BREAKING THROUGH: Princeton University men’s hockey player David Jacobs handles the puck last Friday night against No. 9 Dartmouth. Senior forward and captain Jacobs scored two goals in the game to help the Tigers prevail 5-4. A night later, Jacobs chipped in another goal as the Tigers edged No. 18 Harvard 3-2. Princeton, which improved to 10-4 overall and 6-2 ECAC Hockey with the wins, moved into first place in the league standings and is now ranked No. 20 by USCHO.com, its first appearance in the national poll since 2018. The Tigers, who are 8-0 at Hobey Baker Rink for the first time in program history, host RPI on January 9 and Union on January 10.(Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Coming into last weekend, David Jacobs hadn’t scored a goal this season for the Princeton University men’s hockey team.
But as Princeton hosted No. 9 Dartmouth last Friday, Jacobs broke through with a pair of goals to help the Tigers overcome a 2-0 deficit and pull out a 5-4 win.
Heading into a clash Saturday against Harvard, Jacobs and his teammates were hoping to carry over the momentum they gained from the win over the Big Green.
“The biggest thing is to keep building,” said Jacobs, a 5’11, 205-pound native of Needham, Mass., who has emerged as a key playmaker for the Tigers, leading the team with 11 assists. “We talk about playing a full six periods all weekend long. It is coming out to a hot start, imposing our physicality on them and setting the tone right away.”
But the Crimson got off to a good start, outshooting the Tigers 13-10 as the rivals were knotted in a scoreless tie after one period.
“We were kind of slow coming out of the gate,” said Jacobs. “I think once we hit the second TV timeout, we started getting pucks behind them.”
Early in the second period, Jacobs struck again as he blasted the puck into the back of the net on a feed by Jake Manfre to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
“It was a bit of a turnover, Manfre made a great play on the wall,” said Jacobs. “We knew the dots were open all night long so I just found myself on a dot. Manny made a great play and I just hammered it home.”
The goal by Jacobs got the Tigers going as they outshot the Crimson 18-9 in the period and went up 2-0 on a goal by Manfre.
“I think it starts with getting pucks behind them, making their defenders turn, finishing our checks and getting pucks to the net,” said Jacobs. “That is something we talk about all week long. Once we are doing that we are rolling and gaining some confidence. Our defenders get active in the play and it gets fun.”
The line of Jacobs, Manfre, and Kai Daniells has been rolling.
“I think we are confident right now,” said Jacobs. “We are heavy down low. When we are moving our feet, we are a really good line and hard to stop.”
In the third period, Harvard got moving as it scored 35 seconds into the period and then tallied midway through the game to draw even at 2-2.
But with the game seemingly heading to overtime as the teams were still tied at 2-2 in the waning seconds of regulation, Daniells got his stick on a shot by Kai Greaves and deflected it into the goal with 2.6 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 3-2 win and send the Hobey Baker Rink crowd of 2,042 into an uproar.
Jacobs was not surprised to see Daniells come through with the clutch goal.
“Kai has been unbelievable, he snapped back the draw,” said Jacobs. “He has been getting to the net better than anyone else on the team. When you do the little things right, you get rewarded. He has been great for us all year. We need him to keep going.”
Sweeping Dartmouth and Harvard made it a statement weekend for the Tigers as they earned their first home sweep of the Big Green and Crimson since the 2012-13 season and secured the program’s seventh weekend sweep of ranked opponents all-time. Posting its fifth straight win, Princeton improved to 10-4 overall and 6-2 ECAC Hockey, moving into first place with 19 points.
In addition, they reached 10 wins in 14 games, the fastest a Tiger team posted double digits in victories since the 2008-09 squad did it in 12 games on its way to the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, Princeton was ranked 20th by USCHO.com, its first appearance in the national poll since 2018.
“I think we know what we have in our room now, we know what we are capable of,” said Jacobs, reflecting on the team’s surge. “It is just about building and finding consistency every weekend. It is obviously an awesome weekend, we are going to enjoy it but then get back to work. We have another huge weekend at home next weekend.”
The Tigers achieved one other bit of history over the weekend as they improved to 8-0 at Hobey Baker Rink for the first time in program history.
“We love playing here,” said Jacobs. “The fans have been coming out, it has been packed and loud.”
Jacobs has loved serving as captain of the Tigers. “It has been awesome, we have a great group of guys,” said Jacobs. “There are a lot of leaders on the team, pulling each along. It has been easy for me.”
Princeton head coach Ben Syer was a bit taken aback by his team’s great finish in Saturday.
“There was enough time,” said Syer. “I watched the end of the Ole Miss-Georgia game so I know anything can happen,” said Syer. “We gave up a glorious chance last night with 10 seconds left. I would be lying to you if I thought it was going to happen.”
Like Jacobs, Syer wasn’t surprised to see Daniells score the game-winner.
“He went to the net,” said Syer. “A wise man once told me if you want bread, you go to the bakery. If you want goals, you go to the net. He has gotten rewarded for it.”
Syer acknowledged that Harvard outplayed the Tigers for most of the third period.
“You give them a lot of credit, in that first shift they come in and tap that one in,” said Syer. “They did a nice job of pushing up and we didn’t handle it well and then we are in a ballgame. We didn’t play to our identity in the third period but you have to give them a ton of credit.”
But the Tigers did display one of the hallmarks of its identity this season as it kept pushing forward.
“The guys don’t quit, they just don’t,” said Syer. “There is energy on the bench, even when we are not at our best. As a coach, you want everything to be scripted a certain way. I think players want the same thing and guess what, it is the reason why you play the game. There are ebbs and flows and that is why you play the game. Our guys are working through ways to be able to handle that. You are seeing some of that.”
The return last weekend of junior goalie Arthur Smith who had been sidelined by injury since early November gave the Tigers a boost of energy.
“It was nice, he won us the game in the third period,” said Syer of Smith, who made a season-high 33 saves in the win over Harvard and was later named ECACH Goalie of the Week. “He made some great saves. I know he gave up two. When we needed him, he was there for us.”
While Syer was happy to see Jacobs break through with three goals over the weekend, he had no qualms about what he has been getting from his captain this winter.
“It was a matter of time, he was getting his chances,” said Syer. “You look at him, he does so much for our group. You talk about the energy and the talk on the bench, he is the guy that does that. He leads that and the guys feed off of him. It is nice to have a couple of goals from him but even if he went through the whole year and didn’t have one, what he brings to the table for us is so good.”
In reflecting in his team’s 8-0 start at Hobey Baker Rink, Syer sees that streak as proof of concept.
“You hear guys chat about that a little bit, it is great to tweet and twitter and put it on Instagram,” said Syer. “Our focus is to go about it the right way. A couple months ago they were worried that we didn’t win on the road. You have got to play it the right way whether you are at home or on the road. It is nice to be able to win at home and keep the fans coming back.”
With Princeton hosting RPI on January 9 and Union on January 10, Syer is looking for his team to keep the home fans happy.
“Whenever you can get more points than games played on the weekend, that is favorable in the long run,” said Syer. “To be able to grind and get to that, it doesn’t mean much but it is an indicator that at least we are going about things the right way.”
Jacobs believes the Tigers will keep grinding. “It is just build off what we did this weekend; we will definitely make some tweaks on what we have to work towards,” said Jacobs. “We will break down some film and get back to work Monday. It is just worry about ourselves a bit and do what we do best. I think we will be in a great spot.”