Dec. 6, 2008
Photo Gallery 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - A night after erasing a two-goal deficit with six straight goals, the Yale men's hockey team got the other end of the stick. Union came back from a 2-0 hole by tallying five straight to take a 5-2 ECAC Hockey decision over the Bulldogs before 2,893 at Ingalls Rink.
The Bulldogs (7-3, 4-2 ECAC) outshot the Dutchmen 37-33 and had plenty of chances to put this one away early. Union (7-5-1, 2-4) weathered the early Bulldog storm with great goaltending by sophomore Corey Milan, who finished with 35 saves.
Yale junior goalie Billy Blase (28 saves), who was making his second start of the year, was stopping everything thrown at him through the first 38 minutes. Then the roof caved in and a two-goal night by Yale sophomore Broc Little was spoiled.
The Yale forecheck was relentless enough in the opening frame to give the Blue a 20-8 advantage in shots and a two-goal lead.
The home team cashed in the hard work just 80 seconds into the opening draw. Sophomore forward Chris Cahill took a pass from freshman center Dan O'Neill in the left circle. Cahill was not moving toward the goal but Little was cruising in and he grabbed the puck from his teammate before sending it between Milan's legs.
The second Bulldog goal came courtesy of the White Mountain connection and a fantastic pass from Denny Kearney (Hanover, N.H.), who saw Little (Rindge, N.H.) breaking toward the blueline ahead of the defense. The only problem was that Kearney didn't have control of the puck and could not get it on his forehand. What he could do was backhand swat a perfect lead pass that hit Little in stride before the sophomore winger deked Milan and then tucked a five-hole shot at 13:29.
"Every team in the league is good. We had a chance to get a few more goals in the first period and maybe bury them," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's third-year Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey, who has yet to beat Union. "Two to nothing should have been more. When you don't make it more against a good team, it can come back to bite you."
Union turned things around in the second period and had the advantage (13-8) in shots. The Dutchmen also had the only goal of the frame to cut the lead in half on a man-advantage. It could have been more, with two shots off the post and numerous grade-A scoring chances, for the guys in the maroon and black shirts.
Brendan Milnamow fired a slapshot off target on the left side of the net that bounced off the boards and came directly to left wing Adam Presizniuk on the edge of the crease. Presizniuk (6th) flipped it off Blase's pad and into the back of the net with 1:49 left.
"I thought we had just as many quality scoring chances in the third, but their shots went in and ours did not," said Allain.
The equalizer came midway through the third off a Blase save. The puck bounced off the Eli goalie and sat in the crease while he scrambled to get his glove on it. Stephane Boileau (5th) sprinted in and got his stick on the puck enough to send it over the goal line. That goal seemed to stun the Bulldogs a bit because Union grabbed the lead almost a minute later with the Yale defense out of position.
The puck came out to the left side of the net with Blase on the other side. Justin Pallos, looking for his first goal of the year, grabbed it, pulled it back in front and then deposited it in the net with 9:12 left to give Union the 3-2 lead.
A fourth straight Dutchmen goal by Randy Hanagan, the first of his season, took most of the wind out of a Yale team that was looking for a fourth straight win.
Then Elis pulled Blase for an extra attacker before Chris Potts' empty-net goal with 1:18 left sealed the deal.
The penalty kill units were successful at both ends in this contest; Yale was scoreless on three man-advantages while Union tallied once on eight attempts.
The Bulldogs have to sit on this one for 22 days before hosting Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 29.
Recap filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director
Video by David Dikranian
