The men’s hockey team got the second half of its season off to a promising start on Wednesday night, notching a 6–4 victory over the Russian Red Stars, a traveling all-star team from Russia’s Minor Hockey League.

A trio of top forwards led the Bulldogs on Wednesday. Kenny Agostino ’14 recorded two goals while Brian O’Neill ’12 and Andrew Miller ’13 combined for five assists.

Agostino’s goals were the first two in the game, helping Yale take a 3–0 lead in the first 15 minutes. The Bulldogs led comfortably throughout the game, but the Red Stars crept back in the third period. Five minutes into the period, Ilya Zelenko notched a goal to bring the MHL all-star team within one, 4-3. Despite the challenge, two goals from Jesse Root ’14 and Charles Brockett ’12 put the game away for the Bulldogs, making the final score 6-4.

“It was very encouraging,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 said. “We created some offense and the game had tempo to it. We also had some physical play while hanging on to win a hockey game.”

The win comes as the Bulldogs attempt to get their season on track. Though the Bulldogs still hold a No. 19 national ranking, before Wednesday’s victory the Elis had lost four of their last five games, including losses to unranked Brown University and the University of Massachusetts. Yale allowed 22 goals in those five games.

Next up for the Elis is a New Year’s Day match with Bentley University. The puck drops at 4 p.m. at Ingalls.