Dec. 30, 2008
Photo Gallery 
Behind two goals (one power play, one shorthanded) from stellar sophomore Broc Little, a
beautiful game-winning backhander from Sean Backman and 30 saves from netminder Ryan
Rondeau, the Yale Bulldogs defeated No. 17 Minnesota State, 3-2, before a crowd of 2,362
at Ingalls Rink.
"This is a great group of guys," said Yale's Malcolm G. Chace head coach of men's
hockey, Keith Allain '80. "They are a mentally tough bunch and I have a lot of
confidence in them."
The Bulldogs scored first for the second consecutive night, taking advantage of a 5:00
major penalty on the Mavericks' Mike Louwerse. Little, with assists from Backman and Tom
Dignard, scored his seventh goal of the year - and team-high 14th point - of the season
with 16:51 left in the opening frame. The visitors tied it just over 10 minutes later
when Jason Wiley banged a rebound past Rondeau. The first period ended with the score
tied at 1-1 and Yale holding a 13-5 shots on goal advantage.
The second period was scoreless until Jerad Stewart lit the lamp for the Mavericks on a
great individual effort at 10:25, giving MSU a 2-1 advantage. Minnesota State looked to
have momentum going into the third period after Jimmy Martin was whistled for hooking at
18:49. But just 17 seconds later, Little was at it again, scoring his fourth
shorthanded goal of the year (and second in as many nights) and second goal of the game
to knot the score at 2-2 with just 54 seconds left in the second. Little's two goals
extended his team-leading point total to 15, and tied him with Backman with eight goals
on the season.
"(Little) has a chance to be one of the top players in the league," Allain said. "He has
great speed, the ability to finish, and that makes him very dangerous killing penalties."
Backman re-asserted himself atop the team's goal scoring leaderboard 10:35 into the
third period, with a beautiful backhander that beat MSU goaltender Dan Tormey. Rondeau
stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third period to cement the win for Yale.
"Rondeau played very well," Allain said. "He really shut them down after the second
goal."
Yale plays its third consecutive game against a nationally ranked opponent on Sunday
when Air Force visits Ingalls Rink. Puck drop has been moved to 6 p.m.
Recap filed by Ron Vaccaro '04
Video by David Dikranian
