Yale traded blows with Brown and Omaha, picking up key home wins with strong goaltending play from Noah Pak ’28 and Jack Stark ’27.
Liza Kaufman
Staff Reporter
Liza Kaufman, Photography Editor
The Yale men’s hockey team (4–5–0, 3–3–0 ECAC) had a packed Thanksgiving break, opening with an away game at Brown (3–7–0, 2–4–0 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 21, before hosting the Bears in New Haven the next night. Over the weekend, the Elis faced off against the University of Nebraska Omaha (6–8–0, 3–5–0 NCHC) at The Whale in a two-game homestand.
Yale split both series. The Bulldogs fell 4-2 at Brown but rebounded with a 3-1 win at Ingalls Rink and then edged out Omaha 2-1 on Black Friday before dropping the rematch 3-1 on Saturday.
Bulldogs fall in Providence
The Bulldogs traded blow for blow with the Bears on Friday night through a scoreless first period. Despite Yale tallying the first goal of the game in the second period, the Elis could not come back from Brown’s third period surge that saw the team score three goals.
In the first period, Yale’s Noah Pak ’28 and Brown’s Fred Halyk were unbeatable. Pak totaled 10 saves while Halyk had 11. However, in the second period, Yale finally found the back of the net at the 2:52 minute mark. After forcing a turnover, Will Richter ’27 skated down the ice and sniped the top right corner to claim the first goal of the game. Richter’s goal, his first of the season, gave Yale a one goal lead.
But the Bears refused to let the visitors hold the lead for long. Five minutes later, Brown’s Michael Salandra leveled the score when he one-timed a pass past Pak on even strength. The Bulldogs controlled the puck for much of the remainder of the period but an unfazed Halyk made three more saves.
In the final frame, Brown’s Matthew Cataldo broke the deadlock, scoring Brown’s second goal of the game at the 1:52 mark. The Bulldogs responded minutes later when Micah Berger ’28 capitalized on a power play to equalize the score. With Brown down a man, Berger fired the puck into the net from the top of the zone, bringing the score to 2-2 at 5:11.
However, 30 seconds later, Cataldo scored a shorthanded goal, his second of the frame and game, to extend Brown’s lead to 3-2. Despite taking 14 shots in the third period, the Bulldogs could not notch another on Halyk for the remainder of the game. Brown cushioned its lead at 16:21, when Tanner Hartman netted the final goal of the game to finish with Brown leading 4-2.
Despite a disappointing result, Pak had 28 saves in goal, and Yale’s penalty kill unit denied Brown’s three power-play opportunities.
Following Friday night’s matchup, Brown improved its standing in ECAC play to 2–3, while Yale dropped to 2–3.
Yale beats Brown at The Whale
On Saturday night, after the football team’s 141st playing of The Game, the Bulldogs hosted the Bears at Ingalls Rink for a rematch and emerged victorious on home ice at The Whale.
Jack Stark ’27 took the net for Yale and immediately excelled in what would be a 40-save performance that was key to Yale’s victory. Standing strong between the pipes, Stark blocked six shots from the Bears, staving off Brown’s attempts to take the lead. At 14:18, Zach Wagnon ’28 put up the first goal of the game. Taking advantage of a power play, Ronan O’Donnell ’28 passed to Wagnon, who put it home. The Bears tried to level the score but were unsuccessful. Yale ended the period up 1-0.
In the second frame, the Elis extended their lead. Less than two minutes into the period, Chen, on one knee, fired the puck top shelf above Brown goalie Tyler Shea’s shoulders. Chen’s goal, his third of the season, made the score 2-0 and ended up being the game-winning goal. Stark continued to excel in the net, making 16 saves in the period to keep the Bears scoreless.
Brown controlled possession for much of the first half of the third period, but the Bears’ offense continued to struggle against a compact Yale defense. An O’Donnell goal cushioned Yale’s lead. After pulling their goalie to add an extra attacker to the ice late in the game, Brown took advantage of a six on four to net their first goal of the game. Even with that tally, the Bears were no match for the dominant Yale squad.
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 3–3 in conference play.
Bulldogs edge out Mavericks at home
On Black Friday, the Bulldogs hosted the Omaha Mavericks at The Whale for the first leg of an out of conference, two-game homestand. Yale narrowly edged Omaha 2-1 to stay perfect at home.
While the Mavericks came out flying and tallied the first goal at 1:10, the Bulldogs prevented them from getting on the board again for the remainder of the game. At the 10 minute mark, Berger equalized the score. Chen intercepted a pass from Omaha’s offense and passed to Berger, whose wrister buried the puck in the net. With the score tied, both goalies stood strong between the pipes: Stark made four more saves for Yale, while Omaha’s Simon Latkoczy blocked three.
At the 11:47 mark of the second period, Donovan Frias ’28 beat Latkoczy to give Yale a 2-1 lead. His game-winning goal was his third this season.
The final frame remained scoreless thanks to Stark’s work in net up until the final whistle. In the third period alone, he made 12 saves, contributing to a total of 30 in Friday’s game.
Saturday’s victory marked Yale’s first win over a team in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
Yale loses rematch to Omaha
In the final game over break, the Elis sought a repeat victory but were unsuccessful against an Omaha squad that was determined to bounce back before the long flight back to Nebraska. The Bulldogs fell to the Mavericks 3-1.
At 10:35 in the first frame, Omaha netted the first goal of the game but the game remained scoreless until the third period. The Mavericks potted a second goal, which turned out to be the game winner, at the 1:50 mark. Despite numerous high quality chances, the Elis could not get the puck past Latkoczy. After Omaha scored an empty-netter, Berger put up Yale’s lone goal of the night on a rebound. Berger’s goal was his third this season, and he has now scored in three of the last four games.
With two split series behind them, the Bulldogs will now focus on preparing for their road matchups at Harvard (5–3–1, 3–1–0 ECAC) and Dartmouth (8–0–0, 4–0–0 ECAC).
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on Friday in Cambridge and 7 p.m on Saturday in Hanover.