Elis find answers, success vs. Colgate, Cornell

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Captain Keith McCullough, BK '99, and a resurgent Yale offense proved it can get the job done against Colgate and Cornell.

Heading into last weekend's games against Colgate and Cornell, the Yale men's hockey team was struggling to define itself. A preseason pick to finish fourth in the ECAC, the Bulldogs had a losing record in the league and were in danger of falling out of the conference race altogether. The lofty expectations generated by last season's magical run were beginning to erode. "There were a lot of doubters around," captain Keith McCullough, BR '99, said. "People on campus had been asking a lot of critical questions about our team."

And rightfully so. Before last weekend, the Bulldogs had failed to answer many of the concerns that had been raised throughout the season: Could Yale score without Jeff Hamilton, SM '00, and his linemates--Jay Quenville, SY '00, and Jeff Brow, SM '00--on the ice? Could the Eli defensive corps better assist goaltender Alex Westlund, SM '99, by limiting its opponents' quality scoring opportunities? Could these same blueliners finally contribute offensively? Could the Yale power play unit find a cure for its recent anemia? And, most importantly, could the Blue defeat a team in the top half of the ECAC standings?

With a 5-1 thrashing of an overmatched Colgate squad on Fri., Jan. 29, and a narrow 4-2 victory over Cornell on Sat., Jan. 30, the Bulldogs finally answered a resounding "yes" to all of these questions. Yale rode increased offensive production, solid defense, and superb power play and penalty kill performances to its first victories of the season over teams in the conference's upper tier. The wins moved the Elis into a fifth-place tie with Colgate and Cornell in the league and began to re-establish the Blue as a legitimate title contender.

The reassertion of dominance was sparked largely by a rejuvenation of the Elis' special teams. "The most important thing we did differently was score on the power play," McCullough said. "We had been struggling before these games, but we really seized our opportunities and outplayed [Colgate and Cornell] in crunch time." Entering the weekend, the Bulldogs had scored just twice in their previous 22 chances with a man advantage. But in eight opportunities against Colgate, the Blue netted three scores. Against Cornell, Yale had just three power plays, but managed to score on one of them. Equally impressive was the Bulldogs' penalty kill unit, which did not surrender a goal in either game.

Yale's even-strength defense was also solid. Though Colgate managed 32 shots on goal, most of their attempts came from outside, allowing Westlund to set a new Yale career saves record--2,401 through the weekend--with ease. Cornell provided a somewhat stiffer challenge, but the Bulldog defensive corps and the forechecking frontline of Cory Shea, BR '00, Mark Sproule, SY '00, and Mark Turco, DC '99, preserved the Eli victory by holding the Big Red scoreless in the critical third period. Perhaps no blueliner turned in a stronger performance than did Keith Fitzpatrick, TD '00, who poked away a number of the opponents' breakaway chances. The East Meadow, NY native's contributions were also felt on the offensive end of the ice, as he netted a goal and registered two assists in the pair of weekend games.

Fitzpatrick's tally proved significant not only because it was just the fifth time this season that a Bulldog defenseman had scored, but also because it was one of those all-too-rare events in Yale hockey this season--a goal by someone other than Hamilton or his linemates. Entering the weekend, the Hamilton line had accounted for a remarkable 24 of Yale's 44 goals. But just as the weekend welcomed positive change for the Bulldogs' power play and defensive units, the Colgate and Cornell games also witnessed a more diversified portfolio of Eli offensive weapons. Indeed, the Bulldogs' first four goals of the weekend were scored not by Hamilton's line but by those of McCullough and Spencer Rodgers, CC '02, who netted his first career score against the Red Raiders. "We were a lot more effective offensively," McCullough said of his line, that was altered to include Luke Earl, JE '02, and Ben Stafford, BR '01. "It's just a matter of getting the right people playing together. We found the right combination," he said. While Hamilton also got his points, scoring twice against Cornell to set the school record for game-winning goals (13), it was the offensive contributions of the other lines that provided the answer to one of those critical questions.

"I think we answered all the questions that people were asking," McCullough said. "But more importantly, I think we answered the questions we as a team had about ourselves. These games were huge in terms of establishing confidence for the remainder of the season. We believe in our capabilities to go to Lake Placid [for the ECAC championships]." The road to Lake Placid begins this weekend as the Bulldogs travel to upstate New York for rematches with Cornell, on Fri., Feb. 5, and Colgate on Sat., Feb. 6. This time, there is just one question the Bulldogs must answer: Can they repeat last weekend's success?

Back to Sports...