2022–23 Princeton Tigers men's ice hockey season

After possessing little to no offense over the previous four seasons, Princeton finally began to see some improvement in 2023. While the team still averaged less than 3 goals per game over the course of the season, the Tigers managed to score 19 more goals than they had in 2022.[1] Ian Murphy led the team's offense, but the addition of Brendan Gorman to the lineup appeared to finally help his older brother Liam begin to live up to his position as the program's only NHL draft pick. The defense, meanwhile, did an excellent job by limiting the chances of their opponents; Princeton allowed less than 28 shots against per game. The story of the season, however, was in goal.

After a bit of a sluggish start, Ethan Pearson posted back-to-back shutouts to stake a claim on the starting role in net. Following a predictable pair of losses to Quinnipiac, he recorded his third zero of the year against a ranked RIT squad and took a stranglehold on the Tiger crease. Princeton saw its best stretch of hockey in years as the Tigers went 8–3 over a 9-week period. The team managed to get above .500 and were in position to potentially get a bye into the ECAC quarterfinals, something they hadn't done since 2009.

In early February, after a slight decline in their performance, Princeton's season was dealt a mortal blow. In a game against St. Lawrence, Pearson went down with an injury on the Larries' second goal and would miss the remainder of the season.[2] Without a third goaltender on the roster, Benjamin Crewe was brought in to be the backup from the school's club team, though that was only for emergency purposes. Aidan Porter was put in goal for the remainder of the season and results were not good.

In the final six games, Princeton went 1–5 while allowing more than 4 goals against per game. They slid down the ECAC standings, not only losing out on the possibility of a bye but also having to travel for the first round series. The reeling Tigers headed up to Schenectady to take on Union. Though they again allowed 4 goals in the match, Murphy's 3-point night helped spark the team to a 6–4 victory.[3] They advanced to face Harvard in the quarterfinals and were completely outmatched by the Crimson. The Tigers dropped a pair of 1–6 decisions to meekly bow out of the postseason.

As of September 8, 2022.[4]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Benjamin Crewe	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2000-02-13	Arlington, Virginia	The Kiski School (USHS-Prep)	—
3		Mike Kennedy	Junior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-07-17	Holyoke, Massachusetts	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
4		David Ma	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-06-22	Yonkers, New York	Chicago (USHL)	—
7		Nick Carabin	Junior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-04-30	Mahwah, New Jersey	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
8		Tyler Rubin	Freshman	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-01-10	Natick, Massachusetts	West Kelowna (BCHL)	—
9		MacKenzie Merriman	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-04-14	White Rock, British Columbia	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
10		Alex Konovalov	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-11-12	Basking Ridge, New Jersey	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
11		Jayden Sison	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-01-27	Paoli, Pennsylvania	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
12		Ian Murphy	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	1999-04-06	Scituate, Massachusetts	Tri-City (USHL)	—
13		Nick Seitz	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-01-18	Manhattan, New York	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
14		Liam Gorman	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	2000-05-08	Arlington, Massachusetts	St. Sebastian's (USHS–MA)	CHI, 177th overall 2018
15		Spencer Kersten	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-05-16	Waterloo, Ontario	Oakville (OJHL)	—
16		Brendan Gorman	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-02-17	Arlington, Massachusetts	St. Sebastian's (USHS–MA)	—
17		Adam Robbins	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	2000-04-12	New York, New York	Chicago (USHL)	—
18		Matt Hayami	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-05-21	Oakville, Ontario	Markham (OJHL)	—
19		Jack Cronin	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-03-31	South Hamilton, Massachusetts	Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)	—
20		Kevin Anderson	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-09-15	Regina, Saskatchewan	Notre Dame (SJHL)	—
21		Pito Walton	Senior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2000-03-17	Peapack, New Jersey	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
22		Noah de la Durantaye	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-05-27	Montreal, Quebec	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
23		Joe Berg	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-10-07	Plano, Texas	Tri-City (USHL)	—
24		David Jacobs	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-09-26	Needham, Massachusetts	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	—
25		Nick Marciano	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2002-05-19	Greenwich, Connecticut	Prince George (BCHL)	—
27		Jaxson Ezman	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-12-22	Middleton, Wisconsin	Dubuque (USHL)	—
28		Brendan Wang	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-02-08	Burnaby, British Columbia	Fort McMurray (AJHL)	—
31		Ethan Pearson	Sophomore	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-07-30	Fredericton, New Brunswick	Mount St. Charles (Midget AAA)	—
35		Aidan Porter	Senior	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-05-18	Weston, Massachusetts	Vernon (BCHL)	—

[6]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[7]