Feb. 10, 2004
New Haven, CT - Yale tied its season high for goals in a game and got its fourth shutout of the year in beating Quinnipiac 6-0 at Ingalls Rink Tuesday night. Four different players scored goals, six different players had assists, and goaltender Sarah Love made 21 saves.
"It's nice to finally win one," said Yale head coach Hilary Witt, whose team snapped a four-game losing skid that included two one-goal losses to nationally-ranked opponents.
The challenge on Tuesday night was for Yale to bounce back from a tough weekend at No. 5 St. Lawrence in a game that was not originally on the schedule. The teams had been scheduled to meet at Ingalls Friday December 5, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather. Yale did travel to North Branford January 20, taking a 5-1 decision.
A shutout slipped away from Love and the Bulldogs early in the third period of that game, and Tuesday night's meeting started out looking like a low-scoring affair. Bobcats goalie Catherine Lapare made 12 saves in the first period, including a kick save on a Lisa Jacque breakaway, to keep the game scoreless through one. The Bulldogs finally caught a break midway through the second, when Nicole Symington backhanded one on net. Amidst heavy traffic, the rebound bounced in off a Quinnipiac player.
Natalie Babony increased Yale's lead to 2-0 at 16:57 of the second, deflecting in a shot by Erin Duggan. It wasn't until the third period that the Bulldogs truly broke the game open, however. Kristin Savard fed Babony for her second goal at 5:58, part of a three-assist night for the freshman forward. Jacque set up Suzanne McGoey for a wrist shot just 34 seconds later to put the game out of reach. Symington added a power-play goal at 13:51, giving her eight goals for the year (tied with Savard and Deena Caplette for the team lead). Jenna Spring tacked on another goal with 1:33 to play, beating Lapare high on her stick side.
In addition to the goal scorers, Witt was quick to point out some of the other contributors.
"Deena Caplette really made things happen, even though she didn't get a point," said Witt. "Lisa Jacque made a fantastic pass to Suzanne McGoey on her goal. It's the little things like that that we have to recognize."
Yale killed off all three Quinnipiac power plays, and has now killed off all 17 opponent power plays in the last three games. At 8-11-3, Yale is one point away from tying last season's point total with six games remaining on the schedule. The Bulldogs host four straight ECAC games: Colgate this Friday at 7:00, Cornell Saturday at 4:00, No. 1 Dartmouth Friday February 20 at 7:00 and Vermont Saturday February 21 at 4:00. Tickets are available at the rink one hour prior to game time (Adult G.A. $3, Non-Yale students 15 & over $1, Yale students with ID free, youth 14 & under free, senior citizens 65 & over free).
report by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity Department