Princeton University
Notre Dame
Men's Hockey Opens Season With 5-3 Win at Notre Dame
October 28, 2005 | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 29, 2005
Box Score
Notre Dame, Ind. - Junior Grant Goeckner-Zoeller scored twice as the Princeton men's hockey team opened the 2005-06 season with a 5-3 win over Notre Dame on Friday night at the Joyce Center. Junior Kevin Westgarth led all Tigers with three points in the game, coming all on assists. Junior goaltender B.J. Sklapsky made 34 saves to earn the win in goal.
The win was the first for Princeton in a season opener since a 3-1 triumph over Niagara to begin the 2000-01 campaign. The win was also Princeton's first over a CCHA team since a 4-2 win at Bowling Green in January of 2002. Princeton was outshot throughout the game thanks to nine power-play chances for Notre Dame. The Irish had a 37-13 shot edge, but 17 of those shots came while on the power play.
Princeton opened the scoring at the 8:01 mark when Goeckner-Zoeller beat Notre Dame goaltender David Brown. Junior Max Cousins started the play in the Tiger defensive end and fed Westgarth along the boards at the redline, where he chipped the puck to Goeckner-Zoeller. From there he carried the puck into the Irish end on a 2-on-1 with Cousins. After faking the pass, he took a wrist shot that beat Brown on the short side and gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The lead did not last long as Notre Dame's Tim Wallace knotted the score just 10 seconds later. Mark Van Guilder won an offensive zone draw back to Wallace who looped in towards the net and beat Sklapsky on the stick side along the post. The first period ended with the score tied at 1-1 despite Notre Dame holding a 17-2 shot advantage. Notre Dame took its only lead of the night early in the second period when Wallace scored his second of the night. Off a Tiger turnover, Matt Amado worked the puck up ice and after pausing at the blueline, he fed Wallace who deked to the backhand and beat Sklapsky.
Princeton answered 1:59 later with its first of two-straight power-play goals. First, at 7:06 Goeckner-Zoeller scored his second of the game. He carried the puck into the zone and waited until Brown's pads pulled apart, then buried a shot to make the score 2-2. Westgarth and senior Patrick Neundorfer assisted on the goal.
Just 21 seconds later Princeton scored again to take a lead it would not relinquish. Still on the power play, senior Seamus Young fed an outlet pass from his own end to the Notre Dame blueline where Westgarth was skating. Westgarth teed up a blast that Brown got, but the rebound bounced right in front where Neundorfer pounced on it to make the score 3-2.
Princeton added a fourth goal at 12:20 of the second period to add a little bit of breathing room. Junior Christian Read picked up the puck off a Notre Dame turnover at the Princeton blueline that sprung a Princeton 3-on-0 the other way. Read fed sophomore Erik Pridham who went in alone on the Notre Dame net and beat Brown with a shot along the ice to far side. The lead remained 4-2 through the second intermission.
Notre Dame moved back within a goal at the 3:56 mark of the third period when Josh Sciba's wraparound shot beat Sklapsky. Princeton held the one-goal lead from there until sophomore Kyle Hagel netted his first career goal with 1:29 remaining to seal the Tiger win. Sophomore Mike Moore started the play from behind his net by feeding Pridham. Pridham carried the puck into the Irish zone and fired a shot on net that Brown saved, but the rebound deflected off of Hagel and into the net to make the score 5-3.
Sklapsky made 34 saves on 37 shots in the game to post the win, while Brown made eight saves on 13 shots for Notre Dame. Princeton was 2-for-7 in the game on the power play while Notre Dame went 0-for-9.
Princeton and Notre Dame complete the series Saturday at 7 p.m. central time.