Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Merrimack
Merrimack Downs Men's Hockey 5-1
January 02, 2004 | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 2, 2004
Box Score
Princeton, N.J. - Merrimack scored twice in the first period and never looked back as the Warriors posted a 5-1 win over the Princeton men's hockey team Friday night at Baker Rink. Sophomore Dustin Sproat on the power play scored Princeton's lone goal.
The win lifted Merrimack's record to 6-10-3 overall while the Tigers fell to 5-11-0 and 0-6-0 in non-conference games this season.
The Warriors came out of the gates strong and dominated play in the first period while skating to a 2-0 advantage. Marco Rosa opened the scoring at 8:50 of the first when he scored on a snap shot from the left circle. Six minutes later the Warriors added the eventual game-winner when Matt Byrnes stole the puck in the Tiger end and fed Brendon Clark for the goal. Merrimack outshot Princeton 16-5 in the opening period. The Warriors extended the lead to three goals late in the second with a power play tally from Bryan Schmidt. The goal came during a 5-on-3 advantage and Schmidt scored on a rocket from the point.
Princeton got on the board and moved within two goals six minutes into the third period on the power play. Sproat carried the puck into the Warrior zone and drove to the net following up on his own rebound to make the score 3-1. Sproat's third goal of the year was assisted by freshman Grant Goeckner-Zoeller. For the freshman, it was his team-leading 11th point of the season.
Merrimack answered right back, scoring less than two minutes later to reclaim the three-goal lead and seal up the win. Mike Alexiou scored on a one-on-one at 7:25 and Brent Gough redirected a pass from Rosa at 12:45 to seal the win up for Merrimack.
The Warriors outshot Princeton 29-15 on the night, while both teams were 1-for-6 on the power play. Merrimack goaltender Casey Guenther made 14 saves for his fifth win of the year, while Princeton goalie Eric Leroux made 24 saves in the loss.
Both teams complete the series tomorrow night at 7 p.m., at Baker Rink.