Courtesy of Yale Athletics
The Yale women’s hockey team went on the road this past weekend, defeating Dartmouth 1–0 but falling to Harvard 5–2.
The Bulldogs (3–1–0, 1–1–0 ECAC) met the Big Green (1–3–0, 1–2–0) in Hanover for their first conference game of the season. This came after playing two games against the out-of-conference LIU Sharks, which saw the Elis put up 14 goals over the course of the series. Goalkeeper Tera Hofmann ’20 saved all 20 shots to shut out Dartmouth, and forward Kaitlyn Rippon ’22 scored the single tally of the contest. The following day, the Blue and White fell to the Crimson, finding the back of the net twice but letting five in their own end. Yale takes on Union and Rensselaer this weekend.
“We had a positive weekend gaining two out of four league points on the road which is definitely a step in the right direction,” head coach Mark Bolding said.
Forward Elle Hartje ’23 was named both the ECAC Rookie of the Week and one of the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Three Stars of the Week for her performances against LIU. Yale got its first taste of what the first year has to offer as she found the back of the net three times in her opening game for the Bulldogs.
Despite leaving New Haven with six points, Hartje wasted little time dwelling on the past.
“We play Dartmouth and Harvard in our first league games, and that is our only focus this week. Last weekend was great for morale and confidence, but now it’s on to the next,” she said before departing for Dartmouth.
The Bulldogs carried confidence from Ingalls Rink into Hanover for their Dartmouth matchup. They outshot the Big Green 10–6 in the first period, but neither team was able to light the lamp. Returning to the ice, Yale found its chance in the fifth minute of the second frame. Forward Greta Skarzynski ’21 crossed a pass to Rippon, who finished the shot to grab the single goal of the match — her second career goal.
Both teams continued to take shots throughout the rest of the game, but neither team found the back of the net again. The final score was 1–0, with the Bulldogs outshooting the Big Green 29–20. The game — Yale’s first of the conference campaign — also marked Hofmann’s fourth career shutout.
The win also demonstrated that the Bulldogs — who have several new faces — can hang with the top teams in the division. Yale dominated LIU, an out-of-conference team that came into the matchup with an 0–5 record and 8.4 goals allowed on average, but the win against Dartmouth showed that their efforts are truly paying off.
“Change can be hard, but so far it has been a really good thing for our team,” Skarzynski said. “Our new coaches want the best both for us and from us so we’ve done a good job so far of pushing ourselves.”
On Saturday, the Elis fought a hard match in Boston, losing 5–2 to the Crimson despite outshooting them 30–27. Harvard started off the scoring with an early goal from Courtney Hyland, marking the only tally of the first period. Returning for the next frame, Crimson attackers Rebecca Gilmore and Kate Glover each grabbed a goal within the first three minutes, bringing the host’s lead up to three.
Determined to get on the scoreboard, forward Claire Dalton ’22 notched her first goal of the season, assisted by Hartje and defender Emma Seitz ’22. Three minutes later, forward Rebecca Foggia ’21 took advantage of a power play to slip the biscuit past the line for a second Bulldog tally, with apples going to Seitz and forward Grace Lee ’23. Despite the shift in momentum, the Crimson responded as Kyra Willoughby took advantage of Dalton’s trip to the sin bin, finding the back of Yale’s net once again with less than five minutes left in the second period. In the final frame, Gilmore notched her second goal of the game to add one more for Harvard, reaching a final result of 5–2.
This Friday and Saturday, the Bulldogs will host Union (0–7–1, 0–1–0) and Rensselaer (0–8–1, 0–2–0) at Ingalls Rink for two more in-conference matchups. Although both teams have had difficult starts to their seasons, they still boast strong attacks on the hunt for wins this weekend.
“Even though we didn’t get the result we were looking for… [there were] lots of positive moments to take away, but not giving up overall impresses me the most,” Bolding told Yale Athletics.
Yale will square off with Union on Friday at 6 p.m. and RPI on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Ingalls Rink.
Akshar Agarwal | akshar.agarwal@yale.edu
Alessa Kim-Panero | alessa.kim-panero@yale.edu