On Mon, 6 Jan 1997, (No Name) wrote:
 
> I hope I'm not upsetting any Tiger fans out there, but Princeton in first
> place...aye carumba!  I know that they were an improved team, but can someone
> tell me what's going on down there.  I'm very tempted to make the trip down to
> see the Clarkson game on Valentine's Day (as long as neither team wears pink).
 
I apologize for not posting the Friday RPI game, but I did want to make
some comments about this year's Princeton team.  It is quite simply the
best Tiger team I have ever seen  That freshman goalie is very good, and
he will keep the Tigers in a game throughout the season.  I was almost
struck by the team speed that Princeton sports.  The Tigers forwards
consistently beat the RPI defenseman back on many rushes.  The RPI defense
didn't actually play that bad, they didn't make inordinate mistakes, other
than Riegstad's on the second goal, and they tried to play positional
defense.  However Princeton's speed, especially through the neutral zone,
often resulted in the Engineer defenseman skating forward toward Laing,
instead of back checking.
 
RPI made a tactical mistake early on.  In the first I immediately noted
that the Engineers were make a mistake by trying to play Princeton's speed
game.  RPI got a few chances playing the end-to-end Tiger style, but
Princeton's goalie came up strong, and it was only inevitable that
Princeton would come up with its own scoring plays.  RPI needs to grind
and check.  This year's edition is a far cry from Buddy Powers' run-and-
gun offense.  They need to work the puck in and dig the corners.  They
couldn't keep up with Princeton's high speed attack, and ultimately,
couldn't even net a goal.
 
But Princeton has got good talent.  I would guess the only thing that will
probably keep them from winning the ECAC this season will be their youth--
witness their improbable breakdown against Union the next night.  It is
certainly no cake walk playing the Tigers anymore.  In this year of ECAC
parity though any of the top six teams are an even money bet to win the
Tournament.  And the Tigers are definitely one of those six.
*****************************************************************************
Brian Morris                  RPI Engineers--Big and Nasty
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