The women’s hockey team was outshot almost three-to-one this weekend in two losses that pushed the Bulldogs’ losing streak to five games.
The Elis (1–7–0, 1–5–0 ECAC) managed a scant 31 shots while their opponents combined for 86 in a 4–1 defeat at No. 3 Clarkson University on Friday and a 5–1 loss at St. Lawrence University the following day.
“If we can be more disciplined and stay out of the penalty box, that should help us generate more shots,” defenseman Tara Tomimoto ’14 said.
Goaltender Jaimie Leonoff ’15 recorded 77 saves over the weekend and has made at least 31 saves in each game this season.
Against St. Lawrence, Tomimoto struck first for the Bulldogs only seven minutes into the first period to give Yale its first lead in the past three games. It was Tomimoto’s first tally of the season and her first goal in almost two years after missing the entire 2011-’12 season with a concussion.
“It was great to score after being injured for so long,” Tomimoto said.
But St. Lawrence leveled the score before the frame ended and added another goal in the second period before exploding for three goals in the final period.
Saints forward Abbey McRae recorded a hat trick, including two power play goals. Kelly Sabatine added another power play goal, and St. Lawrence converted three of its seven five-on-four opportunities.
“We are a good enough hockey team that we can set the pace of the game,” defender Jamie Gray ’13 said. “We did that on Saturday in the first period and capitalized on the opportunity. As the game progressed we began to take penalties and didn’t give ourselves the chance to get back to our systems and even play.”
The previous night against Clarkson, the Elis allowed three goals in an even shorter span and found themselves trailing 3–0 less than 10 minutes into the first period.
With the exception of the 3–0 win over Colgate that stands alone in the victory column, the Bulldogs have allowed at least 2 goals in a single period in every game this year. Yale has surrendered at least four goals in each of its last four games as well.
“It’s a matter of putting all of our efforts together for a whole game. It’s not easy, but we know we can do it,” captain Alyssa Zupon ’13 said.
Against Clarkson, the floodgates opened early. The Golden Knights scored two goals in a 47-second span early in the first period and added another at the halfway point. Yale’s only score came from Gray in the third period off of assists from forwards Jamie Haddad ’16 and Janelle Ferrara ’16. Nineteen of the team’s 28 points this season have been recorded by the class of 2016.
The Bulldogs remain optimistic about the rest of the season.
“We just need to keep trusting our system and believe that we’re on the path towards success,” Zupon said.
This weekend Yale will play its fourth and fifth games against a ranked opponent as No. 4 Mercyhurst University visits Ingalls Rink on Friday and Saturday.