SUPER SAVER: Princeton University men’s hockey goalie Colton Phinney makes a save in action last year on his way to producing a program single-season record 1,058 stops and earning second-team All-Ivy League honors. The Tigers will be depending on Phinney to stand tall again between the pipes this season as they look to improve on the 5-23-3 record they posted last season. Princeton opens its 2016-17 campaign by playing at Michigan State on October 28 and facing the U.S. Under-18 team in an exhibition game a day later in Plymouth, Mich. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In his first two years guiding the Princeton University men’s hockey team, Ron Fogarty has preached patience as he has built the foundation to get the program back on the winning track.

After going 4-23-3 in his debut season and 5-23-3 last winter, Fogarty is seeing signs in the preseason that his team is on the cusp of turning the corner.

“The practices have been very good; we can continue on from drill to drill without rehashing, breaking it down or fixing things,” said Fogarty, whose team opens its 2016-17 campaign by playing at Michigan State on October 28 and facing the U.S. Under-18 team in an exhibition game a day later in Plymouth, Mich.

“The fundamental skill is there with this group, the pace of practice is very high and we are excited to get going.”

The Princeton players, for their part, have worked hard to pick up the pace.

“They are stronger and quicker with very good mindsets and focus for the season,” said Fogarty.

“They all passed the off ice conditioning test on the first try which is great. It is a focused group, it is a determined group that wants change. Seeing the last three weeks, there is great optimism from the staff for what the team can do.”

There is cause for optimism with the return of sophomore forwards Ryan Kuffner (5 goals and 15 assists in 2015-16) sophomore Max Veronneau (11 goals, 6 assists), and Alex Riche (2 goals, 6 assists).

“The line of Kuffner, Veronneau, and Riche is back, they are more experienced, they know what to expect,” said Fogarty.

“They had a summer in getting better and preparing because they know what it is going to be like in the grind of the season. It is going to open up some of the space for the freshman to maneuver when the other teams are going to be paying particular attention to the sophomore group.”

Fogarty is looking to junior forward Eric Robinson (7 goals, 4 assists) to open things up at the offensive end.

“Robinson is definitely standing out, he is utilizing his assets better, which is his speed to be in areas and not to take him out of spots,” said Fogarty.

Over the last three seasons, the program’s chief asset has been senior goalie Colton Phinney, who had a 2.86 goals against average and a .924 save percentage last winter as he made a program single-season record 1,058 saves and earned second-team All-Ivy League honors.

“I wish we were playing the last couple of weeks with Colton, he has looked great in goal,” said Fogarty.

“He had the shoulder surgery in the summer and it is 100 percent healed. His focus for practice is equal and even better than his focus in the games last year. This is his last opportunity as a free agent; this season is imperative for him for his pro aspirations.”

Princeton boasts a solid corps of defensemen in front of Phinney with such battle-tested veterans as senior Tommy Davis (1 goal, 4 assists), senior Quin Pompi (1 goal, 5 assists), junior Joe Grabowski (1 goal, 7 assists), junior Matt Nelson (2 assists), and sophomore Josh Teves (2 goals, 5
assists) along with promising freshman Derek Topatigh.

“The good thing that we have is an older, experienced defensemen group,” said Fogarty.

“We have seniors and juniors returning with Teves as the only sophomore. We brought on a very good defenseman Derek Topatigh to help out too. The whole group looks good. Tommy has grown. Quin doesn’t get lot of recognition but he has been very solid for us the last couple of years.”

In order to get on the winning track, the Tigers need to be more solid in thwarting their foes.

“We have to be stronger underneath the puck, we still chased it last year and people got very good scoring chances against Colton,” said Fogarty.

“We gave up a lot of shots, many were from the outside but we gave up a lot of grade A chances. That window went down towards the end of the season, we need to continue that trend.”

The opening weekend will be a homecoming for Fogarty as he coached seven seasons at Adrian College in Michigan before taking the helm at Princeton.

“It will be a good bonding trip for the entire team to play on the road against Michigan State and Team USA,” said Fogarty.

“We will know what to expect after we see what we have. I am excited to go back to Michigan and see some friends; it will be pretty fun.”

Fogarty is expecting a fun winter. “We believe that there are a lot of good things now and we can start scratching the surface and move up the standings,” said Fogarty.

“We have seen a lot of growth here over the past two years to where we are right now. I am really excited for the season to get going because we have some pieces to the puzzle in place now where we envisioned this program was going to get back to the realization of its winning ways.”