Bulldogs Nearly Rally from 4-1 Deficit

CANTON, N.Y. - Down 4-1 in the second period Saturday afternoon at Appleton Arena, the Yale women's ice hockey team rallied to get back to within 4-3 against No. 9 St. Lawrence. But that was as far as the Bulldog comeback would go, as the Saints got 10 saves from goalie Carmen MacDonald (24 total saves) in the final period to hold on for the win.

Coming off a thrilling 3-2 win at No. 8 Clarkson Friday night, Yale (10-12-1, 7-9-0 ECAC Hockey) found itself trailing just 3:05 into Saturday's game. St. Lawrence forward Jenna Marks boomed a shot off the boards behind the Yale goal, and defenseman Kirsten Padalis knocked the loose puck in for a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs responded less than five minutes later. On a Yale rush up the right side, St. Lawrence was able to deflect a pass by senior forward Jackie Raines -- but the puck went right back to junior forward Jamie Haddad, who one-timed it in for the game-tying goal at 7:34. That was Haddad's eighth goal of the season, breaking a four-way tie for the team lead.

The first period then bogged down as six penalties were called in the final 6:20 -- four of them against Yale. The Bulldogs killed off a brief 5-on-3 for the Saints thanks to blocked shots by senior defenseman Aurora Kennedy and junior forward Janelle Ferrara. But penalties on both teams in a span of 61 seconds then gave SLU a 4-on-3, and that enabled the Saints to re-take the lead. Defenseman Amanda McClure set up defenseman Amanda Boulier for a one-timer. Boulier did not get all of the puck, but the resulting knuckler fluttered over the shoulder of Yale senior goalie Jaimie Leonoff for a 2-1 lead at 16:14.

There were no penalties in the second, but there were plenty of goals. A pair of St. Lawrence tallies, by forwards Jackie Wand and Jenna Marks, in a span of less than four minutes early in the period gave the Saints a 4-1 lead. The Bulldogs would not go away, though. With 10 minutes left in the period, freshman forward Eden Murray and freshman defenseman Mallory Souliotis set up sophomore defenseman Taylor Marchin for a slap shot from the right point. She sent it into the upper right corner of the net to bring Yale within 4-2.

Less than a minute later, with MacDonald down on the ice after making a save, Raines was able to slide in another goal to cut SLU's lead to 4-3. Ferrara and Souliotis assisted.

MacDonald saved some of her best work for the third period, though, when the Saints needed her most. Less than a minute in sophomore forward Phoebe Staenz used a backhand pass to find junior forward Hanna Åström all alone in front of the net, but MacDonald denied her. Ten minutes later another great feed from Staenz set up sophomore forward Krista Yip-Chuck in front, but MacDonald once again came up with the save. Another flurry of offensive activity for Yale with eight minutes to play saw MacDonald turn aside a shot from the slot by Kennedy and then glove senior forward Stephanie Mock's attempt at a follow-up.

St. Lawrence (16-8-3, 10-3-2 ECAC Hockey) had a chance to put the game away with 2:20 to play when forward Kennedy Marchment eluded a Yale defender and came in all alone on Leonoff, but Leonoff came out and got just enough of Marchment's shot to send it harmlessly bouncing into the corner.

That set up a dramatic final 90 seconds, as the Bulldogs got a face-off in the SLU zone and pulled Leonoff (32 saves) for an extra attacker. MacDonald made one more spectacular save, kicking away a shot by Yip-Chuck in the final minute, to help seal the win. St. Lawrence now has a six-game winning streak and a seven-game unbeaten streak.

Yale returns to action next Friday night at No. 4 Harvard.

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