By David F. Pendrys [Official Box Score from Yale Athletics]

NEW HAVEN, CT – Just a week after playing two straight overtime games in the Nutmeg Classic, Yale Women’s Hockey found themselves in another overtime game vs. Union, though this time it was after they scored three unanswered goals to erase a 4-1 deficit in the last 15 minutes of the third period Friday night at Ingalls Rink.

Union had struck first when Brandy Streeter scored a lucky goal on Yale’s Gianna Meloni at 6:18 in the first. An assist went to Jordi Naidrich. The Dutchwomen would add to that lead very late in the first when Rachel de Perio knocked a puck in from right in front after a shot flew on net. Cheyenne Harris and Katelyn Russ picked up the assists.

When the second began, Tera Hofmann had relieved Meloni in net but only a minute into the second period that Helen Markovic and Haley Shugart broke into the Yale zone. Shugart got ahead of the Yale D so when Markovic approached a Bulldog she sent it nicely over to Shugart who flicked it past the keeper for a 3-0 lead. Union also managed to kill off a long five on three penalty sequence without giving up a goal.

“I thought we had a good start to the game, and then they obviously got a little lucky goal the first goal then we got a little nervous played tight. Give some credit to Union too, they started pushing the game a little, pushed the pace, and all of the sudden we’re down three nothing and we’re not necessarily playing very well obviously…” Head Coach Joakim Flygh said of the early part of the game.

It wasn’t until 2:59 in the third that Yale cracked the board. During the cycle Emily Monaghan sent it to Mallory Souliotis who fed Greta Skarzynski at the top of the zone. She rifled a shot in on net and it got past Coco Francis.

“Coach just said ‘get it to the net, shoot low.’ I knew that there was bodies was in front of the net I knew [Monaghan] was in front there. So I just tried to get a quick shot, so she screened it and it went in thankfully,” Skarzynski said.

2 minutes later de Perio pounced on a puck during a scrum in front of the Yale net and whacked it in to regain a three goal advantage with Russ and Harris gaining the assists.

“I think in general we just needed to make sure we were sticking to our systems, playing defense a little harder, getting more pucks to the net, making sure we finish our chances like we did,” Mallory Souliotis said of how the team turned it around. “We did a really good job staying positive and not getting too frustrated with each other and how the game was going, and just climb back in one at a time.”

Kristen Nergaard responded immediately for Yale. She skated up the side of the ice to the right of the Union net and launched a shot from midway into the zone, which went top shelf over Francis to cut the lead in half. Laura Anderson and Saroya Tinker assisted on the response

At 8:59 Yale came up the ice and on a break, puck went to Skarzynski then Tess Dettling then to Lauren Moriyama who launched in her first collegiate goal.

The real fireworks came late in the period when Union was called for a penalty. Joakim Flygh pulled Hofmann at the beginning of the power play giving Yale a six on four advantage. The puck cycled around to Souliotis then Julia Yetman who shot it on net. Emily Monaghan was right in front and was able to knock in the rebound to tie the game. Neither team would score again in the period and to overtime they would go.

“Our power play was really really good when we needed it to be today,” Flygh said.

Union was called for a penalty 44 seconds in to the frame, and Yale made them pay for it twenty seconds later. Yetman sent the puck to Souliotis who fed Skarzynski again at the top of the zone and she smashed the puck into the back of the net to win it.

“We knew we had to move the puck quickly, get the goalie moving so she was out of position when I took my shot…so we passed it to [Yetman] passed it to [Souliotis], who quickly got it up to me and I knew I had to get it to the net,” Skarzynski explained.

Flygh had good things to say about the third period effort.

“You know I think one thing that has really impressed me about this group all year, is they’ve found ways to come back in the third period, which certainly hasn’t been our forte probably in the last couple of years prior to this,” Flygh noted. “So this kind of comeback in the third period, pushed aside the first two periods I’m really really impressed with our group. We’re banged up we’re missing some kids, so different kids stepping up…it’s great for our morale….we’re going to take a lot of lessons from tonight too I think probably just about us making sure we don’t play with fear, playing tight when things don’t go our way, but that all being said, our third period was outstanding and I was impressed with our players…hopefully can be a little bit of springboard going into the next three games and the second half of the season.”

All in all, Yale would send 38 shots on net which Coco Francis saved 33 of. Union generated 23, Hofmann saved 12 and Meloni saved 7.

The Bulldogs had been struggling through the first two periods though still managed 21 shots on net. They had opportunities generated by a wide variety of players, but Francis either thwarted them or something else went awry. Jordan Chancellor as usual was producing several zone entries to get close to the net but nothing got past the goalie. Union was managing to make the most of their offensive zone time.

Skarzynski led Yale in shots with 5, Chancellor and Moriyama had 4 apiece. Nergaard, Yetman, Kara Drexler, Courtney Pensavalle, and Vlasic had 3. For Union, de Perio and Hannah Schultz had 4 apiece to lead the Dutchwomen. Harris and Shugart had 3 apiece.

“Greta Skarzynski’s been very very good for us for the last four or five games here from a production standpoint,” Flygh said “…but also seeing kids like Tess Dettling get an opportunity, Becca Foggia’s been good here as of late. Lauren Moriyama’s obviously been good all year,” Flygh said.

Skarzynski has been racking up the points in the past few weeks including the two goals tonight and the two goals in the Nutmeg Classic.

“I think just moving my feet and keeping my head up,” Skarzynski said of her approach. “I’ve been really lucky playing on the line I’m playing with. Vlasic is really good at moving the puck around, we just try to keep getting it to the net. Our D are really good obviously at getting the puck through. I try to be a body in front of the net and get the rebounds, and get pucks on net,”

Yale’s talented defense also had some issues early on, whether it was keeping the goal area clear to prevent dirty goals or in giving up several turnovers that placed Union in excellent position within the zone.

“We’re spotty, I wouldn’t say we’re great,” Flygh said of the D. “I mean we’ve had some games where we’ve been really really good…tonight we turned the puck over way too much in the first periods, and made it hard on ourselves and put our goaltenders in tough positions because of that…but I think they are progressing. I think it is our strength of our group, Might not have been the case tonight, but I do think I have depth at goaltending and depth there too obviously.”

Drexler and Tinker had 2 blocks for Yale. Laura Anderson, Souliotis, Vlasic, Christina Kao, and Yetman had 1 each. Union’s Arianna Kosakowski and Jordi Naidrich each had 3, Russ had 2, and Streeter, Harris, and Katie Laughlin had 1 each.

The Bulldogs have seemed to underachieve a lot this season, showing glimpses of the team they can be. Their comeback vs. Quinnipiac last week was a sign of that. The Bulldogs that showed up in the third period seemed to line up more with how Yale should be producing.

Flygh did explain last week’s experience in the Nutmeg Classic did play in to the Union game in terms of coming back.

“In some ways it was disappointing obviously. You tie the first night, lose in the shootout don’t get to play in the championship game,” Flygh said. “I thought they were a little bit flat in the Penn State game…but same thing there too. We were down 3-1 going into the third period against Quinnipiac and found a way to battle back and tie that game. I think that showed character too. All those things play a part when you get into games like this knowing that you’ve done it previously during the year.’

Yale rises to 3-6-4 and 2-5-2 in the ECAC with the win. Union drops to 3-10-2 and 2-3-0 in the ECAC.

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Noticed Plays.

(This is a not exhaustive very imperfect list of noticed plays that might not make the score sheet. It is very possible a player has far more of any sort of play than are noticed in the heat of action. It is what it is. Read these more as a player had “at least” what is noted here. Note the language is a bit stilted, I’m trying to figure out how to make the information flow better.)

Cheyenne Harris

Had multiple zone entries including on the power play and another instance where it led to a Russ scoring chance. Also kept the puck from escaping the Yale zone and Russ had another opportunity. She also acquired the disc in Bulldog territory spawning a Schultz shot. Defensively she disrupted a shot during a penalty kill.

Arianna Kosakowski

Had multiple shots on the power play, and also a block on the penalty kill. Defensively she moved the puck out of Dutchwomen section of the ice.

Helen Markovic

She got to a puck in the Yale zone right in front of the net causing a chance. She also defensively extricated the puck from the Union goal mouth, and at another point came upon a puck and moved it out of danger.

Haley Shugart

Got to several pucks already in the Yale zone including starting a Laughlin scoring chance. She also intercepted a pass near the Bulldogs net for another scoring chance. She had several other zone entries from outside Yale country. Defensively she had several zone exits and flummoxed the Bulldogs setup in the neutral zone.

Caitlyn Mclaren

Contributed in various ways including a zone exit, scoring chance, disruption of a Yale maneuver, and keeping the puck within the opposing end.

Katie Laughlin

She intercepted several pucks within the neutral zone including on the penalty kill. Also on the PK she disrupted a Yale scoring chance and a teammate cleared it. She also grabbed the puck within the offensive zone., and at another point got the puck to de Perio for a scoring try right in front.

Megan Ryan

At multiple times kept the puck within the Yale zone and one generated a shot. She also had several zone exits from the Union end. She had a zone entry as well.

Hannah Schultz

She had several zone entries and scoring opportunities on the power play. She also generated other scoring chances with her stickhandling or her own shots. She also corralled the puck in the Bulldogs section leading to a de Perio chance. She also carried the puck all the way from end to end for a scoring chance. In the defensive end she also robbed a Yale player of possession.

Katelynn Russ

She created many excursions to the Yale end throughout the game. She also initiated moving the puck out of the Union side of the rink several times. On the penalty kill she cleared the puck out of danger and also disrupted a pass.

Jordi Naidrich

Along with Russ she created a zone exit. At another point she blocked a shot and then got to the puck and brought it out and back into the Bulldogs zone. During a battle in front of the Union net she snatched the puck and moved it away. She also cleared the puck on a PK. She had numerous zone entries.

Brandy Streeter

She touched off numerous moves out of the Union end, including when she fed it up to Naidrich who started into the Yale zone. She also stole the puck from a Bulldog within the defensive end. Two of her blocks came on the penalty kill and she had a clear on the PK as well. Also defensively she evacuated the disc from her team’s goal mouth. Offensively she kept the puck within the Bulldog zone and shot it.

Camille von Steinbergs

Had several zone entries, and a clear on the penalty kill.

Rachel de Perio

Set of numerous zone entrances throughout the day including for scoring chances. In one instance she had to fight it across the blue line. Also had at least one scoring chance on the power play. Defensively she collected the puck and got it over to Naidrich who completed the exit. She also intercepted a Yale pass and exited with her newfound prize reaching the opposing end. She also snatched the puck in the opposing end and broke in on the net.

Angelica Melone

Had several zone entries including a break in on the home net, as well as after skating the puck out of Union territory.

Kirsten Nergaard

Had a scoring chance right on the net, also obtained the puck in the neutral zone and brought it in for a shot as well. At another point also came up with the disc in front of the Union keeper.

Tess Dettling

Had several zone entries including for a scoring chance. Also intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and brought it out of danger.

Rebecca Foggia

Defensively she deflected a puck across the Yale blue line. She also picked the pocket of a Union player and eventually it got to Skarzynski who carried it into the opposing territory. She came up with the puck in the neutral zone and brought it in herself feeding it to Souliotis for a shot. At another point she collected the puck in the D-zone and started the move out.

Lauren Moriyama

Had three or four clears during penalty kills including one from right in front of her netminder, and another where she brought the puck down to the Dutchwomen end. During even strength play got to the puck in the Bulldog side and sent it out teammates who skated in on the attack. Had several scoring chances herself throughout the day, also kept the puck from crossing the blue line during an attack.

Mallory Souliotis

Had a variety of scoring chances despite only 2 shots on net. This included several times on the power play. One of her shots touched off a chaotic scrum in front of the Union net. Another time she fed the biscuit in and another scrum ensued. During attacks she corralled the puck to keep it from leaving the zone several times. She also had a block and clear on penalty kills.

Emma Vlasic

As usual she had a variety of zone entries for scoring chances and also gained possession numerous times already inside the Union end. She also came away with the disc many times within the defensive side.

Christina Kao

She disrupted a Dutchwoman shot, and also got to a puck within the Bulldogs are and sent it out.

Courtney Pensavalle

Throughout the game she got a stick on a puck to keep it within the Union end almost always leading to a team scoring chance. Defensively she carried the puck out of the Yale zone herself several times, and also a few times brought it into the attack zone as well. Also on the penalty kill poked the puck clear of the blue line to force Union to reset.

Kara Drexler

Was noticed having a variety of power play shots. Also sent the puck out of the defensive zone several times.

Sophie Veronneau

Several times either got to a loose puck or stole it in the neutral zone to move momentum back the other way. Also had at least defensive extraction.

Laura Anderson

On the penalty kill she wasted Union’s time in the opposing end trying for a short handed goal.

Emily Monaghan

Had a variety of attacks into the offensive end, including an outright break, and also several power plays attempts. Also contributed by keeping the puck within the Union zone allowing the offense to continue its work. Defensively she acquired the puck several times in the home end, and sent it away, including once after intercepting a pass. On the penalty kill had a clear.

Julia Yetman

Had a great many scoring opportunities on the power play and at even strength. Additionally on many occasions extricated the puck from her own D-zone and skated or sent it up the ice.

Jordan Chancellor

As is her custom, she conveyed the puck into the Union zone many times for scoring chances, usually at even strength but also on the power play. A few times this was after bringing the puck all the way up from the Yale side. She also sent it over to Dettling who brought it the rest of the for a shot.

Greta Skarzynski

Had AT LEAST seven scoring chances on the power play, also set off a team scoring chance when they went for the rebound after one of her shots. She also collected the puck at the edge of the zone to prevent the team from having to exit. When Union tried for a short handed goal she disrupted their attempt.

Saroya Tinker

Had at least shot on the power play. At even strength during one possession kept the disc from leaving Union country twice in a row and another effort like that eventually led to a Moriyama scoring chance. Defensively she notably sent the puck out of the goal area preventing a Union rebound try. Had a clear on the penalty kill and two blocks during PK time. At even strength had several zone exits too.