Tag Archive: Men’s Hockey

  1. M. HOCKEY | Yale falls to Colgate, 4-2

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    It turns out that Austin Smith was not the Colgate skater to fear on Friday night. Smith recorded an empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining but was otherwise quiet.

    It was Colgate’s John Lidgett who showed the Bulldogs that Smith is not the only Raider to watch. He scored twice, including the goal that broke a 2–2 tie to give the Raiders a 4–2 win over the visiting Elis.

    Despite skating neck-and-neck with Colgate for 60 minutes, Yale fell short in its first road game of the weekend. The Elis recorded seven more shots on goal than the Raiders but failed to convert several golden opportunities and went just 1-5 on the power play.

    “We worked very hard tonight and created a lot of chances,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 said in a press release. “We were close, but still not running on all cylinders. We will be better tomorrow night.”

    The Bulldogs’ special teams woes kicked in just three and a half minutes into the first period when Colgate struck for an early power play goal. Just six seconds after forward Charles Brockett ’12 went to the box for hooking, Colgate’s Corbin McPherson sent a weak shot through traffic that beat Jeff Malcolm ’13 for the early Raider lead.

    The Elis kept it competitive in the second and managed to knot things up with about ten minutes remaining in the period. Yale was given a power play when Colgate’s Chris Wagner was penalized for tripping. On the ensuing man-advantage, forward Antoine Laganiere ’13 one-timed a pass from Jesse Root ’14 into the back of the Colgate net.

    Unfortunately, Yale’s fifth and final penalty of the night gave the Raiders an opening with about five minutes remaining in the period. A long Colgate shot bounced off the boards, and, after a scramble in front of the net, popped out to a waiting Colgate forward who? who banged it home for the 2–1 lead.

    Yale tied things up again off another rebound off the boards behind the net. Defenseman Tommy Fallen ’15 took a long shot that fell to Brian O’Neill ’12 on the left side of the net. He tapped it in for his 16th goal of the season.

    But yet again, Colgate struck back quickly. Off a face-off, a failed Yale clearance ended up on the stick of a Colgate player who moved the puck to Lidgett, who scored his second of the night.

    After Yale pulled Malcolm from the net, it created two great opportunities to score. But the Bulldogs could not find the net, and Hobey Baker favorite Smith put one away to seal the 4–2 victory for Colgate.

    The Elis will take to the ice again on Saturday night when they visit second-place Cornell in Ithaca, NY. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

  2. M. HOCKEY | Yale bounces back against Clarkson

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    The men’s hockey team (10–11–2, 7–8–1 ECAC) bounced back in a big way on Saturday night with a win over visiting Clarkson at Ingalls Rink. After a disappointing 4–3 overtime loss to St. Lawrence on Friday night, the Elis rebounded with a 5–1 thumping of Clarkson (13–12–5, 7–6–3 ECAC) on Saturday.

    Forward Andrew Miller ’13 said it was an important win for the team.

    “It was a big difference from last night,” Miller said. “Last night was a tough game for us, and to win one at home in front of our home crowd was a lot of fun. Winning by a 5-1 margin, it’s big for our team.”

    Continuing with his recent trend, Allain put Jeff Malcolm ’13 in between the pipes after giving Nick Maricic ’13 the start last night. The move did not seem to pay dividends early on, as the Elis allowed the game’s first goal just two minutes into the opening period. But Malcolm was able to shake it off and keep the Golden Knights off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

    “I just try to focus on the next save,” Malcolm said. “You get a bad bounce like that, or whatever it was, I just come back and concentrate on the next save and after that you just kind of get in a rhythm.”

    In the first period, Clarkson forward Allan McPherson brought the puck from behind the net and attempted a wrap-around, only to be stuffed by Malcolm. But the Canadian netminder was unable to corral the rebound before McPherson popped it in the net to put the Golden Knights up by one.

    However, the Elis evened up the score just four minutes later. After some nice puck movement in the offensive zone, defenseman Tommy Fallen ’15 ended up with the rubber at the point. His shot was saved but the rebound fell to the right side of the net. Waiting there was Miller who grabbed it, made a move around the keeper and put it in for his fifth goal of the year.

    The second period was all Brian O’Neill ’12 as the Elis turned the 1–1 tie into a 3–1 advantage. The captain and forward was recently named the January ECAC Player of the Month and showed everybody why in the middle frame.

    He got the party started just one minute into the period with his ninth power play goal of the season, tying him for first in the nation in that category. After taking a pass from Jesse Root ’14, O’Neill cut between two defensemen and beat Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich handily.

    His second tally of the period came with only two minutes remaining. This one was made possible by a great find from Miller, who recorded his second point of the night. Standing at the right circle, Miller picked out O’Neill who was moving toward net on the edge of the left circle. Karpowich was helpless as O’Neill finished for the 3–1 lead.

    “I really hadn’t seen him before, but when I turned he was calling for it and streaking to the net,” Miller said.

    The Bulldogs and Knights went back-and-forth for the first 40 minutes, with the Blue and White holding a narrow 22–20 advantage in shots on goal after two periods. But the Elis closed out the last half of the third period in dominating fashion.

    With 8:03 left in the game, Antoine Laganiere ’13 streaked down the middle of the ice sandwiched between two defenders. While Karpowich blocked his shot, the ensuing chaotic scramble in front of the net allowed winger Kenny Agostino ’14 to notch his tenth goal of the season.

    18 seconds later, the Bulldogs put the game completely out of reach for the Golden Knights.

    Off the edge of the crease, center Clint Bourbonais ’14 took advantage of another scramble in front of the Clarkson goal for the final tally of the night. The Bulldogs outshot the Knights 33–28 and Malcolm finished with 27 saves, likely earning him another start next weekend.

    The Elis will travel to New York next weekend to take on Colgate and Cornell.

  3. M. HOCKEY | Elis end losing streak

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    It didn’t look a night that was going to mark the end of Yale’s losing streak.

    The Bulldogs (9–10–2, 6–7–1 ECAC), who entered the game mired in a four-game losing streak, surrendered four first period goals and entered the first intermission down 4–1. But they bounced back after the break, held Dartmouth (9–9–2, 6–6–1) scoreless for the rest of the game and tallied four goals of their own in the final 40 minutes to stun the Big Green 5–4 in Hanover.

    Winger Kenny Agostino ’14 notched the game-winning goal, his second of the night, with 34 seconds left.

    “It was a tremendous win,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 said. “Our guys did a great job of overcoming adversity. This was a real testament to their mental toughness.”

    Allain made a critical line-up change before the game, starting Nick Maricic ’13 over Jeff Malcolm ’13, who allowed four goals in a loss to Harvard on Friday night. But the move seemed to have backfired as Maricic endured a nightmarish first period.

    Dartmouth’s Tyler Sikura drew first blood just 3:49 into the game, flicking the puck over Maricic.

    The Elis, who were outshot 20–13 in the opening frame, tied the game at 1–1 when forward Kevin Limbert ’12 knocked in a rebounding shot by center Jesse Root ’14. But the Big Green would dominate the rest of the first period.

    Halfway through the period, blueliner Connor Goggin’s shot bounced off the end boards and into the stick of Troy Mattila, who scored his first goal of the year with an easy put back. 25 seconds later, Eric Robinson’s wrist shot from the slot extended Dartmouth’s lead to 3–1.

    Paul Lee notched the Big Green’s final goal of the night with four minutes left in the first period, pulling the puck loose from a scrum in front of the crease for his first goal of the season.

    While Dartmouth’s offense dominated for the first 20 minutes of the game, it could not unable to find the back of the net again and was outshot by the Bulldogs 25–13 in the last two periods.

    “Our senior class showed tremendous leadership after the first period to get their teammates going,” Allain said.

    The Elis began their comeback by killing off two penalties at the beginning of the second period, allowing just three shots on goal while a man down. The Bulldogs’ sustained offensive pressure gradually worn down the Dartmouth defense and goalie James Mello.

    Midway through the game, Agostino cut the deficit in half off a pass from right winger Antoine Laganiere ’13.

    The third period started off in an one-sided fashion as the Bulldogs’ constant fore-checking and shots on goal overwhelmed Dartmouth. Defenseman Tommy Fallen ’15 pulled the Blue and White within a goal after knocking in a low shot inside the near post five minutes into the third period.

    With 11:18 left, Root scored the equalizer on Yale’s second power play of the night, shooting from the right point and silencing a sellout crowd at the Thompson Arena.

    “I shot it and didn’t see what happened after. It must have hit a Dartmouth player,” Root said.

    Dartmouth’s blue line held off the Yale offense for the next ten minutes and the game seemed to be heading toward overtime. But with less than 40 seconds left in regulation, defenseman Colin Dueck ’13 flicked the puck from the Yale end into the other side, catching defender Goggin out of position. Agostino took the pass, moved around the defender and finished the comeback.

    “I was able to get a fortunate bounce,” said Agostino. “The defense cheated toward O’Neill and I was able to beat [Goggin] on the short side.”

    The Bulldogs will face off against St. Lawrence and Clarkson next weekend at home.

  4. M. HOCKEY | Bulldogs fall to Crimson

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    The men’s hockey team capped off a woeful weekend for Yale in the storied Harvard-Yale rivalry with a Friday night loss to the Crimson. After the men’s basketball team and women’s hockey team had been thrashed by Harvard forces, the hockey team lost narrowly by a 4–3 score. The loss dropped the Elis to 0–4–1 in their past five games and gave Harvard its first win since Dec. 10.

    “We had moments in all three periods where we played well,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 said. “Our energy, work ethic and emotion were there, but it wasn’t quite good enough,”

    The Bulldogs (8–10–2, 5–7–1 ECAC) outshot the Crimson (5–6–8, 4–4–6) by a 39–35 margin which marked the second game in a row that the Elis fell despite possessing this advantage. Last Saturday against RPI, the Bulldogs led in shots on goal 46–18 but fell 2–1. This time, the Elis managed to convert more opportunities but still fell short in front of 3,095 at Harvard’s Bright Hockey Center.

    The Cantabs played disciplined hockey, allowing only one power play to the Elis. This power play was awarded in the first period and Yale was unable to capitalize. On the other side of the man-advantage, Harvard converted a crucial goal on one of its four power plays.

    After defenseman Nick Jaskowiak ’12 went to the box for tripping, Harvard created some offense, and Marshall Everson scored his eighth goal of the year to put the Cantabs up 3–2 with about ten minutes to play in the contest.

    After going down 1–0 only four minutes into the game, the Bulldogs scored goals just 13 seconds later to take back the lead in the blink of an eye. With about five minutes remaining in the period, Jaskowiak scored his first goal of the year when he launched a shot from the blue line that navigated through traffic and found the back of the net.

    Just after the ensuing face-off, forward Andrew Miller ’13 chased down a puck in the Harvard end and picked out captain Brian O’Neill ’12 in the high slot. After moving past a defender, O’Neill beat Harvard goalie Steve Michalek stick-side for his 13th tally of the season.

    After the Crimson came back and took a 3–2 lead, the Elis managed to play catch-up one more time. With only four minutes remaining, defenseman Gus Young ’14 corralled a failed Harvard clearance and fired a quick snap shot to tie things up at three.

    But Harvard won the battle down the stretch. With about one minute left to play, Harvard’s Alex Killorn scored his second goal of the night after an odd-man rush gave him an open shot on the right side of the ice. After Yale goalie Jeff Malcolm ’13 saved Killorn’s first attempt, the Harvard center tried again and managed to put a backhand between Malcolm’s legs for a 4–3 Harvard victory.

    The Elis will take to the ice again tonight when they travel to Dartmouth for a 7 p.m. matchup.

  5. M. HOCKEY | Yale falls to Clarkson in overtime

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    For the second game in a row, the men’s hockey team could not take advantage of overtime.

    But unlike Saturday night’s 3–3 draw with St. Lawrence, the Elis (8–7–2, 5–4–1 ECAC) conceded with a minute remaining in the five-minute period to lose 5–4 to Clarkson Sunday afternoon.

    The Golden Knights (10–10–5, 4–4–3) scored the deciding goal on a controversial power play. A few minutes into the overtime period the Yale bench was penalized for a comment directed toward an official. Within a minute, Clarkson’s Sam Labrecque put the puck in the net to win it.

    The game looked promising early on for the Blue and White. Ten minutes into the game, defenseman Tommy Fallen ’15 intercepted a clearance and fired a slap shot to give the Bulldogs the lead.

    Forward Antoine Laganiere ’13 followed this up with a similar effort about three minutes later. After creating a turnover in Clarkson’s end of the ice, Laganiere made a move past a Golden Knights defenseman and put the pack past the Clarkson netminder.

    The second period was filled with goals as the two teams combined for four tallies. Yale’s Clinton Bourbonais ’14 kicked off the scoring with his second goal in two days to again put the Elis up by two.

    But the Yale offense shut down after Bourbonais’ goal. With less than two minutes remaining in the second period and up 3–1, the Elis seemed to be in good shape. But the momentum would shift starting with Ben Sexton’s power play goal. Another Yale penalty gave the Golden Knights a chance to tie things up. Louke Oakley took advantage with 20 seconds remaining in the period. After a Sexton shot bounced off the glass, Oakley took the rebound and put it in.

    Only two minutes later, Oakley struck again to put the Golden Knights up 4–3. True to the bounce-back nature of the game, Yale defenseman Colin Dueck ’13 fired a slap shot from the point to knot it up at four.

    For the second night in a row the Elis struggled on special teams. After converting only one power play out of seven opportunities Saturday night, the Elis went 1-6 on Sunday. On the penalty kill the Elis struggled as well. Despite having one of the best penalty killing units in the ECAC, the Elis allowed three goals in Clarkson’s five power plays.

    The Elis will be back in action 7 p.m. Friday against Union and Saturday at 7 p.m. against RPI. Both games will be played at Ingalls Rink.

  6. M. HOCKEY | Elis split games against QPac, Princeton

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    The No. 20 men’s hockey team (7–6–1, 4–3 ECAC) kicked off the second half of the season with a 1–1 showing at Ingalls Rink this weekend that showed two sides to the Bulldogs. After going down against Quinnipiac in a 2–1 loss on Friday, the Elis bounced back Saturday night by thrashing Princeton 6–2.

    The loss to Quinnipiac on Friday could drop the Elis out of the national rankings for the first time this season. The Yale offense, which had been hot prior to the break and scored six goals in its first game following the holiday, had an uncharacteristically slow night and recorded only 25 shots against Quinnipiac netminder Eric Hartzell.

    “We allowed them to block 23 shots, and [we] missed the net on 19 other shots,” said head coach Keith Allain ’80 to Yale Athletics. “It’s hard to score goals with shot execution like that. We have to execute better and gets shots through.”

    Quinnipiac’s strong defensive effort kept the Elis off the board until about eight minutes into the third period when captain Brian O’Neill ’12 put away a power play goal to pull the Elis within one. After a pass from the stick of center Andrew Miller ’13, O’Neill tucked the puck under a sliding Hartzell for his team-high tenth goal this year.

    But O’Neill’s tally would prove to be too little too late for the Bulldogs. The Bobcats took the lead at the end of a first period that saw them challenge Yale goalie Jeff Malcolm ’13 on several occasions. They came close on two power plays, which featured five Malcolm saves in total.

    However, the third time would be the charm for the Bobcats. After Colin Dueck ’13 was put away for roughing, Quinnipiac blueliner Loren Barron hit the back of the net from the high slot for a 2–0 advantage.

    “The three penalties in the early part of the game took some momentum away from us,” Allain said. “We played ok, but not well enough to get a victory.”

    But the Bulldogs picked up the pace on Saturday night, recording 49 shots en route to a 6-2 victory against Princeton.

    “I was really pleased with the way we played tonight,” Allain said. “I thought we played okay yesterday, maybe hoping to win. Tonight we played like we were going to ensure that we were victorious. We were winning races, getting the puck to nice areas and we went hard to the net.”

    Although the Bulldogs controlled the run of play early in the first period, the Tigers struck first about nine minutes into the action. Malcolm knocked Princeton defenseman Michael Sdao’s attempt to a waiting Marc Hagel who fired a quick shot that beat Malcolm through the five-hole.

    “It was an unfortunate start,” O’Neill said. “But I think that really sparked us even more, and we had the best part of our game after that goal, so I think it was a wakeup call for us which helped.”

    Behind O’Neill, Yale kept pressing and responded a mere two minutes later. With a two-minute penalty expiring, Nicolas Weberg ’15 headed to the bench where Kenny Agostino ’14 quickly jumped on the ice. Within seconds of entering the offensive zone, Agostino emphatically finished a Miller offering to knot things up at one.

    “We got fifty shots on net tonight, or close to it, and that was the big key,” O’Neill said. “We got a lot of pucks on net, a lot of traffic and we got goals because of that.”

    With the crowd rocking, the Elis continued to pepper the Princeton net with shots. Almost five minutes later, forward Trent Ruffolo ’15 picked up a loose puck in the Princeton zone and immediately fired a wrist shot that beat Condon for the Yale lead.

    After the Bulldogs gained the 2–1 advantage, they did not look back. Kevin Limbert ’12 finished a rebound from a Chad Ziegler ’12 shot and O’Neill scored on a power play for the eighth time this season en route to a 4–1 Yale advantage.

    But Princeton would not die easily. With about 14 minutes left in the game, Princeton pulled its goalie after a Yale penalty to create a two-man advantage. About two minutes later, defenseman Derrick Pallis put a weak wrist shot past Malcolm from the point.

    However, following the Princeton goal Yale put the game away with a goal from Miller and an empty-net finish from Ziegler.

    After giving up 25 goals in the six games preceding break, the Bulldogs allowed only four goals in this weekend’s contests.

    “Everyone is chipping in [on defense],” Allain said. “We’re playing good, solid, structured team defense.”

    The Elis will take to the ice again next Friday and Saturday nights with trips to Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

  7. M. HOCKEY | Bulldogs start second half with win

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    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.