Union Takes 2-1 Game at Whale

NEW HAVEN, Conn.- The home team scored first, the visitors scored the next two and held on for an ECAC Hockey road upset in a packed Ingalls Rink. Alex Lyon stopped 29 of 31 shots and blanked Union on four power plays, but the Dutchmen got revenge for an overtime loss to the Bulldogs at home earlier this season with a 2-1 decision over No. 12 Yale.

The loss, Yale's first since Dec. 5, ended the second longest (8) active unbeaten streak in Division I hockey. The Elis, who had a 32-31 edge in shots, fell to 11-5-4, 6-4-3 ECAC.  

Alex Sakellaropoulos' 31 saves allowed the Dutchmen (10-9-6, 3-7-3) to come back and gain the series split between the 2013 and 2014 national champions.

Union had a 13-10 edge in shots in the first, but the Elis had the lone tally, ditching the zero on the board a little over two minutes in.

Sophomore defenseman Adam Larkin passed the puck from the point off the boards before senior forward Cody Learned and Carson Cooper (in photo) finished off the play. Learned, who beat the goalie to the puck on the side of the cage, poked it toward the slot for his classmate and linemate, and Cooper flicked it into the net from the edge of the crease.

"I finally got the monkey off my back with that goal," said Cooper of his first tally of the season. "We came close to getting another in the third with the shot off the crossbar, but it was definitely an opportunity lost tonight.

At the other end (mouth) of the Whale, Yale's All-American goalie had 10 stops, and a few of them were very challenging. He made two tough saves on Spencer Foo, who hit the net early in the second, with under a minute left in the opening frame. The junior goalie also came up big on a pair of Union advantages in the second, making four saves. He closed the gap on a one-timer off a crossing feed with a nifty body save. The first penalty-kill nearly turned into Yale's first shorthanded goal of the year, but a 3-on-1 rush the other way resulted in Mike Doherty's wrister ringing the pipe.

"We were on at times. When we were off, they capitalized on it," said Cooper.

Lyon kept making big saves to give his team the opportunity to come back. Doing just that last weekend on the road, he had seen his teammates erase 1-0 deficits both nights to earn three points at Clarkson and St. Lawrence. He made another pair of great stops with under four minutes left, one from the high slot after a turnover and then another from a crossing-pass and one-timer.

The Elis pulled Lyon with a minute left and then were called for a penalty. By the time they could get their goalie on to the bench again, there was hope for just one more shot on target. That came off the stick of Frankie DiChiara with 8.9 seconds left and it was caught by the Union goalie.

"I am marginally happy with the amount of chances we created tonight, but you have to finish those chances," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach. "We have to be better in the details of our game all over the rink. If we are, we'll score more goals."

BULLDOG BITES

The Bulldogs did not have the services of four experienced forwards due to health issues... Mark Arcobello '10, who began the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was named CCM AHL Player of the Week after scoring four goals and handing out three helpers last week… His former linemate, Sean Backman '10, was named this week to the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic, a two-day event that begins this Sunday in Syracuse. Backman has 10 goals and 31 points for the Ontario Reign… The 2016 NCAA Regional sites are as follows: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center); Cincinnati, Ohio (U.S. Bank Arena); Albany, N.Y. (Times Union Center) and St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center).

Filed by Steve Conn, Yale Associate AD & Sports Publicity Director – steven.conn@yale.edu

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