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The Bulldogs traveled to upstate New York last Friday to face Rensselaer at the Houston Field House and Union at Messa Rink. In the contests, the Elis tallied wins, with a 5–3 defeat of RPI and a 3–2 overtime win against Union.  

In its first game of the weekend, the Yale men’s hockey team (5–10–1, 4–7–1 ECAC) faced the Engineers (10–14–3, 5–7–0 ECAC). Forward Ian Carpentier ’24 had two goals and an assist in the third period and goalkeeper Nate Reid ’24 made 23 saves, leading the team to a decisive victory. 

“Great job by the guys tonight to earn our first road win of the year,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 said to Yale Athletics following the game. “Everyone made a contribution, which is the only way to win in our league.”

In the 14th minute, forward Cole Donhauser ’23 drove the net from the right side and passed to forward Teddy Wooding ’24, who netted the first goal of the game and his fourth of the year. RPI tied the game at one at the start of the second period, when forward Ture Linden stole a pass and dispensed the puck into the top right corner of the net.

Beating the buzzer ahead of the second intermission, Bulldog forward Reilly Connors ’24 took back the lead, where he rebounded a shot by forward Henry Wagner ’24. Further increasing their lead, forward Justin Pearson ’22 scored his second goal of the season one minute into the third period. Both Carpentier and forward Niklas Allain ’24 assisted in the third tally. 

Firing a feed from behind the net from forward Ottoville Leppanen, Linden scored his second goal of the game for the Engineers in the middle of the third. Just over three minutes later, Carpentier netted his first goal of the game, using the left side to pot a top shelf shot.

RPI then pulled goalkeeper Jack Watson for an extra player at 17:43, allowing Leppanen to score with a shot from the left wall with two minutes remaining in regulation, narrowing Yale’s lead to one. With Watson still pulled again, Carpentier tallied an empty-net goal to secure a Yale victory.

“I thought we needed to play with more urgency,” Engineers’ head coach Dave Smith said in a post-game interview with RPI Athletics. “And that’s what cost us the game was the defensive urgency … Sometimes changes are made when you see something bad [and] I didn’t like some of the plays that a couple of the guys had been making so I was moving them around”

On Saturday, the Elis added to their conference road sweep in an overtime defeat of Union (7–12–3, 5–7–1 ECAC). 

After a scoreless first frame, Dutchman forward Liam Robertson gave Union a 1–0 lead on a powerplay, redirecting a shot from the high slot by defender Brandon Estes. 

In the 14th minute of the second period, Carpentier evened the score, and just over two minutes later, found the back of the net again to put the Elis in the lead.

“This last weekend was a great moral booster for us as a team,” Wooding said. “We got contributions from everyone.”  

In the third period, Union defender Dylan Anhorn caught the puck out of the air and sent it to forward Tyler Watkins. Watkins passed to Estes at the top of the right circle, who one-timed it into the net, bringing the score to a tie and forcing an extra session. 

In overtime, Allain forced a turnover in the Union zone, sending a rebounded shot to Wooding. He then beat Dutchman goalie Connor Murphy stick-side to score Yale’s third and game-winning goal. 

While Union led 35–32 in shots, Yale had a 31–27 advantage in faceoff wins. Goalie Luke Pearson ’25 also had a total of 33 saves to mark his first collegiate victory. 

“It was an outstanding effort from the guys and we were rewarded with a sweep on the road,” Keith Allain said to Yale Athletics. “It was fantastic to see Luke Pearson earn his first college win in goal, he was rock solid all night.”

On Jan. 29, the Bulldogs will face the University of Connecticut in a 3:30 p.m. game in Bridgeport, Connecticut to kick off the Connecticut Ice Collegiate Hockey Tournament.