Bulldogs Blank RPI
NEW HAVEN, CT -- Three different Bulldogs scored and Alec Richards stopped all 21 shots as the Yale men's hockey team defeated Rensselaer 3-0 in the final ECAC Hockey action of the regular season before a capacity crowd on senior night and youth day at Ingalls Rink.
The Bulldogs (13-12-4, 9-9-4 ECAC), who host a first-round conference playoff series next weekend against the same Engineers at Ingalls, outshot the visitors 34-21 to gain some steam heading into the post season.
Richards, who notched Yale's first shutout since the second game of this year, earned his first blanking since a 5-0 game on Jan. 21, 2006, against RPI. The junior Bulldog goalie made eight stops in the final frame including a highlight swipe of Christian Jensen's sniper shot with 2:43 left. Richards blanked the Engineers (11-21-4, 6-13-3) on six power-play chances.
"It was nice for Al [Richards] to get the shutout. We have two great goalies which is a big help for us," said Yale captain Will Engasser.
Mathias Lange also had a good night in goal. The RPI junior, who had 13 saves in the second, stopped 31 of 33 shots and kept his squad in the game.
Both teams put nine shots on target in a scoreless first period, but RPI left the ice with 36 seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 and another 1:25 on the second penalty. The Elis did not allow a shot on goal and then Yale cashed in its own advantage early in the second.
On the home team's second power-play attempt, blueliner Tom Dignard sent the puck into the RPI end around the boards where Broc Little (8th goal) picked it up and raced into the lower right circle. Little, who has points in eight of his last nine games, fired a wrister past Lange's glove at 4:46, just 10 seconds into the advantage.
The good news for Yale in the middle frame was the game's only goal, a 14-4 advantage in shots and strong penalty-killing. The bad news for the Bulldogs was an injury to sophomore Mark Arcobello, who played the entire first period but did not return to the bench.
Patrick Brosnihan (3rd) scored his biggest goal of the season at 6:25 of the third to put Yale up 2-0. Immediately after a Bulldog man-advantage, where Sean Backman came within inches of hitting the net on a pretty cut to the net and lead pass, senior forward David Germain set up the second tally with a perfect feed. Brosnihan, a Phoenix Coyote draft pick, took the pass in the left circle and turned to uncoil his 6-foot-4 frame before unleashing a rising wrister from the left dot that whizzed past Lange's glove.
The Engineers pulled Lange for a sixth skater in the 17th minute after a Yale penalty but could not put enough rubber on Richards.
With 24.3 seconds left Engasser put the finishing touches on senior night by notching his fourth goal of the year, an empty-netter.
"This was a good win for us. We needed some momentum for the playoffs and it's nice to end the regular season on a positive note," said Engasser. "It was a relief to outplay a team and also get the win. Sometimes the bounces weren't going our way."
Tickets for next weekend's first-round, best-of-three ECAC Hockey playoff series (No. 10 Rensselaer at No. 7 Yale) at Ingalls Rink can be ordered by calling (203) 432-1400 or by going to the Yale Ticket Office at 20 Tower Parkway between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
