Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Merrimack
Men's Hockey Falls to Merrimack on Late Goal
December 10, 2004 | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 10, 2004
Box Score
North Andover, Mass. - Goals by Merrimack's Bryan Schmidt with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second and third period doomed the Princeton men's hockey team as the Tigers fell 4-3 to Merrimack Friday night at the Lawler Arena. Junior Dustin Sproat and sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller each posted two assists in the game.
The Tigers (4-8-1; 4-6 ECACHL) outshot Merrimack (5-10-2; 1-8-1) 21-13 on the first period but the Warriors notched the first goal just 2:46 into the game when Chris Murphy tallied his second goal on the season by redirecting a Ryan Sullivan centering pass by Princeton freshman goaltender Jeff Mansfield. Bryan Schmidt also assisted on the goal. The Tigers had several good opportunities in the first period but were unable to crack Merrimack netminder Jim Healey as most of the shots wound up in his chest and his goal pads.
Princeton and Merrimack each traded a pair of goals in the second period. Princeton knotted the game up at 1-1 at 6:01 when sophomore Ian McNally banked a shot in from behind the net off the stick of Healey. Goeckner-Zoeller and Sproat assisted on McNally's first goal of the season.
Merrimack made it 2-1 at 6:01 on the power play when Steve Crusco took advantage of a mishandled puck and one-timed a Schmidt pass by Mansfield.
Princeton evened the game at 2-2 when it capitalized just as a Merrimack penalty had expired. Senior Neil Stevenson-Moore held the puck in at the point and worked it junior Brian Carthas low. Carthas then found freshman Mike Moore wide open at the point and Moore teed up a blast that beat Healey to make the score 2-2. It was Moore's second goal of the season and came at 15:09.
The game looked as though it would go to the third period knotted at two, but Merrimack scored an opportunistic goal with just 8.8 seconds remaining. Crusco did a great job deep in the Tiger zone working to become free and fed Schmidt at the point, who shot across the grain and slid the puck by Mansfield to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead through two periods. Merrimack outshot Princeton 10-7 in the period.
Neither team could really break through in the third as Healey and Mansfield traded saves. Princeton finally got on the board to knot the game at three on a great passing rush up ice. Junior Mark Masters carried the puck out of the defensive zone and fed Sproat. Sproat found Goeckner-Zoeller who carried it into the Merrimack zone along the boards where he sent a centering pass in front as Masters crashed the net. Masters won the race to the puck and lifted it over the pad of Healey for his first of the year.
The game looked destined for overtime but Schmidt struck again, the time with 8.6 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors to the 4-3 win. Playing with four players aside, Matt Byrnes won a neutral zone face off back to Jeff Caron, who fed Schmidt. Schmidt skated up ice and as soon as he crossed into the Princeton zone he fired a snap shot that picked the top left corner of the net.
Princeton ended up outshooting Merrimack 35-30 on the night. Mansfield made 26 saves and fell to 0-2 on the year while Healey made 32 stops.
The same two teams meet tomorrow night to complete the series.