Bulldogs' String of 14 Successful Penalty Kills Ends

BOSTON - The Yale penalty killing unit had a streak of 14 straight successful kills heading into Friday afternoon's game at No. 10 BU, but the Terriers put an end to that by scoring on their first two power plays. That, combined with 27 saves from Melissa Haber, helped BU come away with a 4-1 win. Freshman forward Alyssa Zupon scored her first career goal for the Bulldogs.

Turnovers plagued the Bulldogs in the opening period, and BU forward Laurel Koller took one in from the neutral zone a minute in with no-one back on defense for Yale. Junior goalie Jackee Snikeris was able to smother the shot, one of many big saves she came up with in the first to keep her team in the game despite a 16-8 shot advantage for the Terriers.

Haber made a quick kick save to deny a slap shot from freshman forward Natalie Wedell eight minutes in, and most of the rest of the period's action took place down at the Yale end. Snikeris used her glove to get enough of forward Jill Cardella's attempt to stuff the puck in at the 10-minute mark. Shortly after that Snikeris also had to deal with a BU player getting tangled up with her in the crease as the Terriers were on the attack.

BU (8-6-7, 4-4-3-2 Hockey East)  finally broke through 18 seconds into its first power play, as Snikeris hit the ice to make a save but was unable to cover the loose puck. It was sitting in the crease for several seconds with players from both teams poking away at it before Terrier forward Melissa Anderson was finally able to push it over the line at 5:19.

Anderson added another goal by wristing one past Snikeris at 12:47 of the second, and right after that Haber denied sophomore forward Lauren Davis' attempt to knock in a crossing pass from freshman defenseman Tara Tomimoto.

A pair of penalties in a 30-second span late in the second proved critical, as it gave forward Jillian Kirchner a chance to score a 5-on-3 goal that made it 3-0. The Bulldogs finished off the rest of the penalty kill thanks to long clears from senior defenseman Alyssa Clarke and sophomore defenseman Heather Grant, but the damage had been done.

Snikeris came up with a big glove save on forward Jill Cardella two minutes into the third, and the Bulldogs were finally able to get one past Haber at 3:27. Haber stopped the initial shot by junior forward Bray Ketchum, but the puck popped up in the air in the slot and Zupon was able to bat it in.

Freshman forward Natalie Wedell was able to draw a hooking penalty on the Terriers right after that, but the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on the power play as Ketchum rifled a slap shot just wide.

Yale (4-10-2, 2-7-1 ECAC Hockey) disrupted a breakaway chance for Kirchner with 11 minutes to play, but a minute after that Snikeris ranged far out of the crease trying to cover a loose puck and lost her stick in the process. The Terriers were able to take advantage of that for a goal from Cardella that put the game out of reach. Haber's last big save came on a backhand attempt by sophomore forward Aleca Hughes with three minutes to play. Snikeris finished with 30 saves.

Yale visits BC Saturday at 2 p.m. to conclude its trip to Boston.

Report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity