In a matchup between St. Lawrence and Yale with major playoff implications, neither team got the result they truly wanted, but conversely, neither team was overly disappointed. A closely contested game ended in a 2-2 tie, and both coaches acknowledged that, for once, the scoreboard seemed to reflect a fair outcome given the hockey played.
“We would have liked the win, but I think a tie probably reflects the play on the ice,” Yale coach Joakim Flygh said, a sentiment echoed by his SLU counterpart. “A tie was probably pretty fitting,” Chris Wells admitted.
Each period ended with the teams tied, as the squads traded goals through the first 40 minutes.
Both teams had chances through much of the opening period, but it took until the last five minutes for either team to score. The Saints got on the board first on Hannah Miller’s 10th goal of the season. She took a pass from Amanda Boulier, pulled the puck through the legs of a Yale defender and beat Hanna Mandl top shelf with a snap shot at the 4:29 mark.
“(Brooke) Webster made a nice pass to me and I managed to get by the first girl,” said Miller. “I just looked up and saw some open net, and tried to put it there.”
Yale evened the score with less than 30 second left. Jamie Haddad netted her ninth goal of the season with a well-placed wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Grace Harrison over the shoulder.
“I think that goal helped us think that we were in it and it gave us the right mindset going into the third,” said Flygh.
The teams played a similar period in the second, each with a goal apiece. The Saints struck early in the second with a fluky goal, where Justine Reyes’ harmless-looking shot deflected off a skate past Mandl.
It took Yale slightly longer to even the score the second time around, but the Elis managed to nonetheless. Janelle Ferrara’s team-leading 12th goal of the year came off a backhander from the side of the net that Harrison couldn’t reach at the 11:07 mark.
Despite a lack of scoring in the third period, the teams did not disappoint, with a fast pace. Both had chances as well, including a power play for St. Lawrence around the midpoint of the period that Yale was able to kill.
“It was huge,” Flygh said. “No doubt about it, any time you can kill a power play is big, but in that situation, it’s more so.”
However, neither team was able to score in the period, and they headed to overtime. It was the Saints third overtime game in their last four contests, but Wells isn’t worried about the extra hockey as they head towards the playoffs.
“I think, if anything, it gives us confidence, because we’ve played everybody in the league and we’ve played them close,” said Wells.
Despite a myriad of opportunities in the overtime period, the game ended in a 2-2 tie, netting each team a lone point in the ECAC standings.
“It was a big point for us,” said Hannah Miller. “Obviously we would have liked the win, but we’ll take a point going into tomorrow’s game.”
Mandl spoke at length about the importance of tomorrow’s game regarding the ECAC standings and the seniors who may play their final game.
“Obviously we want to win for the seniors, but we just need to play our style. Tonight, I would have liked two more saves, but the one point is still big.”
