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After defeating Brown at home this past Tuesday, the Bulldogs will travel to Providence for their second straight matchup against the Bears, looking to continue their good run of form.
The Bulldogs (12–8–0, 9–4–0 ECAC) will roll into Providence on a five-game win streak. They left Ingalls Rink with a well-deserved 3–1 win over the Bears (2–15–1, 2–10–1) in their first bout. In this final stretch of the season, every game is of utmost importance as all nine remaining games are in-conference. Yale is currently in fifth place in the ECAC with 18 points, eight points behind No. 1 Cornell (18–1–2, 12–0–2). Meanwhile Brown is currently in second to last place, with just two wins on the season, both of which came against Rensselaer — the last place team, which hasn’t collected a win since last March. Brown’s struggles are evidence on the stat sheet, and the Bulldogs should be able to pull away with their sixth win in a row.
“We are obviously excited about our current chance to make a deep run in the ECAC playoffs,” defender Emma Seitz ’22 stated. “That being said, it’s important to stay focused on one game at a time, and that’s the approach that we are going to bring to … Brown.”
In their last meeting, the Bulldogs took an early lead against the Bears with a power-play goal from forward Elle Hartje ’23. She capitalized on one of Brown’s players being sent to the box for tripping. Assists came from Seitz and forward Claire Dalton ’22. In the following periods, forwards Sophie Veronneau ’20 and Rebecca Vanstone ’22 each added tallies of their own to bring Yale’s total goal count up to three. The team boasted an incredible 44 shots on net against their Ivy opponents.
“Getting on top early with a power-play goal was big for us,” head coach Mark Bolding said.
Throughout the first two periods, goaltender Gianna Meloni ’21 maintained a strong presence in net. She sent away all 14 shots that the Bears sent her way. The low number of shots on net was also a testament to Yale’s stellar defensive effort that game.
In the final period, netminder Courtney Denaut ’23 made her first appearance of the season between the pipes. She faced just seven shots, six of which she stopped from going in. The one that slipped by came with just 22 seconds left in the game.
The Elis will be traveling to Providence this Tuesday for a rematch and all signs point toward a victory in similar fashion. Brown has just two wins on the season, both of which came against a team that has been continually thrashed by all other ECAC teams for almost a year. Yale has already improved on its record from last year, in no small part due to the new coaching staff and first years.
“The team is doing well right now and we’re focused on continuing to work hard and win games,” captain Laura Anderson ’20 said.
After Tuesday’s matchup, the Bulldogs will have just eight games left in the season — half of which will be at home.
Akshar Agarwal | akshar.agarwal@yale.edu
Alessa Kim-Panero | alessa.kim-panero@yale.edu