The Yale women’s hockey team upset St. Lawrence in a 1–0 thriller at Ingalls Rink on Saturday evening. The win marked the Elis’ (7–11–3, 5–8–1 ECAC) first defeat of the Saints in team history — ending a 25-game losing streak and a stretch of 36 consecutive winless contests against the Bulldogs’ New York opponent.
“It’s great to finally get that done,” coach Hilary Witt said. “I’ve been here nine years, so it’s certainly nice for me, and for the kids it’s certainly nice to be able to snap a streak like that.”
Forward Danielle Moncion ’13 scored the unassisted game-winning goal with less than two minutes left in the first period.
“To get ahead like that was awesome,” Moncion said. “[The puck] just kind of popped out in front, and I took a snap shot.”
Moncion gave her team the lead, but goaltender Jackee Snikeris ’11 led the effort to preserve the Bulldogs’ edge. The Yale goalie finished the day with 33 saves and repeatedly shut down the Saints’ attackers.
St. Lawrence came close to scoring with only minutes left in the game when a tripping penalty was called on Yale at 16:24 in the third period. The Saints pulled their goalie for an extra attacker 51 seconds into the power play and fired four shots at the Eli net, but Snikeris and the Yale defensemen foiled each attempt.
The win gave the Bulldogs two more conference points — maintaining their eighth-place spot in the ECAC standings — and turned the team’s momentum around after a close 3–2 loss to No. 3 Clarkson in overtime Friday.
“They are confident in the way they’re playing right now,” Witt said of the Eli squad. “They are a great group, and they pick each other up.”
The match was interrupted at about 5:15 p.m., during the intermission between the second and third periods, when an automated message prompted attendees to evacuate the rink due to a “fire emergency.” The commotion proved to be a false alarm caused by a water leak, and play resumed at 5:45.
Yale returns to Ingalls Rink for the first of next weekend’s two games against Brown at 2 p.m. on Saturday.