Princeton University
Yale
Leroux Earns First Career Shutout as Men's Hockey Blanks Yale 3-0
November 25, 2003 | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 25, 2003
Box Score
Princeton, N.J. - Three different Tigers scored and sophomore goaltender Eric Leroux stopped all 23 Yale shots as the Princeton men's hockey team shut out the Bulldogs 3-0 Tuesday night at Hobey Baker Rink. Junior Mike Patton scored seven minutes into the first period to give Princeton a lead it would never surrender. The Tigers are now 3-6-0 overall and 3-4-0 in the ECAC. Yale falls to 2-7-0; 2-5-0 on the season.
Yale Ryan Trowbridge took the game's first penalty at 6:05 of the first period for a trip. That penalty helped set up the Tiger offense as Princeton was able to cash in on the power play chance and make the score 1-0. Patton collected the puck on the boards and fed sophomore Seamus Young on the blueline. Young quickly fed it back to Patton who skated in a few strides and fired a quick shot on net that beat Yale netminder Matt Modelski. The goals was Patton's second of the season Yale played a spirited first period and held many of the better scoring opportunities, but the play of Leroux and the timely goal by Patton gave Princeton the lead. The Bulldogs outshot the Tigers 10-4 in the opening period.
Momentum began to swing in the second period, as Princeton controlled play throughout the stanza, outshooting Yale by a 19-4 mark. However Princeton struggled to find the back of the net until a lucky bounce gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Freshman Colin Koch worked the puck to sophomore Mark Masters. Masters carried the puck behind the net and fired a pass into the slot hoping to find one of his teammates crashing the net. The puck however bounced off the skate of a Yale defender and slid just out of the reach of Modelski and into the Yale net. It was Masters' first goal of the season and the second of his career. For Koch, it was his second point in his first three college games.
The third period was more even but Princeton still had the better chances. Early in the period, with Yale's Jeff Dwyer serving a penalty, the Tiger power play struck again for its fourth goal in the last five games. Senior Chris Owen worked the puck to senior Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer on the left point. Fouladgar-Mercer fired a shot on net that junior Neil Stevenson-Moore deflected on its way to the net. The puck caromed to the far side of the crease where sophomore Dustin Sproat shoved it into the open net for his first goal of the season.
The rest of the period belonged to Leroux as he turned aside nine Bulldog shots to earn the first shutout of his collegiate career. It was also Princeton's first shutout since the last regular season game of the 2001-02 season when Dave Stathos shut out Harvard 3-0, a span of 39 games. It was also the first time Princeton has shut out Yale since Feb. 17, 1968, a span of 71 games. Leroux is now 3-6-0 on the season.
Princeton returns to the ice Saturday night to complete the home-and-home series with Yale. Game time is at 7 p.m. in New Haven.