Tigers hockey hosting Brown in ECAC first round tonight
By: Justin Feil
Saturday could have made for a nice ending to Kevin Westgarth’s career, but he’s hoping it’s far from finished.
The Princeton University senior had assists on the first two goals in a 4-1 win over No. 14 St. Lawrence on Saturday, just 24 hours after he scored twice and had three assists in a 7-1 win over No. 6 Clarkson. His seven points in just two games was one-third of his season total 21. Westgarth was named Inside College Hockey’s National Player of the Week as well as the Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
There was plenty to celebrate when the Tigers got together for their banquet after Saturday’s win, but when it came time for Westgarth to address those in attendance, he couldn’t help but remind everyone that the Tigers were in perfect position for a run at the ECAC championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
"That was the way I ended my senior speech," Westgarth said. "’We have a long way to go.’ It was a little boastful. I don’t want to be looking too far ahead, but I’m an eternal optimist.
"I think this team is dangerous. We proved it this weekend. We’re looking forward to continuing it. I know the seniors think we have a little more work to do. I’m definitely not ready to be done playing hockey at Princeton University yet."
Princeton, which wrapped up the No. 6 seed with Friday’s win over Clarkson, will host No. 11 seed Brown at Baker Rink in the best-of-three ECAC first round playoffs with 7 p.m. games tonight, Saturday and Sunday if necessary. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth.
"We played two tight games with them, taking them to overtime twice," said Westgarth of a 3-2 win and 1-1 tie against Brown in the regular-season meetings. "We know they have a very solid goalie. Their freshman goalie has played very well this year. They have a pretty solid team and as the records of this league indicate, any team can beat any team on any given night. We’re looking forward to picking up where we left off and establishing ourselves pretty solidly against Brown this weekend."
Brown is 10-13-6 overall, 6-12-4 in the ECAC. They have allowed just 3.03 goals per game while scoring 2.97 per game themselves. With their weekend sweep, the Tigers improved to 13-13-3 overall, 10-10-2 in the ECAC. Princeton has allowed 3.07 goals per game while scoring 2.86 per contest.
"We did not want to play Brown," said Princeton head coach Guy Gadowsky. "I think they’re a very scary team. Their goal differentiation is five, so they’ve only given up five more goals than they’ve scored. Dartmouth’s forwards are the best in the league, but Brown is a close second. They have very scary forwards that can put puck in, even on their own. We have some pretty good forwards too. I don’t think much of advantage either way."
Westgarth is one of those forwards, who can be dangerous for the Tigers. He is one of nine seniors looking to go out on top. Brown eliminated Princeton from the ECAC playoffs in 2003. In the last two seasons, it has been St. Lawrence and Clarkson that respectively ended the Tigers’ ECAC hopes. Princeton has not won a first-round ECAC series since 1999, when it reached the semifinals a year after winning the ECAC title.
"Over the past three years, we’ve had terrible results in the playoffs," Westgarth said. "We just haven’t shown up to the best of our abilities from what we’ve done. To be playing the hockey we are now, the weekend is exactly what you want to do. It is tough to keep things going, but we’ve been on a road heading here. If not this season, the last three years since our coach came in.
"Earlier this year, we were a team that could win some big games, but it just seemed like it wasn’t going to happen every night. But even early this year, we knew it was coming. To finally see or hope that we’re on the upswing of that, all those games are starting to go our way and we’re coming together as a team. We’re not trying not to lose; we’re expecting to win. We’re going to be ready to win."
The Tigers couldn’t have picked a better tune-up for the ECAC playoffs. They went through the league’s top two teams for their fourth win in five games to secure home ice for the first round of the ECAC.
"Guys knew they had the ability to have a great weekend," Gadowsky said. "The difference was the seniors had that as a goal all year and much of last year to host home ice. To host was a big opportunity. It possibly added motivation."
No one could have anticipated the Tigers being able to take it to the country’s No. 6 team in the way Princeton did. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and never looked back.
"We had games where we came out like that even at the start of the season when we were 1-6-1," Gadowsky said. "Friday we came out and got a few bounces that went our way. We’ve played as well before, but did not have as good results."
The Tigers didn’t let up the next night. A fluke goal in the opening minute by St. Lawrence was all that Princeton allowed before pulling away late for the weekend sweep. They sustained Friday’s momentum with the second win of the weekend Saturday.
"It was exactly the way we wanted to go into playoffs," Westgarth said. "We wanted to make sure we were playing consistently and play our game, and do it well. The next night, we got down, 1-0 and were tied for over two-thirds of the game. That was definitely something we take pride in playing consistently and doing the things that give us success. To do that against St. Lawrence was huge.
"It was definitely in our mind when we won. To beat the sixth team in the nation is a pretty exciting thing. The way we did it was kind of noteworthy. To do it again the next night against the team that is 14th was phenomenal. First and foremost, it didn’t matter who was coming in, we knew we had to win a game. We’re going to play every team the exact same way. We’re not going to change the way we play. We want to just do the things we do well, play solid Princeton hockey. Now it’s Brown next weekend."
It is the last chance for Westgarth and his Princeton senior teammates to win an ECAC playoff series. The Tigers have all the momentum in the world after last weekend’s win, but their focus now is on winning two games against Brown.
"Kevin has been through it for four years," Gadowsky said. "It’s very important to the program. They’re all proud of what they accomplished in the regular season. To validate that, wins in the playoffs certainly help.
"It’s an interesting class. They bring lot of different things. They certainly lead this team on ice with their identity and they have the leadership in the locker room. They take up all positions. There are nine of them. The class, they don’t just bring one thing to this hockey team. They bring a lot of aspects to our club. They’ve done a great job leading on the ice, but also off in terms of the identity of the team. Very importantly, they’ve created an excellent environment that’s fun. That’s most important."
Westgarth and the Tigers aren’t ready for that fun to end yet. There’s a long run ahead.

