While nothing in sports is a sure thing, it's quite likely that the women's hockey game at the Olympics between the U.S. and Canada the other day was a preview of the gold medal game.
Round 1 went to the Canadians, 4-2, with an assist on the first goal from Princeton's Sarah Fillier. The Canadians, with that win, earn the top seed in the quarterfinals, where they will take on Sweden Friday.
If you look at the stats for the Olympic tournament, Canada has the top seven scorers (technically, the No. 7 scorer is tied with the leading scorer for the U.S. team). After the round-robin phase, Fillier is in fifth, with five goals and two assists in four games, though the five goals tie her with teammate Brianne Jenner for the most. At the Olympics. Let that sink in.
Also, keep in mind that Fillier is the youngest player on her team and the only active college player.
Another Princeton player, Claire Thompson, is ninth, with six points on a goal and five assists. Thompson does lead the tournament in one important category: plus/minus, with a +11.
Princeton's Kim Newell, competing for China under the name Jiaying Zhou, finished with the second-best save percentage and third-best goals-against average, though China did not advance to the quarterfinals.
Newell also gained some international recognition for her pads.
The next Princeton athlete to compete in Beijing is Nathan Crumpton, who makes his Winter Olympic debut, but not his Olympic debut, when he makes his first run in the skeleton tonight (8:30 Eastern, if TigerBlog is reading the schedule correctly). Crumpton will be representing American Samoa, just like he did in the Summer Games in Tokyo, where he ran the 100 meters.
Crumpton will be joining a very elite group of athletes when he takes to the track, as he will become the 140th person to compete in both the Summer and Winter Games.
Skeleton, by the way, is sort of the opposite of luge, as the riders are face down and head first. If you're wondering how fast Crumpton will be going on his trips down the track, he'll probably reach speeds of 80 mph.
Crumpton, by the way, has a legitimate chance to be in the mix for the medals in the event. The 36 year old is a former Princeton track and field athlete.
Like Newell, Crumpton also got some international attention, this time at the Opening Ceremonies, where he appeared shirtless on a 23-degree night. You can see what he looked like, and read more about him, HERE. For the rest of Princeton's Olympic schedule, click HERE.
For things that are happening on ice a bit closer to Princeton, there is the men's hockey team. The Tigers are in the midst of a very grueling stretch of having eight games in 16 days. Game 3 of that run was last night, when the Tigers defeated Yale 2-1 at Hobey Baker Rink.
Princeton is playing for home ice for the upcoming ECAC playoffs. There are currently six teams who are separated by a mere four points, and four of those teams will be playing at home in the first round.
This year, the ECAC is awarding points differently than it has in the past, by the way. Now a win in regulation is worth three points, instead of two. There are no ties, per se, as a 3x3 five-minute overtime follows a game that is even after 60 minutes.
If neither team scores then, it goes to a shootout. Teams get two points for winning in OT or in shootout, one point for a loss in overtime or a shootout and no points for a loss in regulation.
St. Lawrence, one of the opponents this weekend, is in that mix of teams, with 20 points. Clarkson is currently in second place in the ECAC.
Princeton's win last night was a big one, giving the Tigers three more points and vaulting them over Colgate into a tie with St. Lawrence for seventh place with 20 points. Princeton has also played either one or two fewer games than every other team in the league other than first-place Quinnipiac.
Next up for Princeton is the long trip to St. Lawrence and Clarkson, who is in second place in the league. Beyond that, Princeton still has two games against both Harvard (third place) and Dartmouth (12th place) and a home weekend with Colgate and Cornell (fourth place).
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