The women’s ice hockey team completed a successful weekend of scrimmages with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over McGill Sunday after skating to a 4-4 tie with Princeton Saturday. Both games were played at Ingalls Rink.

Sunday’s game started off slow for Yale. Even though they out-shot McGill 15-4 in the first period, the Bulldogs were unable to get the puck past Martlet goalie Kalie Townsend.

McGill struck first as Katherine Safka scored at 15:47 in the second period. But Yale got on the board 24 seconds later when Nicole Symington ’05 found the back of the net. Kelsey Johnson ’07 and Ali Turney ’05 assisted on the goal.

With 5:54 left in the second, Safka put the Martlets ahead 2-1 with a power play goal as McGill capitalized on the 5-on-3 advantage. Safka scored her third goal just over two minutes into the third period, completing the hat trick.

The Elis’ comeback began when Kristin Savard ’07 scored on a rebound from captain Erin Duggan ’05, with Jenna Spring ’07 assisting on the play. Four minutes after that, Natalie Babony ’06 tied the game with a goal assisted by Spring and Savard. Nine seconds later, the Bulldogs scored the go-ahead goal as Spring fired a backhand into the net.

On Saturday, the Elis tied Ivy League rival Princeton 4-4. Spring had two goals to pace the offense while Deena Caplette ’06 and Sheila Zingler ’07 also scored.

“We were fairly pleased with the Princeton game,” Symington said. “We know we have a lot of work to do, but it gave us a good indication that we should be very competitive with the top teams in the country this year. The comeback was a result of hard work and some great individual plays.”

The Bulldogs look to be in good position as they enter the 2004-2005 season. The Elis have added three freshmen to complement an already powerful squad. Their improved offense will try to provide goalie Sarah Love ’06 with some breathing room this year. Yale scored four goals in a game only six times last season, so this weekend’s performances are very encouraging.

Regan Gilbride ’07 is optimistic about the upcoming season.

“We’re looking to bring a winning tradition to Yale women’s ice hockey by continuing on the precedents set last year — a tough style of defensive play and effective special teams — and adding a much-needed multiple goal-scoring component, because, truthfully, it will take more than one or two goals to defeat the majority of our opponents this year,” Gilbride said.

The Bulldogs open the regular season Saturday against Quinnipiac at the Inaugural Nutmeg Classic.

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