April 7, 2008

Will Engasser, the captain of Yale's 2007-08 men's hockey team, has been selected to play in the third annual Frozen Four Skills Challenge at Denver's Pepsi Center this Friday night at 5:00 EST. The event, placed between the semifinals and finals of the 2008 NCAA Men's Hocky Frozen Four, will be televised live on ESPNU.

Engasser, the Chanhassen, Minn., native who had four goals and 15 points for the Bulldogs (16-14-4) this past winter, finished his collegiate career with 15 goals and 29 points over 89 games.

"I am excited to participate in the skills challenge," said Engasser, who will be completely outfitted by the sponsor, Nike/Bauer, for the event. "I am thrilled to represent Yale hockey and extend my collegiate hockey experience this way."

The competition will be conducted in an East versus West format with each team having six male position players, six female position players, two male goaltenders and two female goaltenders.

Tickets for the event are $10 and are on sale at the Pepsi Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 303/830-8497.

The Frozen Four Skills Challenge will be preceded by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award at 5:30 p.m. and the Hockey Humanitarian Award at 6:05 p.m. The Frozen Four Skills Challenge and the Hobey Baker Award both air live on ESPNU.

Engasser is the first player from the Yale men's team to compete in this event. Sheila Zingler '07, a member of the Yale women's team, was the first Bulldog to go to the skills challenge last year at St. Louis.

"The Frozen Four Skills Challenge has really taken off as an event," said Joel Maturi, chair of the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee and director of athletics at the University of Minnesota. "Each year the caliber of the student-athletes in this competition has gotten stronger and stronger, and we feel this year is no different. The Skills Challenge will once again be a showcase of the nation's best senior student-athletes."