The women’s hockey team played and lost two games of catchup this weekend, falling to Clarkson and St. Lawrence on home turf.
“In the past, we’ve struggled the most after getting scored on, but this weekend we managed to pick up our intensity and put pressure on our opponents,” goaltender Genny Ladiges ’12, who played in both games, said.
Unfortunately, that pressure was not enough to even the lopsided scoreboard: Yale (1–17–0, 1–10–0 ECAC) lost 2–5 to Clarkson (14–6–4, 8–3–1) on Friday night, and again, 7–1, to St. Lawrence (13–7–3, 7–4–1) on Saturday afternoon. In both games, the Blue and White responded strongly to the goals of its opponents but struggled to generate its own proactive energy.
The Golden Knights started off Friday’s game strongly, scoring on a power play at 5:43 in the first period. However, the Bulldogs responded quickly and forcefully, driving the game into the hash marks of the offensive zone, and forward Danielle Moncion ’13 got the puck over Clarkson goalie Erica Howe and into the net.
The Bulldogs maintained the 1–1 score for the rest of the period, and forward Stephanie Mock ’15 nearly scored on a breakaway off of a two-on-one but did not make the shot, losing her stick in the process.
The second period saw the Bulldogs outshot 15–5, despite attempts to come back from increasingly further behind the Golden Knights. Clarkson scored at 9:31 and defender Heather Grant ’12 unsuccessfully tried to even the score with a breakaway shot a minute later. At 15:47, Clarkson tipped the puck over Ladiges and increased its lead to 3–1.
The third period opened with a Clarkson goal, but the Bulldogs still fought for the game. At 15:16, forward Lynn Kennedy ’15 got the team’s second and last goal. But with just 2.9 seconds left on the clock, the Golden Knights scored again — and there was no time left for Yale to respond. Yale was outshot45–28.
Saturday’s game did not end any better.
“St. Lawrence is very fast, and we had some difficulty adjusting to the higher speed of the game on Saturday,” defender Emily DesMeules ’13 said.
The Bulldogs struggled to adjust to a fast eight first minutes, with the Saints dominating the game: Yale was outshot 8–0 in that amount of time. St. Lawrence scored twice in the middle of the first period, but with three minutes left in the period and only five Yale shots-on-goal thus far, the Bulldogs reacted. Team captain Aleca Hughes ’12 scored the Bulldogs’ first and only goal, and the team tried to continue the momentum with pass interception and a breakaway shot. But for Yale, the game was over.
St. Lawrence scored four times in the second period, and once more in the third. Yale was outshot52–17.
This weekend marks DesMeules’s third and fourth games back from a broken ankle — an injury she incurred in the first game of the season.
“It’s great to finally be back on the ice,” she said. “I knew coming back that it would take me some time to adjust, but I worked hard while I was out, so it has been easier to get back into playing shape.”
She added that she is not yet feeling 100 percent better but is focusing on day-to-day improvements.
The Bulldogs are currently five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, so it is critical for them to win within the next three away games against Union, RPI and Brown — all ranked at the bottom of the standings.
The Bulldogs return to Ingalls Rink on Jan. 27 and 28 to take on Harvard and Dartmouth.
“We are all working hard and we know it is going to take some time to turn this around,” head coach Joakim Flygh said in an email to the News. “Everyone is dedicated to working hard and keep building on our culture of hard work for the future.”