Men's Hockey Takes 2-1 Win Over Princeton in Home Opener

Friday, November 7

Providence, R.I.

7 p.m.

Brown University

1-2-0, 1-0-0

Princeton

2-1-0, 0-1-0

Princeton

Brown

Photo by: Jay Ruzicka

Men's Hockey Takes 2-1 Win Over Princeton in Home Opener

11/7/2025 10:23:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Ryan St. Louis tallied his tenth career game-winning goal in the third period as the Brown Bears (1-2-0, 1-0-0 ECAC) claimed a 2-1 win over the Princeton Tigers (2-1-0, 0-1-0 ECAC) Friday night at Meehan Auditorium.

The win also marked the 900th in program history.

"It was a good first win, it's a league win, an Ivy win, it was a battle," The Class of 1975 Head Coach for Men's Hockey Brendan Whittet '94 said. "Princeton is a good team; they came in 2-0. They're a veteran team with a ton of seniors who have been through some battles. We knocked them out of the playoffs last year; we knew we were going to get their best shot.

"It's funny, a lot of times hockey boils down to specialty teams, and I thought we were pretty good on the kill. We took a few too many penalties and gave them a few too many opportunities. You can't go down three times in the third period and expect good things to happen all the time. The penalty kill was great, the power play was good, and it was good to get that first win under our belt.

"It was a good rebound from last weekend; I thought we played well in the second and third periods of the second game last weekend, and I thought we started off really strong in the first tonight as a continuation of that. We're still trying to find our identity and what works for us and how we have to play to be successful. We learned a lot tonight, and it's nice when you're learning to also win. Moving on!"

Poitras broke through on Brown's second power play of the opening period. The sophomore redirected a Matt Desiderio pass into the back of the net for his first goal as a Bear with 7:23 remaining in the period. Brian Nicholas picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

Tyler Shea (26 saves) was strong in the opening period with eight saves, including a pair on Princeton's first power play opportunity late in the period.

The Tigers tied the game on the power play 12:45 into the second as Jake Manfre finished a feed from Jaxson Ezman in the low slot for his third goal of the season. Tyler Rubin added the secondary assist on the goal.

Shea made a great save on a Hans Martin Ulvebne breakaway with three minutes remaining in the second. Ulvebne came out of the penalty box to collect a Princeton clear attempt for the breakaway.

The Bears killed off a pair of minor penalties in the opening minutes of the third period to keep the game tied.

St. Louis gave the Bears a 2-1 lead 10:55 into the third period with a shorthanded breakaway goal. The captain blocked a Kai Greaves shot in the defensive zone and collected the puck on a breakaway to beat Smith with a deke to his backhand.

Princeton pulled Conor Callaghan (1 save), who replaced Smith after the St. Louis goal, with 2:50 remaining in the third to try to tie the game. Shea turned aside four shots and the Bears blocked another pair to secure the win and three ECAC league points.

GAME NOTES

St. Louis tallied his tenth career game-winning goal in the third period, tying Dave Kelly '60 for third-most in program history. He is two shy of matching Bob Wheeler '52 and Ryan Mulhern '96 for the most in Brown history.
St. Louis extended his goal streak to two games with his third period marker.
Desiderio pushed his point streak to two games with his first period assist. He has three assists over the last two games.
Nicholas added his second point in as many games with his assist. He scored a goal in the last game against Air Force.
Michael Salandra made his collegiate debut against the Tigers.
Princeton finished the night with a 27-23 edge in shots on goal.
Both teams struck on the power play with Brown finishing 1-for-4 and Princeton going 1-for-5.
The Tigers held a slight edge at the faceoff dot, winning 26-of-49 draws (53.1%).

The Bears take on the fifth-ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats (5-3-2, 0-1-0 ECAC) tomorrow night at Meehan Auditorium. Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.

Gallery: (11-7-2025) MIH vs. Princeton (11/7/25)

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