Bulldogs Battle BC to Tie

Box Score

NEW HAVEN, CT - The record book shows that senior goalkeeper Shivon Zilis had one of the best seasons in Yale history last year, finishing fifth all-time in save percentage and goals-against average. Yet in the early going of 2007-08 Zilis has bested both of those figures, and on Saturday afternoon she all but carried Yale to a 2-2 overtime tie with Boston College. Her 43 saves, combined with goals from junior defenseman Helen Resor and junior forward Crysti Howser, helped the Bulldogs pull out the draw despite being outshot 45-30.

Zilis' performance jacked her save percentage up to .937 (it was .908 last year), currently fifth in the country, and lowered her goals-against average to 1.92 (it was 2.69 last year). This was the third-best single-game save total of her career.

When the Bulldogs called a timeout with 3.6 seconds left in overtime, the first person to give Zilis a pat on the head when she came to the bench was one of the people contributing to her spectacular start -- freshman goalie Jackee Snikeris. Snikeris has been a star in her own right, stopping 88 of 96 shots in her four games, and just as importantly has helped ease Zilis' workload after a 2006-07 season in which Zilis spent nearly 1,700 minutes in goal.

"Shivon was great today," Yale head coach Hilary Witt said. "She's been playing exceptionally well. It's beneficial for her and Jackee to have each other -- they push each other, and getting a little more rest helps. We've got two great goalies. Last year we had to ask way too much of Shivon, and she wasn't 100 percent healthy. This year she can focus on one game at a time."

Boston College (6-3-2, 3-3-0 Hockey East) had the first five shots on goal of the game, but Zilis stopped them all and the Bulldogs slowly began gaining momentum. They eventually eliminated the shot differential, and after an icing call forced a faceoff in the Yale defensive zone the Bulldogs broke through on the scoreboard. Howser took the faceoff and popped the puck forward, where junior forward Sarah Tittman scooped it up and was off to the races. Tittman sped through the neutral zone, then drove wide to the right and had two options -- Resor and junior forward Maggie Westfal -- driving to the net to her left. Tittman slid the puck across the ice and Resor buried it behind Eagle goalie Molly Schaus while falling to the ice at 8:13.

Penalties had proven costly to the Bulldogs in the three-game losing streak they brought into Saturday, and a checking call allowed BC to even things up. Kelli Stack intercepted an attempted clearing pass along the boards and drove into the slot, wristing a pretty shot past Zilis' glove into the upper right corner of the net with 3:13 left in the period.

The Eagles got another power play later in the period, but junior forward Danielle Kozlowski got that penalty kill off to a good start by fighting off a BC player to clear the puck off the faceoff. BC was eventually able to establish itself in the offensive zone and peppered Zilis with seven shots, but she turned them all aside. She brought the busy period to a close with her 13th save, gloving Stack's wrister as time expired.

The Eagles would go ahead 5:16 into the second when Stack won a faceoff to Zilis' left and was able to take the puck off the boards behind the net and feed Deborah Spillane in front for a 2-1 lead.

That was part of a period that saw BC outshoot the Bulldogs 14-4, but Howser made one of Yale's shots count. At the 11:48 mark, Westfal took the puck off the boards on the left and passed to Tittman, whose shot from the high slot was blocked. But Howser was perfectly positioned in front to control the loose puck and backhand it past Schaus for her second goal of the season.

That was the first time the trio that comprises Yale's recently-formed top line had combined on a goal since Westfal returned to the ice last weekend at the end of soccer season (she was named first team All-Ivy in that sport earlier in the week) and was paired with Howser and Tittman.