Eight different players scored goals, including five by the home team, as Yale skated to a 5-3 victory over Western Ontario in an exhibition contest before 1,760 at Ingalls Rink.
“We showed little glimpses of the high-tempo play we need to play,” Yale head coach Tim Taylor said. “We didn’t play with a lot of rhythm, but this was also the first time we have seen an opponent with a different uniform on.”
The Bulldogs, who had an intrasquad scrimmage last weekend, outshot the Mustangs 43-20. Eli senior forward Evan Wax and junior center Ryan Steeves each had a goal and an assist. Yale also got goals from Ryan Trowbridge, Nick Deschenes and Joe Zappala. Matthew Craig added a pair of assists.
Yale used two different goaltenders in the exhibition, as the Yale starting netminder position is still up for grabs. Junior Peter Dobrowolski played between the pipes for the first two periods, stopping 14 of 17 shots. Freshman Josh Gartner stopped all three shots he faced in the third period.
“It was a tough game for our goalies,” Taylor said. “We hung Dobrowolski out to dry a few times, but I thought he played pretty steady. “We gave them a good number of quality shots. I am not concerned about the number of overall shots, but I wish we did not give up as many quality shots as we did.”
Western Ontario goaltender Mike Boyce made 38 saves, including numerous point-blank efforts and one rocket off the stick of Yale forward Chris Higgins which deflected off of Boyce’s facemask.
The Mustangs came back from 1-0 and 3-1 deficits to tie the contest midway through the second period. Jason Davies had a goal and an assist for Western Ontario, and Justin Davis and Joe Talbot also found the net.
