Staenz Notches a Pair of Assists

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Friday night's game at Union got off to a rough start for the Yale women's ice hockey team, as the Dutchwomen scored a goal just 25 seconds in. But that did not faze the Bulldogs, even though they were facing one of the toughest goalies in ECAC Hockey -- Union's Shenae Lundberg, who had just set an NCAA record for most saves in a shutout by stopping 59 shots in a 1-0 win at Northeastern Tuesday. The Bulldogs tied the game midway through the first on the first career goal by freshman forward Kaitlin Gately, then took the lead 33 seconds later and never looked back. They finished with a 4-2 victory.

Union's goal came on its first shot. A turnover by the Bulldogs in the Union zone gave the Dutchwomen a 2-on-1, and they played it to perfection. Forward Nicole Russell skated up the left wing and waited until the last second before sliding a pass across to forward Kathryn Tomaselli, who was right in front of senior goaltender Jaimie Leonoff and was able to get just enough of the puck to slide it past her for a 1-0 lead.

Yale (5-6-1, 2-3-0 ECAC Hockey) applied more and more offensive pressure as the first period wore on, and that eventually led to a pair of quick goals. First, a nifty pass from behind the net by sophomore forward Phoebe Staenz set up Gately, as she knocked it through the five hole at 13:59.

"That was a nice set-up by Phoebe," said Yale head coach Joakim Flygh. "That goal really gave us energy."

Thirty-three seconds later, freshman forward Eden Murray redirected a feed from junior defenseman Kate Martini to give Yale a 2-1 lead.  

"Giving up a goal 25 seconds in was obviously not the start we wanted, and we did not play particularly well in the first 10 minutes," said Flygh. "But it was good to see that we buckled down after that. The final 10 minutes of the period were much better."

The first period ended with Yale killing off the first penalty of the game, and Leonoff kept the lead intact by denying a hard slap shot from the point by forward Lizzy Otten. Sophomore forward Krista Yip-Chuck then cleared the puck and the Bulldogs kept the Dutchwomen from threatening again.

Yale got its first power play early in the second, but a shot by sophomore defenseman Taylor Marchin hit the post and Lundberg made a nice save on a shot by Martini.

The Bulldogs killed off another penalty midway through the second, and shortly after that Leonoff made one of her best saves of the night to deny forward Christine Valente on a breakaway.

Things started to get hectic for both teams shortly after Leonoff gloved a shot to start a delayed penalty on Yale with 3:31 left in the period.

Skating short-handed, Yale nonetheless extended its lead. A 2-on-1 for the Bulldogs, set up by freshman defenseman Mallory Souliotis, enabled Yip-Chuck to center a pass for junior forward Janelle Ferrara. She chipped it in for a 3-1 Yale lead -- but Union remained on the power play, and scored less than a minute later (defenseman Alex Tancrell-Fontaine).

Back at even strength, 24 seconds after the Union goal, junior forward Jamie Haddad knocked in a pass from Staenz, and Yale took a 4-2 lead into the third -- after the teams had combined for three goals in a span of 2:12.

Yale's four-goal outburst was all the more impressive considering that Lundberg brought a .929 save percentage into Friday's game.

"We had a game plan, to attack down low," said Flygh. "We had to move her around. Two of our goals were back door and two were five-hole. We knew we weren't going to get anything cheap against her."

Tomaselli hit the post with a shot a minute into the third, and the Bulldogs completed their third successful penalty kill of the night shortly after that. Union (2-11-2, 0-5-0 ECAC Hockey) had another great chance with seven minutes left, but Leonoff came out to stuff a pair of shots by forward Jessica Kaminsky from low on the right side, and Kaminsky then sent the rebound wide. With four minutes left, a diving play by Souliotis broke up a pass right in front of the net.

The Dutchwomen pulled Lundberg with 1:24 to play on a faceoff in the Yale zone, but Ferrara deflected a Union pass out of the zone and Leonoff then covered a loose puck in the crease with 33 seconds remaining. She finished with 22 saves, while Lundberg made 25.

Yale visits Rensselaer Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

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