The Yale women’s hockey team opened up its ECAC play for 2017 with an easy 2–0 win over conference opponent Union in New York on Friday. Defenders Julia Yetman ’19 and Taylor Marchin ’17 and goaltender Tera Hofmann ’20 all played crucial roles in clinching the Bulldog victory. The Elis gained their two-goal lead midway through the first period and shut down the Dutchwomen for the remainder of the game.

Yale (5–8–3, 3–5–1 ECAC) skated onto the ice ready to play on Friday night. The team asserted itself early on the offensive end, outshooting Union (3–18–0, 0–9–0) 8–1 before either team put a goal on the scoreboard. However, Yetman opened up scoring after a Yale power-play in the seventh minute offered the defender the perfect opportunity to fire the puck past Union goalie Kate Spooner. The Elis’ second goal came a mere 1:46 later in the form of a slap shot from Marchin. With Yale already up two goals and Union having tallied just a single shot, the game was comfortably The Bulldogs’ to lose by the 13th minute of the opening period.

The second period proved to be a bit tougher on the Bulldogs, who allowed the Dutchwomen to outshoot them 10–9. However, not a single Union shot made it past Hofmann, who recorded her first career shutout in the win. The freshman saved a total of 21 shots to maintain Yale’s two-goal lead throughout the game despite the Dutchwomen’s offensive control on Yale penalties in the second half of the contest.

The win, while important for improving Yale’s seventh-place conference ranking, also highlighted strengths of the team’s individual players. Marchin’s goal was her fourth in the last five games and also her 14th point in 16 games. Yetman tallied her fourth score of the season to match her total goal output for 2015–16 and add to her 2016–17 season total of six points. Yale’s win on Friday also came without forward and team-leading goal-scorer Phoebe Staenz ’17, who is currently away from the team to play for the Swiss National Team in the Nations Cup.   

Yale continues its season on the road at Rensselaer on Saturday at 3 p.m.

 

JANE MILLER