Just a couple of comments on Princeton (granted, I've only seen them once
this year, at Harvard, but I think I've seen them enough in the last few
years to add my thoughts):
 
This is definitely the fastest, best passing team the Tigers have had in
the last 10 years. However, the only personnel changes (putting aside
goalies for now) from last year are replacing Jonathan Kelley (last year's
leading scorer) up front and four senior defensemen in back (Dan Brown,
Brent Flahr, Barrington Miller and Jason Smith). Kelley's spot is filled
by the combined efforts of several players, none of whom are as fast,
strong or innately talented as  Kelley -- all of whom are somewhat smarter
(sorry, Rock). The new defenders are freshmen Dominique Auger, Darren Yopyk
and either Kevin Sheehan, Chris Barber or sometimes-converted forward Mike
Bois, depending on Don Cahoon's plans. Barber will probably be a good one but
isn't getting a ton of ice time, Sheehan is filling a role (and is not
particularly swift) and Bois is filling a need. Yopyk and Auger are great -
scholarship quality players - who can skate and handle the puck. Do two
guys make that big of a difference? Certainly on the breakout, where Flahr
and Smith really struggled last year. But, overall, I see the difference
being maturation of the sophomore, junior and senior classes, who really
seem to be better prepared and more committed to hockey. The biggest
difference is consistency. They have embraced Don Cahoon's hockey
philosophy, no questions asked, and have put aside personal
accomplishments in favor of team goals.
 
As for goaltending, the Saltarelli (junior)/Rankin (sophomore) tandem has
been great,but James Konte, who graduated last year, was arguably
Princeton's best goalie in 20 years. He had his most inconsistent season
last year, but was still the team's co-MVP for a third year in a row. So
goaltending has probably not been the difference.
 
Looking back, I'm reminded of the 89-90 Tigers. Princeton surprised some
people in 87-88, building expectations for 88-89. The 88-89, John
Messuri-led Tigers were a huge disappointment. But in 89-90, the
then-seniors really came together and led Princeton to its only
.500 ECAC season to date.  Unfortunately, for a number of reasons (oh,
Jim Higgins comes to mind), the Tigers quickly slid backwards (beginning
with the end of the 89-90 season). The 89-90 Tigers had some pretty good
young players -- Andre Faust, Mike McKee, Jeff Kampersal -- but didn't
build on their success. Here's hoping that this Princeton team doesn't
let this opportunity slide by.
 
BTW, the 89-90 Tigers had a sophomore forward named Dan Slatalla who was
basically a free-spirited Scott Bertoli whose coach didn't know what to
do with him. Consequently, Slatalla quit early in the season after
a promising freshman year. Bertoli, on the other hand, leads Princeton
in goals. Slats returned for his senior season, under Don Cahoon, but
the nearly two years away (and too much time in the library :-)) took
away from Dan's power forward style. I assure you - had Cahoon been
Slatalla's coach from day one, he would have made a run at the NHL. Now
he has to settle for being a doctor :-).
 
Geoff Howell
 
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