Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 March 5, 2005
Freshman forward Will Engasser scored his second goal of the game 2:41 into overtime as the Yale men's hockey team stunned No. 15 ranked Dartmouth, 5-4, in the second game of the best-of-three ECACHL playoff series at Thompson Arena.
Junior goalie Josh Gartner, who blanked the best offense in the conference on all five man-advantage chances, made a career-high 60 saves in helping the Elis win their first-ever overtime playoff game while evening the series at 1-1.
The Big Green (18-11-2) outshot Yale 64-27 and had a pair of goals from Jarrett Sampson, but it was not enough to prevent their first loss at Hanover since Dec. 19 of this season.
"I came through the neutral zone with the puck and heard everyone yelling to dump it in," said Engasser. "I threw the shot on net but could not see it go in. I did see everyone on our bench charging out to the ice."
Yale (5-24-2) may have been outshot 21-9 in the first frame but head coach Tim Taylor had his Bulldogs playing with a sense of desperation and Josh Gartner stopped 20 shots. The Elis, who survived a pair of power-play chances in the period, were flying early and stunned the heavily favored Big Green with the game's first marker.
Defenseman Robert Page saved the puck at the blueline on a clearing attempt and fired a shot on goal that was saved by Dan Yacey (22 saves). Jeff Hristovski, who had two points, was in the low slot and alone with the rebound. He quickly put the puck back and under the pads of the sliding Dartmouth goalie at 1:01. It was the junior forward's eighth goal of the year.
Less than a minute later, the Bulldogs appeared to take a monumental, two-goal advantage. Hristovski, from behind the net, fed Yaworski, who one-timed a shot from the high slot that was ruled a goal by referee Tim Kotyra. The only problem for the Elis was that one of the linesmen must have convinced Kotyra that he had signaled the goal too early. Moments later he waved off the goal and went to explain his decision to the Yale bench.
Mike Hartwick's shot from the point was deflected by Jarrett Sampson and found the upper right corner of the net. Gartner was in position but the puck quickly changed direction and eluded his glove at 3:26 to even the score at 1-1.
Yale earned its first lead of the playoff series with great stickwork from junior Brad Mills, who skated for the first time in six games last night. Hristovski fired a shot on net that Yacey could not control and the puck was loose and bouncing in the crease. That's when Mills, skating across the top of the crease, pounded the puck into the back of the net.
For the second straight night, the Big Green produced a shorthanded goal. This one tied the score at 2-2 when an errant pass in the Dartmouth end landed on Lee Stempniak's stick. The speedy captain whizzed ahead of the Yale power-play unit and came in alone on Gartner. Stempniak waited until he reached the low slot before snapping off a low shot that beat the junior goalie on glove side.
Will Engasser, Yale's only healthy scratch last night, was the only Bulldog forward dressed for this game who did not have a collegiate point. His first career goal was one of the biggest for the Blue this season and made the score 3-2. Eli captain Nick Shalek grabbed the puck behind the Dartmouth net and got a pass out to the freshman left wing. Engasser backhanded the puck between Yacey's legs at 15:47 of the second period.
The Elis held on for the 3-2 lead through the middle frame despite being outshot 19-6. Gartner, who halted a Hugh Jessiman point-blank attempt on the power play as the period expired, had 18 stops.
Yale got its first two-goal advantage of the game and looked like it might be able to hold off the No. 15 ranked Green. Page's shot from the blueline at 12:43 was tipped past Yacey to make it 4-2
Yale, holding on dearly but playing very aggressively, could not hold the lead. Eric Przepiorka made it a one-goal game when he found a bouncing rebound on the doorstep and had an open net to smack the puck into at 15:51. Then with 1:56 left in regulation Sampson gathered in a rebound and flipped a shot over Gartner to even things at 4-4 and force the extra session.
The visitors had three of the four shots on goal in the OT and the last was the biggest surprise. Engasser, who has some of the biggest and strongest hands on the squad, took a feed from defenseman Matt Cohen at mid ice and skated in across the blueline before send a rising wrist shot past the glove of the Dartmouth goalie.
"The guys in front of me did a great job because they [Dartmouth] were putting a lot of pucks around our net," said Gartner, who earned his first playoff victory since the 2002-03 campaign. "My teammates scored five goals for me, what else could I ask for."
Report filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director
