Men’s Hockey Blanks Princeton, 2-0, in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, February 29

Princeton, NJ

7:00 PM

Brown University

8-19-2, 8-12-2ECAC

Princeton

4-20-5, 2-16-4ECAC

Brown

Princeton

Men’s Hockey Blanks Princeton, 2-0, in Regular Season Finale

2/29/2020 10:07:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Gavin Nieto makes 32 saves for second shutout of the season

PRINCETON, N.J. – Defensemen James Crossman (Denver, Colo.) and Zach Giuttari (Warwick, R.I.) both scored and Gavin Nieto (Yorba Linda, Calif.) stopped all 32 shots he faced as the Brown men's hockey team blanked Princeton, 2-0, in Saturday's regular season finale at Hobey Baker Rink.

Brown improved to 8-19-2 overall and 8-12-2 in the ECAC to complete the season sweep over the Tigers. Princeton dropped to 4-20-5, 2-16-4. Brown, the No. 9 seed, will visit eighth-seeded Colgate in the best-of-three first round of the ECAC Tournament next weekend, starting on Friday, March 6 at 7 PM.

"I think we've played really good hockey in the league for the last month and a half," said head coach Brendan Whittet. "I'm proud of how the guys responded to a stretch there when we couldn't buy a win. We end the regular season on a positive, and for us, it's just trying to play the right way as we enter the playoffs, and I think we played the right way."

Nieto earned his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career. He made 17 saves in the third period and reached the 30-save mark for the eighth time this season. Jeremie Forget made 19 stops for Princeton.

Brown went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Crossman broke a scoreless game late in the first period for his second goal of the season. The rookie stole the puck in the defensive end and skated down the length of the ice before finishing the breakaway to give the Bears a one-goal lead after 20 minutes.

Giuttari gave the Bears a two-goal lead with a power-play goal at 11:56 in the middle period for his fourth goal of the season. Bradley Cocca (Toronto, Ontario) pushed a pass from Michael Maloney (McHenry, Ill.) out to the high slot, where Giuttari ripped a shot through traffic and into the back of the net.

Princeton outshot the Bears by a 17-6 margin in the third period, but Nieto turned away all 17 shots to secure the victory.

Brown will head to Colgate next weekend for the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

Video of all home contests and most ECAC games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe and view games by purchasing a monthly package for $4.99 or a yearly package for $49.99.

Tickets for all Brown men's hockey games can be purchased online, by calling the Brown Athletics Ticket Office at (401) 863-2773, or by walking up to the box office located in the Pizzitola Sports Center, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.