Princeton University
Merrimack
Men's Hockey Falls 3-0 to Merrimack
January 03, 2004 | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 3, 2004
Box Score
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's hockey team dropped a 3-0 decision to Merrimack College Saturday night at Baker Rink. Merrimack's Steve Crusco scored twice in the first period and the Warriors never looked back as they improved to 7-11-3 on the season. The loss dropped the Tigers to 5-13-0 overall.
The Tigers, looking to rebound off of yesterday's 5-1 loss to Merrimack, started strong, posting a few scoring chances early in the game. However, Merrimack came right back and scored on its first shot of the evening to take a 1-0 lead at the 4:04 mark. Crusco carried the puck into the Tiger zone and scored on a quick snap shot through the five-hole of Princeton goaltender Eric Leroux. Tim Reidy and Nick Pomponio assisted on the goal.
The Warriors extended the lead to 2-0 3:28 later when Crusco slid a loose puck into the Tiger net. Pomponio and Rediy against assisted on the Crusco's seventh goal of the season. Merrimack's third goal came late in the third period, seconds after the Tigers had killed off a 5-on-3 Merrimack power play. Matt Byrnes scored the goal on a one-timer off a pass from Reidy. Rob LaLonde also assisted on the goal.
The Merrimack defense held the Tigers to 11 shots on goal, three on both the second and third periods, while the Warriors fired 27 shots on Leroux. Merrimack goaltender Jim Healey posted the shutout and is now 2-2-0 on the season, while Leroux fell to 5-13-0.
Princeton returns to action next weekend with a pair of ECAC games at home against St. Lawrence and Clarkson.