Stat CategoryPrincetonNavyGoals1911Shots4842Shots on Goal3622Possessions4538Groundballs1721Saves1117Save%50%47%Shooting Pct40%26%Faceoffs1914Turnovers911Turnover%20%29%
Princeton was pretty dominant in this one. Impressive performance to show up in Annapolis and put up the kind of stat line they did. On the season, Navy has been one of the better defensive units. The Tigers would have you thinking that is not the case. Sowers and company shredded the Mids’ D.
Tale of the Tape
Stat CategoryPrincetonNavyOff. Efficiency42.2%28.9%T.O.P.52%48%Possession Length41.644.9Time to First Shot37.135.5Shots/Possession1.071.11
42.2% offensive efficiency will win you most of your games. (To put Penn State in perspective, the Nittany Lions have averaged 40.1% for the entire season.)This game was played at a fairly slow pace, relative to the rest of the league, but Princeton was able to make it work. They were patient, taking 37 seconds, on average, to get off a first shot, but that didn’t lead to a lot of turnovers, which is why they were able to click at such a high rate.
Let’s talk about Michael Sowers
Stats: Michael SowersQ1Q2Q3Q4TotalGoals00022Assists24017Shots10337Shots on Goal10236Shooting Pct0%N/A0%67%29%Groundballs01001Turnovers00000EGA1.042.170.302.596.11
Sowers was the story for the Tigers’ offense, racking up 6.11 total EGA. Interestingly, there was a pretty clear split for him from half to half. In the first half, he was the consummate feeder, taking only one shot, but dishing out 6 of his 7 assists. In the second half, by contrast, he scored two goals on 6 shots. As Navy keyed on the first half goal scorers, he shifted into attack-mode and picked up the slack.Adaptability was the name of his game tonight. I’d be surprised if that 6.11 EGA line isn’t enough to make our weekly top performances list next Monday.
Splits
Princeton SplitsPre Q3 15:00Post Q3 15:00Off. Efficiency45.8%38.1%Shooting Pct41%38%Turnover%25%14%T.O.P.58%47%Possession Length42.940.2Time to First Shot35.638.9Shots/Possession1.121.00
If there is a potential issue to take out of the win for Princeton, it was the disparity between the halves. Now I know what you are going to say: but they were closing out a win, who cares what their offense did…And there is some truth to that. But if we combine this with the Sowers split from above, there is a potential reason to worry.As Navy keyed on the other scorers, Sowers was forced into a more aggressive role. And he excelled in that role, as we mentioned above. But the offense as a whole went from other-worldly in the first half to just merely very good in the 2nd.If teams are going to force Sowers to beat them by scoring, rather than setting up his teammates, the Tigers run the risk of becoming one-dimensional. And the splits indicate that they would be less effective overall in that scenario.
PrincetonNavyGoals1911Shots4842Shots on Goal3622Possessions4538Groundballs1721Saves1117Save%50%47%Shooting Pct40%26%Faceoffs1914Turnovers911Turnover%20%29%
Princeton was pretty dominant in this one. Impressive performance to show up in Annapolis and put up the kind of stat line they did. On the season, Navy has been one of the better defensive units. The Tigers would have you thinking that is not the case. Sowers and company shredded the Mids’ D.
Tale of the Tape
PrincetonNavyOff. Efficiency42.2%28.9%T.O.P.52%48%Possession Length41.644.9Time to First Shot37.135.5Shots/Possession1.071.11
42.2% offensive efficiency will win you most of your games. (To put Penn State in perspective, the Nittany Lions have averaged 40.1% for the entire season.)This game was played at a fairly slow pace, relative to the rest of the league, but Princeton was able to make it work. They were patient, taking 37 seconds, on average, to get off a first shot, but that didn’t lead to a lot of turnovers, which is why they were able to click at such a high rate.
Let’s talk about Michael Sowers
Q1Q2Q3Q4TotalGoals00022Assists24017Shots10337Shots on Goal10236Shooting Pct0%N/A0%67%29%Groundballs01001Turnovers00000EGA1.042.170.302.596.11
Sowers was the story for the Tigers’ offense, racking up 6.11 total EGA. Interestingly, there was a pretty clear split for him from half to half. In the first half, he was the consummate feeder, taking only one shot, but dishing out 6 of his 7 assists. In the second half, by contrast, he scored two goals on 6 shots. As Navy keyed on the first half goal scorers, he shifted into attack-mode and picked up the slack.Adaptability was the name of his game tonight. I’d be surprised if that 6.11 EGA line isn’t enough to make our weekly top performances list next Monday.
Splits
Pre Q3 15:00Post Q3 15:00Off. Efficiency45.8%38.1%Shooting Pct41%38%Turnover%25%14%T.O.P.58%47%Possession Length42.940.2Time to First Shot35.638.9Shots/Possession1.121.00
If there is a potential issue to take out of the win for Princeton, it was the disparity between the halves. Now I know what you are going to say: but they were closing out a win, who cares what their offense did…And there is some truth to that. But if we combine this with the Sowers split from above, there is a potential reason to worry.As Navy keyed on the other scorers, Sowers was forced into a more aggressive role. And he excelled in that role, as we mentioned above. But the offense as a whole went from other-worldly in the first half to just merely very good in the 2nd.If teams are going to force Sowers to beat them by scoring, rather than setting up his teammates, the Tigers run the risk of becoming one-dimensional. And the splits indicate that they would be less effective overall in that scenario.
