Bulldogs Come Roaring Back for Win over Dartmouth
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 03:49 | Sikura, Tyler (Dartmouth) |
| 1st - 04:56 | Limbert, Kevin (Yale) |
| 1st - 09:26 | Mattila, Troy (Dartmouth) |
| 1st - 09:51 | Robinson, Eric (Dartmouth) |
| 1st - 16:08 | Lee, Paul (Dartmouth) |
| 2nd - 09:59 | Agostino,Kenny (Yale) |
| 3rd - 04:49 | Fallen, Tommy (Yale) |
| 3rd - 08:42 | PP - Root, Jesse (Yale) |
| 3rd - 19:26 | Agostino,Kenny (Yale) |
| Yale | Dartmouth |
|---|---|
|
G:
Kenny Agostino - 2
A: Brian O'Neill - 2 Sh: 2 Players (#8, #18 - 4) Sv: Nick Maricic - 29 |
G:
4 Players (#8, #16, #19, #25 - 1)
A: 8 Players (#3, #9, #13, #14, #15, #18, #21, #29 - 1) Sh: 2 Players (#8, #14 - 5) Sv: James Mello - 31 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Yale | Dartmouth |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 2 | 0 for 3 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 3 (6) | 2 (4) |
| Shots on Goal | 36 | 33 |
| Face Offs Won | 27 | 38 |
HANOVER, N.H. – Kenny Agostino’s goal with 34.8
seconds left in the third period capped a wild, come-from-behind,
5-4, Yale men’s ECAC Hockey victory over Dartmouth. The
Bulldogs, who trailed by three in the first period, scored the
game’s last four goals to stun the Big Green before a packed
house at Thompson Arena.
Agostino led the Bulldogs (9-10-2, 6-7-1 ECAC) with two goals as
they outshot a Big Green squad (36-33) that had scored 10 goals in
their first four periods (6-2 win over Brown Friday) of this
weekend.
“It was a tremendous win. Our guys did a great job of
overcoming adversity. This was a real testament to their mental
toughness,” said Keith Allain ’80, Yale’s Malcolm
G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey.
Yale goalie Nick Maricic (29 saves) was tested off the opening draw
with a long, crazy bouncer that he stopped, but the pressure would
increase in a nightmarish first frame that included 20 shots, 16
saves and four goals to take Dartmouth into the intermission up
4-1.
Maricic made plenty of quality saves in first 20 minutes, but there
were too many odd-man situations and too many available
rebounds.
For the second straight night, the Elis were down early. Tyler
Sikura flicked one top shelf after toe-dragging for space on a
defender at 3:49.
The Blue, which managed 13 shots on goal and had plenty of other
great chances, tied it at 1-1 almost a minute later when Jesse
Root’s shot was saved and linemate Kevin Limbert smacked it
into the net for his third of the year.
Dartmouth grabbed the lead again when a defenseman Connor
Goggin’s shot from the point bounced off the boards and to
the stick of Troy Mattila for an easy put-back at 9:26. Twenty-five
seconds later, Eric Robinson’s wrister from between the
circle and the goal line found the net and it was 3-1.
Paul Lee became the fourth different Dartmouth skater to score in
the penalty-free frame when be put a shot back from the low slot
through a pile of players at 16:08.
“Our senior class showed tremendous leadership after the
first period to get their teammates going,” said Allain.
Yale cut the margin in half midway through the second by killing
off (just 3 shots total) the game’s first two penalties and
getting some sustained pressure on Dartmouth goalie James Mello (31
saves). That pressure resulted in the visitor’s second
goal.
Antoine Laganiere fought off a defender and won the puck in the
corner. He quickly found Agostino with space in the middle slot at
9:59 and the sophomore forward snapped off a low shot for his
seventh tally this season.
Yale’s first advantage since the first period at Harvard
didn’t produce a goal but the Blue still cut the deficit to
4-3 early in the third. With the fore-check buzzing and shots
coming from all places by guys in blue shirts, defenseman Tommy
Fallen whizzed a low shot inside the near post at 4:49 after hard
work and a great feed from Brian O’Neill.
The second power-play chance for the Elis produced a third straight
goal and the equalizer with 11:18 left. Root’s shot from the
right circle stunned the capacity crowd.
“I shot it and didn’t see what happened after. It must
have hit a Dartmouth player,” said Root, who notched his
third goal.
The game looked like it was heading for overtime, until Colin Dueck
and Agostino connected on what faithful might be calling The Pass.
It was almost hail mary-like in its improbability.
Dueck collected the puck in his end and looked up ice as the Big
Green changed lines. The junior blueliner flicked the puck from the
Yale end into the Dartmouth end. The fluttering puck landed where
Agostino could get it first, despite three white jerseys close by.
He moved around a defender with three steps and was already on the
doorstep with a good look. Agostino snapped it home to cap the
comeback and set off a celebration on the Yale bench.
“I was able to get a fortunate bounce,” said Agostino,
who has eight goals. “The defense cheated toward
O’Neill and I was able to beat him on the
shortside.”
Bulldog Bites: The Yale women’s basketball team, which takes
on Dartmouth Sunday afternoon, was in attendance to root on their
friends… The Elis had one power-play opportunity through
this weekend’s first five periods… There were many
changes in the Yale lines compared to Friday, including a pair of
freshmen shuffles: Nicholas Weberg in for Trent Ruffolo at forward
and Bennett Carroccio in for Matt Killian on defense… Kevin
Limbert now has two goals in his last three games… One of
the referees, Jean-Yves Roy, from last night’s game at Boston
worked this contest.
