Bulldogs Win Fifth Straight

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - With a 2-1 victory vs. Princeton in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at Ingalls Rink, the Yale women's ice hockey team celebrated Senior Day in style --and kept some much-needed momentum going into the upcoming ECAC Hockey playoffs. This was Yale's fifth win in a row, the team's longest winning streak since winning six in a row from Nov. 19 through Dec. 4, 2004.

Princeton (15-12-2, 13-8-1 ECAC Hockey) entered the day with a chance to win the Ivy League title, but the Bulldogs also had plenty of incentive. It was Senior Day for defenseman Aurora Kennedy, goaltender Jaimie Leonoff, forward Stephanie Mock, defenseman Madi Murray and forward Jackie Raines -- and a win would be a fitting Ingalls Rink sendoff for the group. Those five have seen Yale transform itself after enduring a 1-27-1 season in 2011-12; the Bulldogs are now within reach of the school record for wins in a single season (16, 2004-05).

"As a coach, you're just thankful for all the work they have put in over four years," said Yale head coach Joakim Flygh. "When they were freshmen we were 1-27-1, so to be able to stand here three years later with a winning record and playing some of the best hockey I've seen us play is a tribute to them. They stuck to it."

As indicated by the final score, the game was close throughout. As they had done Friday night in the 3-0 win vs. No. 5 Quinnipiac, Yale's line of junior forward Hanna Åström, sophomore forward Phoebe Staenz and sophomore forward Krista Yip-Chuck generated the game's first goal. Staenz got the puck off the boards along the right side to Åström, who skated in on Princeton netminder Kimberly Newell before shuffling the puck across to Yip-Chuck, who backhanded it in at 9:43 for her third goal of the weekend.

"[That line] was very good all weekend," said Flygh. "That's the best hockey I have seen Phoebe play. She was relentless. She really creates havoc every time she is on the ice, and is not fun to play against."

Princeton tied the game at 4:17 of the second, as forward Jaimie McDonnell pounced on a loose puck in the crease to knock it past Leonoff.

Later in the second the Bulldogs killed off their first penalty of the game, and shortly after that a series of penalties helped swing momentum in Yale's favor. Matching penalties on Princeton and Yale left the two teams skating 4-on-4 when the Bulldogs set up in the Tigers zone for a delayed penalty on Princeton. With Leonoff pulled for an extra skater, Yale worked the puck around the perimeter effectively. Sophomore defenseman Taylor Marchin took a pass from freshman defenseman Mallory Souliotis, then sent it over to Yip-Chuck. Yip-Chuck sent it back to Marchin, who teed off and blasted the puck past Newell's outstretched glove for a 2-1 lead at the 12:50 mark.

"I give our kids all the credit," said Flygh. "They were aware they had the delayed penalty, so we were able to set up in our power play."

The third period saw the Yale defense combine with Leonoff (28 saves, including seven in the final frame) to seal the win. With 5:30 to play Princeton set up defenseman Kelsey Koelzer for a slap shot from the left point, but junior forward Jamie Haddad blocked the shot to snuff out the scoring threat.

A penalty on the Tigers with 4:26 to play limited Princeton's ability to generate any offense as the clock wound down, and Newell had to deny junior forward Janelle Ferrara on a breakaway to keep her team within striking distance with less than two minutes left. With Newell pulled for an extra attacker, Princeton called a timeout with 49.5 seconds to play. After forward Cassidy Tucker sent a shot across the mouth of the goal, Leonoff stopped a wrister by Koelzer with 23 seconds remaining, and a clear in the final seconds enabled the Bulldogs to avoid any further threats.

Yale (15-13-1, 12-10-0 ECAC Hockey) finished the regular season seventh in the ECAC Hockey standings for the second straight season, and will play a best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series starting Friday at second-seeded No. 3 Harvard. Game one starts at 3:30 p.m. Friday, while game two is at 3:00 p.m. Saturday and game three (if necessary) is at 3:00 p.m. Sunday.

No. 7 Clarkson claimed a share of the ECAC Hockey championship with Harvard by beating the Crimson 1-0 Saturday.

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