Weekend Preview

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Princeton/Quinnipiac Preview

Well, this isn't so much a preview about the Tigers and Bobcats as a preview about what St. Lawrence needs to do to come out with a split or sweep.

Coach Joe Marsh made it very clear what he wants to see improved.

“We cannot repeat consistently what's going to hurt us, specifically penalties,” he said. “Those things we can really kind of clean up our act a little bit and be a much better, much more efficient team.”

St. Lawrence has had more penalties than its opponent in ever game this season.

“It's just ridiculous,” Marsh said. “We're not the type of team that can survive that.”

The Saints are spending 12.6 minutes in the box per game. They had eight penalties against Sacred Heart last Saturday alone, and five of them were in the third period when they allowed three goals.

“Even if you get all the kills, they're getting zone time; they're handling the puck more, and they're getting confidence,” Marsh said. “We just have got to get better in that.”

Princeton doesn't have this problem. The Tigers spend nine minutes in the box on average, through their first two games. They're disciplined and can take advantage of mistakes.

All three of Princeton's goals have come via the power play.

“We have to learn from these first six games and apply it,” Marsh said. “We have to concentrate on basic fundamentals.”

That's true for the Saints against Quinnipiac as well. The Bobcats take a lot of shots and score a lot of goals. This season alone, Quinnipiac is scoring four goals per game through its first five contests.

“I think we need to do a better job with our front line defense in our own end, particularly blocking shots,” Marsh said. “(Sacred Heart) got three shots right down the pipe. Our forwards have to do a better job getting in front, and if they're not blocking shots, they're certainly discouraging the shot from every being taken.”

The question still lingers about who exactly is the starting goalie. Marsh has maintained it's Alex Petizian still, but Robby Moss at 3-0 with a 93 save percentage has made a good push for time.

“I know I haven't picked up a win yet,” Petizian said. “But the last game, I felt I played pretty well. I needed that last game to kind of get it under my belt. Whoever is in there, I just hope we win.”

Princeton is ranked 14th nationally, and Quinnipiac narrowly missed the list after making it the week before. St. Lawrence didn't receive a vote this week, and were picked to finish 10th in the ECAC by the coaches.

Really?

Really.

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Links round-up

Quinnipiac Game Notes (PDF)

Princeton Game Notes (PDF)