ROCHESTER, NY – Visiting Yale (1-0-0) scored a pair of goals 1:23 apart early in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie and hand the RIT women’s hockey team (1-3-1) a 3-1 defeat from the Gene Polisseni Center on Friday afternoon.
Kandice Sheriff (Brampton, Ontario/) scored RIT’s lone goal, while freshman Kaelyn Johnson (Toronto, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) recorded her first collegiate point, an assist on the goal. RIT goaltender Jessi O’Leary (Woodstock, New Brunswick/Athol Murray) made 25 saves in the loss and also recorded her first point, an assist on Sheriff’s goal.
Emily Monaghan, Kaitlin Gately and Jordan Chancellor scored for the Bulldogs, while Tera Hoffman made 27 saves to earn the win.
Both teams fired 28 shots on goal. Yale was 1-for-7 on the power-play, while RIT was 0-for-5.
“I thought we had a chance to put (Yale) away over the first two periods, but we couldn’t finish some great chances,” said Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach Scott McDonald. “We spotted them two quick goals early in the period and tried to claw back, but it’s a tough combo when you don’t shoot and take penalties late.”
Neither team scored in a briskly played opening period, as RIT held an 8-5 edge in shots.
Baylee Trani (Huntington Beach, CA/New England Hockey Club) had a great chance off a blocked shot in front with about six minutes left in the period thwarted by Hofmann.
O’Leary came up with a big save of her own moments later, robbing Greta Skarzynski with the blocker on a 2-on-1 rush.
Sheriff would score her third goal of the season 4:31 into the second, collecting a rebound in front and putting it into the open net past Hofmann. O’Leary made a kick save on a Yale shot right to Kaelyn Johnson (Toronto, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) who darted up the ice. Johnson sped around a Yale defender and cut in on Hoffman, firing a shot that was stopped. Sheriff was wisely following up and was able to jam the rebound home.
O’Leary kept it a 1-0 lead moments later as she kicked the left pad out to rob Kaitlin Gately, who was left in alone in front.
Despite RIT putting on the pressure, Yale would even the game at 1-1 on a power-play, as Monaghan redirected a high point shot from Greta Skarzynski past O’Leary. RIT contested that the puck was redirected with a high stick and the play went to video review, but the goal was deemed legal.
RIT had a golden chance to re-take the lead in the final minutes of the second period, but Hofmann made four big saves on a scramble in front, including a pair on Mallory Rushton (Amherst, Nova Scotia/New Hampton Prep) who was trying to jam a loose puck in.
RIT continued its strong play into the second period, dominating play throughout, out-shooting the Bulldogs, 15-5. Both teams would score once in the period.
Yale would score the two quick goals in the third period and seize control. Just 39 seconds into the period, Gately took the puck off a RIT defender’s stick and fired a shot past O’Leary for the unassisted game-winning goal. Just 1:23 later, Chancellor fired a shot that O’Leary stopped, but the rebound went off a RIT player and right back to make it 3-1.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 4-3-0.
The two teams wrap up their weekend series on Saturday afternoon from the Polisseni Center at 1 p.m.
