Box Score Lyon's 24 Saves Big in 2-0 Win
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Most 24-save nights are nothing to write home about. When it's good enough for a crucial, playoff shutout against your arch rival, it's not your typical 24-save outing. Alex Lyon stopped everything on target as Yale captured game two of the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal series with a 2-0 win over Harvard before a packed Ingalls Rink.
The Mike Richter Award candidate notched his school-record seventh shutout of the season and 10th of his career with 10 stops in the first, six in the second and eight pressure-packed saves in the final frame as the Bulldogs forced a third and final game.
Mitch Witek and Trent Ruffolo scored goals and Rob O'Gara picked up his third assist of the weekend to help the Elis improve to 18-8-5 overall.
The Bulldogs bounced back from a 3-2 loss on Friday, and they got a much better review from Keith Allain '80, the Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach. "We played much better, and we got better as the game went on. I think we earned the victory."
Lyon was clearly the difference in the first period as the sophomore goalie made 10 saves, including stops of numerous grade-A chances and a pair of power-plays during a scoreless opening period. His stellar play led to the Bulldogs getting on board first right after intermission.
"I thought we did a really good job with our back pressure," said Lyon, who talked about the shutout as a team accomplishment. "You always have to be on your toes against this team. They are really good, but I felt sharp tonight."
Yale was generating more shots and holding onto the puck more. The Bulldogs got their first lead of the series when Witek, who received a crossing pass from Frankie DiChiara, took a shot from the top of the left circle. The puck bounced off a Harvard player in the slot and hit the back of the net at 3:43 for the period's only goal.
"Frankie DiChiara made a nice play sucking in the defense and Cody [Learned] got in front with a nice screen," said Witek, who got his third goal of the year. "He was in the way of the goalie's eyes."
The home team continued with a strong fore-check and smart shooting while limiting the chances at the other end. In fact, Harvard's first shot on target in the second period came south of the 10-minute mark and the Elis had one more than the Cantabs on net for the period.
Yale had a 10-8 edge in shots in a wild third period replete with pipe shots and all kinds of close calls at both ends and contact after whistles.
Lyon made an amazing kick save on Alexander Kerfoot with 4:40 left and then heard a few different shots hit metal behind him.
The home team broke out with under two minutes left and managed to set up a potential scoring play that drew a penalty. Chris Izmirlian sprinted to the slot a step ahead of a defender and drew the whistle with 1:40 left. That allowed the Elis to pass the puck around on the power play while running time off the clock.
That, however, was not the end of the Harvard chances. A mistimed pass eluded a Yale player and went into the neutral zone before eventually ending up on the stick of Kyle Criscuolo, who fired it off the pipe. The Harvard rush over the Yale blueline allowed them to pull their goalie and get an extra skater.
The puck bounced out and the Blue knocked it out of their end and eight seconds later Trent Ruffolo fired it into an empty net with 26.1 second left.
"They are a very good team and they are going to get their chances," said Allain, whose team is 10-1-1 over the last 12 meetings with the Cantabs. "Lyon made some pretty big saves, especially when there were some breakdowns."
BULLDOG BITES
Anthony Day, who had been out with an injury, was in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 15. He replaced Charles Orzetti at forward… Harvard had nine NHL draft picks suited up tonight compared to Yale's two… Trent Ruffolo scored his sixth goal of the season tonight… The last time Yale and Harvard played a third game of a conference playoff series was the 2012 quarterfinals at Boston, a Crimson win... The last time a Yale team has lost the first game of a three-game series and came back to advance was in 2011 against St. Lawrence at New Haven... Rob O'Gara now leads the team with 15 assists and 21 points.
Filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director
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