ACTION JAXSON: Princeton University men’s hockey player Jaxson Ezman controls the puck in action this weekend. Senior forward Ezman scored two goals to help Princeton defeat Alaska-Fairbanks 5-2 last Friday at Hobey Baker Rink in its season opener. A day later, Ezman chipped in a goal and an assist as the Tigers topped the Nanooks 6-3. Ezman was later named the ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week. The Tigers will look to keep on the winning track as they play at Brown on November 7 and at Yale on November 8. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
With the Princeton University men’s hockey team clinging to a 2-1 lead over visiting Alaska-Fairbanks heading into the third period of its season opener last Friday night, Jaxson Ezman caught fire.
Senior forward Ezman scored two straight goals in the first five minutes of the period as Princeton built a 4-1 lead on the way to a 5-2 triumph before a Halloween night crowd of 920 at Hobey Baker Rink.
In reflection on his first goal, Ezman credited his linemates, Brendan Gorman and Julian Facchinelli, with setting him up.
“With the heat they put in the forecheck, they make my job pretty easy,” said Ezman, a 6’1, 205-pound native of Middleton, Wisc. “They kicked it back out to me on the rebound and I just shot it. If you look at Facchinelli getting on the back and pressuring and Gorman getting in like that, that is all from a good forecheck.”
On his second tally, Ezman let the puck fly. “It was just a shot from the point with guys in front,” said Ezman. “Again it was the forecheck.”
The Tigers were fired up for the opener as they were facing a Nanook squad that had already played eight games.
“We were juiced, I think we have the longest training camp in college hockey,” said Ezman. “It was a lot of playing against each other and we were ready to finally see another jersey.”
The Tigers played well from the outset as Kai Daniells scored a goal with 6:24 left in the first period to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead and they never trailed over the rest of the game.
“That whole line was on fire tonight, they had a lot of poise down low in the offensive zone,” said Ezman referring to the trio of Jake Manfre, David Jacobs and Daniells. “They were definitely the engine to get us going.”
Over the years, Ezman has gotten in synch with classmate Gorman.
“It is easy to have a connection with Brendan,” said Ezman “Anyone on the whole roster could have a connection with him. He is unreal, he is a good player.”
While the Tigers were happy with the opening night win, they were determined to raise their game a night later as they wrapped up the two-game set with Alaska-Fairbanks.
“We always want to be consistent; we are all perfectionists and we all know what we can improve on tomorrow,” said Ezman, who tallied a goal and an assist as Princeton defeated the Nanooks 6-3 last Saturday. “It definitely helped to get us on the right track.”
Princeton head coach Ben Syer liked the way his players came out of the gate.
“I thought they were fired up, I really liked our first 10 minutes to really get going,” said Syer. “They are well coached, Erik [Largen] does a tremendous job. Having a team that has already played eight games when you haven’t, the enthusiasm is there for sure. It is harnessing that passion but still with the poise.”
Getting on the board first helped the Tigers to keep firing away.
“Whenever you score first, there is certainly momentum to go from that,” said Syer. “You could feel a little bit of the energy here tonight from the start. And every time that we scored here tonight, you felt that, which was great.”
Syer credited Ezman with getting off to a great start. “Ez has been one of our better players in camp,” said Syer of Ezman, who was later named the ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week for his production last weekend. “The reality is that he has earned everything that he has gotten and will get. I truly believe that he cares more about the group of guys in there than he does about his own individual success. You can see that and the guys feed off of that and feel that. That is a tremendous attribute and we followed his lead tonight.”
Ezman’s success is the product of a daily effort. “It is that consistency in knowing that he can have an impact on a game or a practice and bring others along with him,” said Syer. “I think that is one of the things he has done a good job of. He has prepared accordingly. I know everybody sees it tonight but we see it Monday through Thursday as well.”
With Princeton playing at Brown on November 7 and at Yale on November 8, Syer will be looking for his squad to keep up the consistency at the offensive end.
“We have spent a lot of time working on that, I thought we earned the bulk of our goals here tonight,” said Syer, who also got goals from Miles Gunty and Tyler Rubin on Friday with Gorman, Manfre, Daniells and Ezman all finding the back of the net on Saturday. “I will say that there was a part of the second period where we started to get away from how hard it is to get those opportunities. I go back to how difficult this team is that we played here tonight. They make you work and earn everything that you get. Other than that kind of window there, I thought we worked hard to get those opportunities.”
Ezman, for his part, is primed to take advantage of opportunities in his final season with the Tigers.
“I am ready to go, it is one day at a time,” said Ezman. “As a senior, you are the engine of the team. You are the guy that people look up to now and you hold a little more weight.”