Men's hockey splits ECAC weekend

It was a weekend of shutouts on the road for men's hockey (1-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 ECAC), which came up on the short end of the stick Friday night against Vermont (5-4-1, 2-0-0) — one of men's hockey's powerhouses — but rebounded to capture the win on Saturday versus Dartmouth (1-1-0 ECAC).

Despite sophomore goaltender B.J. Sklapsky's 28 saves, the Catamounts (2-0-0 ECAC) were just too strong on their home ice.

Vermont forward Chris Meyer got things started for the Catamounts with a power-play goal six minutes, 25 seconds into the first period. Mike Arcieri assisted the short-sided goal. The play remained largely back and forth for the remainder of the period. Though outshot by Princeton, 9-7, the stellar play of Vermont goalie Joe Fallon kept the Tigers at bay heading into the second. He was named ECAC Rookie of the Week for his play throughout the contest.

The score remained deadlocked at 1-0 throughout the second with much of the same defensive action. That is not to say that the Tigers had no scoring opportunities. Junior forward Brian Carthas came up short on a breakaway. Fellow junior forward Patrick Neundorfer, who netted a hat trick last weekend, had two great chances as well. Only Fallon's impressive goaltending caused him to come up short. Not to be outdone, Sklapsky made 12 stops of his own to complete a shutout period.

Heading into the third, the margins were even narrower than 20 minutes before. Shots on goal were dead even at 19 apiece, but Vermont had a one-goal advantage in the most important column.

During the final period, the defenses dominated. At the center of it all were the two goalies, who ended the day with equally remarkable play as they had started off with. The Tigers, however, could not rely on defense down 1-0. In an effort to kick-start their scoring, head coach Guy Gadowsky pulled Sklapsky out of goal and added another offensive man. The ploy backfired, and Vermont escaped with their second and decisive goal of the night with Scott Mifsud's empty netter with 22 seconds to go.

"Vermont played very well defensively," Tiger goalie Eric Leroux said. "Their goalie did what he had to do."

Goaltending was once again the story of the night as the team traveled an hour south to its next ECAC opponent, Dartmouth.

The Big Green's Dan Yacey made one of his 13 first-period saves against a one-on-one fast-break shot by Tiger sophomore Darroll Powe. Princeton goalie Eric Leroux had eight saves to secure a shutout through the first period.

Five minutes into the second, Princeton got on the board first with junior Dustin Sproat's phenomenal sequence. Sproat intercepted a poor Big Green pass and flew down to the opposition's net, faking backhand before finding the back of the net with his forehand, giving Princeton a 1-0 lead. Though Dartmouth put up 19 shots on goal, Leroux continued his excellent play, stopping all the shots he faced.

The third period featured more of the same. Standouts Yacey and Leroux kept the score status quo until 16:18 into the period, when sophomore Grant Goeckner-Zoeller gave the Tigers some breathing room. The puck, initially deflected by Yacey, trickled into the net after ricocheting off a Big Green defenseman. Neundorfer tallied the assist. Up 2-0 with time winding down, Princeton focused on preserving its lead. The Tigers added their third goal of the night with 1:28 remaining when Dartmouth vacated its goal.

Leroux was hesitant to take total credit for his 39 saves in the 3-0 win, which helped Gadowsky earn his first win at Princeton.