Doherty has 3-point Night

HANOVER, N.H. – The Yale men's hockey team opened its ECAC road campaign with a 4-1 win at Dartmouth with help from Mike Doherty's three-point night.

The Bulldogs (2-1-2) got on the board first when sophomore forward Doherty re-directed a Charles Orzetti shot from the point at 6:17.  Doherty, battling a pair of defenseman outside the crease, got his stick on the low Orzetti shot and changed the direction on it enough to get past goalie James Kruger.

Yale had a 12-8 advantage in shots over the first period but didn't hit the net again, taking the one-goal lead into intermission.

The visitors made it 2-0 early in the second when John Hayden and Frankie DiChiara hooked up on a pretty give-and-go. DiChiara carried over the Dartmouth blueline and then dumped for Hayden. The sophomore forward skated to the right circle and then fired across to DiChiara, who had cut to the middle of the ice. The sophomore forward took the pass and fired a wrister past Kruger.

Dartmouth (1-3-1) got on the scoreboard after a pinpoint one-timer in the slot by Charlie Mosey at 9:50, assisted by Jesse Beamish with an equally accurate pass from the boards. Despite good positioning by Yale, Mosey fired a powerful shot past Yale goalie Alex Lyon in the top corner.

Dartmouth began the third period with offensive spark, hitting the post a number of times, but it was Yale captain Tommy Fallen who would find the back of the net at 10:31, easily slotting in a rebound past Kruger, who was out of position on the other side of the goal after saving a shot by Mike Doherty.

Ryan Hitchcock sealed the game with a scrappy power play goal from just outside the crease. The first goal of his collegiate career, the freshman crashed the net, fighting off several Dartmouth defenders, collecting a deflection off a shot from Doherty to force the puck past Kruger.

Tempers flared in the waning minutes of the match, as the teams scuffled in front of the Dartmouth goal. Matthew Beattie took a hard shot from Brett Patterson, who would be called for a 10-minute major misconduct penalty on the check. Slow to get up, Beattie eventually skated off the ice unassisted.

The Bulldogs played aggressive defensively the entire game, contesting nearly every Dartmouth clearance and dominating play in the neutral zone.

Despite Yale only holding a 30-27 shots on goal advantage by the end of the game, the Elis made the most of their opportunities. Yale goalie Alex Lyon turned in a solid performance with 26 saves.

The Bulldogs look to continue their winning ways tomorrow when they travel to Boston to take on the Harvard Crimson.

Bulldog Bites – Mike Doherty, with his one goal and two assist performance, is now tied with John Hayden with 5 points for the season…The game aired live on the Ivy League Digital Network.

Filed by Sun-Kyu KIm