I urge Luis Valente to post a followup to Martin Small's article after
this weekend's game. I have only seen Princeton once this year
(their 6-0 thrashing of RPI in Troy) but have followed their
progress on this list. While I agree with the assessment that
Princeton's style has historically been "clutch and grab" with a
fair amount of "cheap" stickwork, what I've seen and heard this
year is much different. This year's Tiger team relies on speed,
good passing and a very disciplined defense.
 
I hope Brown's coaching staff has done its homework. If the Brown team
is going into this game expecting the Princeton team of old, they're
going to spend an afternoon watching the rear end of the Princeton
offense; the defense grabbing the puck and feeding the wingers heading in
the opposite direction.
 
As General Motors would say, "this isn't your father's Princeton hockey
team"... ;-)
 
>A Different Philosophy
>
 
>Princeton relies on a tight man-to-man defensive scheme coupled with all-out
>backchecking. Tiger forwards play both ends of the ice, consistently
>covering their checks at every possible moment.  [...]  Princeton
>has also been privileged to have such finesse hockey players as Casson
>Masters, Mike Bois and Matt Brush. Strong offensive leadership from these
>forwards have provided scoring punch on a team that adheres to the idea that
>the best offense is a good defense. Some statistics may indicate otherwise,
>but what stands out most about the past and present Princeton teams is their
>sticks. The Tiger squads play a "hands-on game," clutching, grabbing,
>holding and pinning whenever possible.
>
>[...] The debate has raged, however. Clutch-and-grab hockey has killed the
>game in
>terms of speed and open end-to-end action. Some feel that too much
>clutch-and-grab is just bad officiating. As the rationale goes, penalties
>such as holding, tripping, hooking, slashing and spearing exist for a reason
>-- to keep hockey sticks on the ice and not around players' bodies. The
>problem has been that stick penalties are very much a matter of referee's
>discretion.
>
>Brown and Princeton have battled each other over the past three years for
>more than just league titles. The contest has at its roots a moral battle
>over the nature of hockey."
>
>[From Martin Small's article in The Brown Daily Herald, February 6, 1997,
>quoted with permission from the author.]
>
>HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
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>
>
Mark Lewin
Class of '69
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
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