Ferrara Scores Two Goals in Final 5:06 for Win

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Midway through the third period Saturday afternoon at Ingalls Rink, the Yale women's ice hockey team found itself trailing No. 5 Quinnipiac -- one of the top defensive teams in the country -- 3-2. The Bulldogs knew they would only get a limited number of offensive chances the rest of the way, and they would have to make the most of them. Led by the team captain, senior forward Janelle Ferrara, the Bulldogs did just that. They scored twice in the final 5:06 to pull off the upset, 4-3.

The comeback for Yale (1-2-0, 1-1-0 ECAC Hockey) was all the more impressive considering that the Bulldogs had given up the lead earlier in the period, as a 2-1 Yale advantage turned into a 3-2 Bobcats lead on goals by forward Meghan Turner at 4:18 and defenseman Cydney Roesler on a 5-on-3 at 10:10.

"Scoring a power play goal is a great way to get some momentum, but we gave it right back," said Joakim Flygh, Yale's Susan Cavanagh Head Coach of Women's Ice Hockey. "Then we put ourselves in a tough spot with the 5-on-3, and giving up that goal could have been the end for us. But we really showed some character in coming back. Obviously our captain had the two goals, but this was a collective effort. The few scoring opportunities we got, we took advantage of them."

Those QU goals came after sophomore forward Eden Murray had given Yale a 2-1 lead, assisted by sophomore defenseman Mallory Souliotis and junior defenseman Taylor Marchin, at 3:23 of the period.

"It was frustrating, because I thought we were over-passing early on in the power play," said Flygh. "On our first two goals, Mallory showed a lot of patience in setting them up."

Yale had taken a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by freshman forward Jordan Chancellor, assisted by Souliotis and Ferrara.

Quinnipiac (5-1-1, 1-1-0 ECAC Hockey) tied the game 1-1 at 1:23 of the second on a goal by forward Emma Woods. But other than that, the stretch of two goals in less than six minutes in the third was the only rough patch for Yale junior goaltender Hanna Mandl, who made 23 saves and earned a signature win in just her eighth career start.

"She made saves when we needed, and that's what you want from your goalie," said Flygh. "We've seen her potential the past two years. The team just needs to learn how to play in front of her."

The Yale offense, meanwhile, continues to impress. Even in last week's 6-3 non-league loss at Quinnipiac, the Bulldogs put up an impressive showing against the Bobcats' stingy defense. On Saturday, the Bulldogs struck quickly when it counted as Ferrara tied the game at 14:54 of the third (assisted by Chancellor and Murray) and netted the game winner 67 seconds later (assisted by junior forward Phoebe Staenz and Marchin). Including last week's game, Ferrara now has three goals against QU -- all in the third period.

"We felt we were in that game [last week]," said Flygh. "Quinnipiac's a talented team, and we just gave them too many turnovers. We were more efficient offensively today, and we were better defensively. We made sure the second-chance opportunities weren't there."

With a split of the first two conference games, Yale exits the first weekend of ECAC Hockey play as part of a six-way tie for fifth in the conference standings. The Bulldogs also know that, having knocked off the Bobcats twice in the last eight months (including a 3-0 win at Ingalls last February), they are neck-and-neck with the conference's elite teams with 20 games left to determine this year's regular season champion.

"Quinnipiac is probably the best defensive team in our conference," said Flygh. "They're going to limit your opportunities. There might be some track meets out there when we play other teams."

Yale travels to BU Tuesday night before returning to Ingalls for games vs. No. 7/8 Harvard and No. 10 Dartmouth next weekend.

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