Yip-Chuck Scores Lone Bulldog Goal

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A pair of goals in a span of 30 seconds late in the first period helped the No. 6 Harvard women's hockey team erase a 1-0 deficit against Yale Saturday afternoon at Ingalls Rink, and the Crimson then hung on for a 3-1 victory. Sophomore forward Krista Yip-Chuck scored Yale's goal.

Yale (7-7-1, 4-4-0 ECAC Hockey) grabbed the lead 4:10 into the game when Yip-Chuck took the  puck from junior forward Janelle Ferrara down low, worked it up top to junior defenseman Kate Martini, then freed herself up to bury a slap shot when Martini sent the puck back to her.

Just when it looked like the Bulldogs would head into the first intermission with a lead, however, Harvard struck for two goals in the final 32.7 seconds of the period. Shortly after forward Lexie Laing tied the game at one, senior goaltender Jaimie Leonoff made a pair of saves on forward Kalley Armstrong and forward Sydney Daniels. But Daniels was able to poke in a rebound with less than eight seconds remaining in the period to give the Crimson a 2-1 lead.

The second period was filled with penalties, but not scoring. Shortly after Leonoff made a great save on defenseman Michelle Picard, a pair of penalties on Yale in a span of less than three minutes gave the Crimson multiple opportunities to widen its lead. But Leonoff kept Harvard at bay, and shortly after the second Yale penalty expired sophomore defenseman Taylor Marchin drew two penalties on Harvard players in a span of 21 seconds to give Yale a two-skater advantage.

The Bulldogs momentarily appeared to tie the game during the 5-on-3, but the officials waved off an apparent goal by senior forward Jackie Raines because she had batted the puck in with her hand.

Leonoff made another spectacular save with less than five minutes to go in the second, getting her left leg out to deny a breakaway chance for forward Miye D'Oench -- the Crimson's leading scorer.

Harvard (8-2-2, 7-1-1 ECAC Hockey) extended the lead to 3-1 on a goal by defenseman Marissa Gedman with 12:51 left in the game. Leonoff then kept the Bulldogs within striking distance by coming out to deny a backhander by Armstrong, who had deked her way around a Yale defender with 11 minutes to play.

Harvard goalie Emerance Maschmeyer made a pair of saves on Ferrara with seven minutes to play, including one from the doorstep, as part of her 23-save day.

A penalty on Harvard with 5:35 to play gave Yale its fourth power play of the game. Senior defenseman Aurora Kennedy sent a shot wide, and Maschmeyer made a save on Raines, to kill off the penalty.

The Bulldogs pulled Leonoff (31 saves) for an extra skater with just over two minutes to play, but were unable to close the gap.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Yale. Harvard continues to have the best winning percentage in ECAC Hockey in conference games (.833 now).

Yale plays again at Princeton next Friday afternoon.

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