 3-5-1 ECAC Hockey, are heading west for a two-game set at Arizona State on December 8 and 9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was a roller coaster week for the Princeton University men’s hockey team as it hosted the final three contests of a seven-game homestand.

Princeton started the week by falling 6-2 to Quinnipiac on November 28.

On Friday, the Tigers exploded for six goals in the first period on the way to a 9-2 rout of Dartmouth.

A night later, the Tigers found themselves trailing 2-0 to Harvard after a rough first period and fought back to cut the deficit to 2-1 and 4-2 before falling 5-2.

In reflecting on his club’s uneven play which left it at 5-6-1 overall and 3-5-1 ECAC Hockey, Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty acknowledged that things have to be sharper, particularly at the defensive end.

“We need to be more consistent, it is a tough conference,” said Fogarty. “Harvard is a good team, they started slow this year. We are a good team, we are just sputtering right now. Starting on Monday, we have to iron out some of the play without the puck, to get it back smart and get it back quickly without taking away from coverage in our D-zone.”

The Crimson certainly got off to a good start on Saturday, outshooting the Tigers 21-6 in the first period as they jumped out to the 2-0 lead.

“They were all over us, they have very good team speed,” said Fogarty.

“In our defensive zone, we weren’t tracking men. Once Harvard moved the puck, we became a spectator, watching the puck and not concentrating on tracking our man.”

The task was made harder for Princeton when it lost two of its key men, senior forward Max Becker and junior star Ryan Kuffner, to injuries during the contest.

“It was tough when Becker went out and you can’t change any chemistry replacing Kuffner,” said Fogarty.

“He is a special player so that hurt. We are not sure of the status right now. Losing him that early is tough because it changes the dynamic of that line.”

A painful sequence late in the second period that saw Princeton come away with nothing on a breakaway and Harvard swooping in for a goal on a counter attack to go up 3-1 put the Tigers on their heels.

“We had the chance to make it 2-2 but then they scored a goal so that was the turn of events,” said Fogarty.

“You could make it 2-2 but they have a great save and it goes right down and into the back of your net. That was a little bit of a deflater.”

Trailing 4-1 entering the third, Princeton generated a number of great opportunities, narrowing the gap to 4-2 early in the period and outshooting the Crimson 14-2 in the frame.

“We made it to within two in the third period and had numerous chances too,” said Fogarty.

“We had our jump; the jump later was a product of our defensive zone. We were tighter man-to-man, we could snuff out the plays quicker and transition back to the offense.”

Senior star David Hallisey created chances, tallying a goal and an assist.

“David is very consistent. He works so hard, it doesn’t matter what the score is or win or lose,” said Fogarty.

“He has been very valuable; he is someone who is very important for our success down the road here.”

With Princeton heading west for a two-game set at Arizona State on December 8 and 9, Fogarty wants to see more consistency from his players.

“I enjoy working with the guys and you have to enjoy competing; we will continue to prepare and get better,” said Fogarty.

“Heading into the playoffs, wins and losses are relevant in the sense that while every ECAC team makes the playoffs, you want to gain as much points so you can have home ice in either the first or the bye round. You want to make sure that the shortcomings and the weaknesses are addressed immediately so we know how to get better on that weakness. Our jump in offensive zone play is very good; we just have to keep getting better defensively and getting that puck back.”