Box Score Yale Runs Unbeaten String to 5
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Alex Lyon picked a great night to have a season-high 34 saves while leading Yale to a 3-2 win over Brown at Ingalls Rink that extended the Bulldogs' unbeaten string to five games.
"Alex was the difference in the game tonight," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach, about his junior All-America netminder, who put the Blue on his back. "Every hockey team at every level sometimes needs a goalie to do this."
Lyon had 12 saves in the first, nine in the second and 13 in the third to help him record his 40th victory, the second most by a Bulldog goalie.
He and the Elis, who improved to 9-4-3 overall and 4-3-2 in the ECAC, despite being outshot 36-22, were facing a hot Bears team that had recently knocked off defending national champion Providence and is playing their best hockey of the season.
"I'm exhausted... I'm not used to that [being outshot]," said Lyon.
Tonight's effort was not all about goaltending and defense. The home team erased a 1-0 deficit with three straight scores from Joe Snively, Stu Wilson and JM Piotrowski.
It's not easy to do that when you only have 22 shots on target.
The Bears put the pressure on the Yale defense in the first frame, outshooting the home team 13-3 and snatching the only goal on a rebound 2:17 into the game. A shot from the left caught Lyon's blocker and took an odd bounce out to the right side before being tapped home.
"Their first line is one of the best in college hockey," said Lyon about the Bears. "They are dangerous and they play hard... and we got them tomorrow."
Despite a trio of accurate shots, the Blue came so close to finding the net. A one-timer by Ryan Hitchcock on the doorstep and an open look by John Hayden from the slot each looked as if they might get things started for the Yale offense. It just didn't happen for Yale in the first.
The Bulldogs got the equalizer late in the second period on an excellent defensive play that turned into a great transition play going the other way. Rob O'Gara picked off an attempted dump in along the boards inside the blueline. He snapped the puck off the boards and in front of Hitchcock, who quickly looked up and saw Snively buzzing up the middle of the rink.
Hitchcock, the first Eli to earn a medal at the world juniors for Team USA, put a perfect lead toss on the rookie's stick on the way to a duel with Tim Ernst (19 saves). Snively, looking for his sixth tally this season, took about six strides and then flicked a wrist shot past the Brown goalie's glove with 1:59 left.
"We want to be a transition team and all three goals were scored in transition," said Allain, whose Bulldogs are back at it with the Bears Saturday at Providence.
A key sequence of events followed to allow the No. 12 ranked Elis to grab the lead early in the third.
First Lyon came up with a top-notch save on Charlie Corcoran, squeezing his pads on a close shot that brought the fans to their feet. That shot was already the eighth on goal in the period by Brown, so Allain called a timeout to settle things down. Less than a minute later, the Bulldogs went ahead.
Mike Doherty's shot from the right circle bounced off Ernst and came out to the side to Wilson, who quickly put it back toward the net. It bounced off a defender and the puck slid into the low slot where Wilson won the race and backhanded it into an open left side at 4:57.
The Blue capitalized on opportunities tonight to hurt its opponent. There was no better example than JM Piotrowski jumping all over a loose puck along the Bears' blueline to notch his first collegiate goal.
Cody Learned tied up a Brown defenseman, who was closest to the puck along the boards, before Yale's first player from Texas swooped in the take it away. Piotrowski, his long red flow waving like a flag in the wind, had Charles Orzetti on his left and a defenseman sliding backwards to block the shot. The freshman held until the last moment and then wristed a shot off the goalie and into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead.
"After the first period, we came together as a team, and we were doing it for each other. It's definitely key for me to play with two seniors [Orzetti, Learned]," said Piotrowksi, who had both of his parents in the crowd tonight. "I can learn a lot from them and they're solid and reliable."
The least penalized teams in the nation combined for one [Brown] infraction. The one advantage did not produce a shot on goal. The Bears never got to use their power play, but they did cut the lead in half at even strength at 17:41.
Then they tried a few times to pull their goalie for the extra attacker, but the aggressive Yale defense kept separating them from the puck. Ernst finally came off with 44 seconds left, but the Elis did not give up a shot on target. The last attempt from the blueline hit Frankie DiChiara in the pads as the last seconds ticked off the clock.
BULLDOG BITES
Saturday night's game airs live on the ILDN at 7… Mike Doherty, who returned from an injury, skated in his first game since Nov. 13 at RPI… Yale Hockey Youth Day is Jan. 30 vs. RPI. The Bulldogs will be available after the game to sign team posters... It was a good night for the Wilson family. Stu scored a goal and helped his team win 3-2. His father, Wayne, is the head coach of RIT, which registered a 3-2 win over Bentley tonight... the Yale Hockey Alumni Game is Saturday, Feb. 6, at 3 pm.
Filed by Steven Conn, Yale Associate AD & Sports Publicity Director
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