Bulldogs Prevail in Intra-State Showdown

Photo by David Silverman (DSPics.com)

Final	1	2	3	Final
Connecticut (4-5-2, 3-2-1 AHA)	0	0	3	3
Yale (5-1-1, 3-1-0 ECAC)	2	1	2	5

Scoring Summary
1st - 04:07	Bourbonais, Clinton (Yale)
1st - 09:50	Agostino,Kenny (Yale)
2nd - 03:42	PP - Peel, Kevin (Yale)
3rd - 00:54	Schneider, Cole (Connecticut)
3rd - 01:19	Sims, Jordan (Connecticut)
3rd - 02:18	Agostino,Kenny (Yale)
3rd - 09:43	PP - Sims, Jordan (Connecticut)
3rd - 19:20	PP - EN - O'Neill, Brian (Yale)

Connecticut	Yale
G: Sims, Jordan - 2 A: 6 Players (#10, #16, #20, #21, #23, #27 - 1) Sh: Schneider, Cole - 4 Sv: Bartus, Garrett - 44	G: Kenny Agostino - 2 A: Andrew Miller - 3 Sh: Kenny Agostino - 6 Sv: Jeff Malcolm - 18

TEAM STATISTICS	Connecticut	Yale
Power Plays	1 for 3	2 for 6
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	6 (12)	4 (16)
Shots on Goal	21	49
Face Offs Won	27	32

full stats

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Kenny Agostino (Flanders, NJ) entered tonight’s non-league showdown with two points on the season. He doubled his goal and assist total by hitting the net twice and handing out a pair of primary helpers in No. 9 Yale’s 5-3 men’s hockey win over Connecticut before 3,386 at Ingalls Rink.

The second-year Bulldog tallied in the first and then hit the net for the winner in the third to help his squad win a fourth straight game and improve to 5-1-1.

“I tried not to think about getting the first goal,” said a patient Agostino. “But it’s in the back of my mind. We had a lot of energy tonight.”

Brian O’Neill (Yardley, Pa.) had a goal and two assists and Andrew Miller (Bloomfield Hills, Mich) had three assists while their team outshot the Huskies 49-21. The Blue scored twice on six man-advantages to improve its record against UConn to 9-0.

“We were excited to play and our enthusiasm and energy has an impact on our game,” said Keith Allain ’80, Yale’s Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach. “Our forecheck was outstanding and we won a lot of races. I also thought we passed very well tonight.”

Junior goalie Jeff Malcolm (Lethbridge, AB), making a serious bid for a fourth straight shutout and the record for consecutive shutout minutes, needed just 18 saves to earn his fifth win of the year. Malcolm was perfect through 40 minutes, 54 seconds before giving up a pair in 25 seconds to cut the margin to 3-2 early in the third.

The Bulldogs were buzzing in the first period, getting the game’s first seven shots on goal en route to outshooting the Huskies 16-6.

Yale got the early lead from hard work by Charles Brockett (Shaker Heights, Ohio), who skated around a defender and swooped in along the right circle looking toward the goal. The senior winger put the puck on Clinton Bourbonais’ (Colchester, Conn.) stick for an easy re-direction tally inside the far post and his third goal of the year at 4:07.

The Blue made it 2-0 when Miller set up Agostino for his first tally of the year. Miller, so good at creating space, worked around a blueliner and sent it back to Agostino, who was streaking in from the left side. The sophomore winger held for a moment and then snapped off a rising shot that went over Garret Bartus’ (44 saves) shoulder at 9:50.

Agostino was involved in the lone goal of the middle frame and a three-goal margin. He took a pass from O’Neill and fired a one-timer at Bartus, who made a number of quality stops among his 18 saves in the second period. However, the rebound bounced out to the lower right slot for defenseman Kevin Peel (Onoway, AB) to bang home his first tally of the year at 3:42.
“We are getting more shots now,” said O’Neill. “We are slowly getting back to our production of last year. It’s keeping it simple and getting more pucks to the net.”

The Bulldogs dominated puck possession as well as shots and forced UConn (4-5-2) to ice the puck and take bad penalties.

“We played well enough to score a lot more goals than you saw,” said Allain.

BULLDOG BITES:  Yale suited up the same players who were in action both nights last week at RPI and Union… The Elis take on Sacred Heart Tuesday night at Webster Bank Arena… Tonight was the first home non-sellout in three games at the Whale this season… UConn, after going 5-for-5 on the power play against SHU Tuesday, scored once on three tries tonight.