The Yale women’s hockey team should be rested for this weekend’s trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
The Bulldogs (5–10–2, 4–5–1 ECAC) were scheduled to play Brown last Wednesday, but due to harsh winter conditions, that game was moved to Feb. 15. Because of that, Yale will have gone 13 days without playing when it takes the ice at Clarkson Friday night.
In their last outing, the Bulldogs scored a decisive 3–1 win over Colgate, thanks in large part to a three-point performance from forward Bray Ketchum ’11, who had a goal and two assists. Ketchum and Jackie Raines ’14 helped Aleca Hughes ’12 tally a crucial goal early in the first that followed a tough goal from the Raiders that put Yale down early.
Following the equalizer from Hughes, the Bulldogs never looked back, using Ketchum’s goal midway through the second period and Jenna Ciotti’s ’14 goal later that period to take a lead they would not relinquish. Jackee Snikeris ’11 bounced back from a tough outing against No. 2 Cornell the night before to stop 33 of 34 shots in the win.
“We got a lot of quality scoring chances against Colgate and were able to capitalize on them,” Ketchum said after the game. “It was great to see every line clicking after changing the lines from the night before. We still need to improve in various aspects of our game but we’re moving in the right direction.”
The Bulldogs will try to maintain the momentum they built in that game this weekend, one made all the more important by the fact that Clarkson and St. Lawrence are both right around the Bulldogs in the ECAC standings. When the two teams hit the ice Friday, Yale and Clarkson will be tied for the eighth and final ECAC playoff spot, while St. Lawrence stands just ahead of both teams in seventh.
The Golden Knights (7–13–3, 4–6–1) will look for revenge as they defend their home ice Friday. Clarkson’s trip to the Whale earlier this season sent them home with a tough overtime loss courtesy of Aleca Hughes’ ’12 game-winner early in the extra period. The Saints (10–11–2, 5–6–0) fared better in their trip to New Haven, earning a 3–1 win.
Head coach Joakim Flygh’s new top line features three of the team’s top three scorers: Ketchum (six goals, 14 points), Raines (six goals, 10 points) and Hughes (four goals, six points). After missing the first half of the season with a knee injury, Snikeris has played to a .934 save percentage so far this season.
She and the Bulldogs head to upstate New York to face Clarkson Friday night at 4 p.m., followed by a game at St. Lawrence on Saturday at 7 p.m.