According to New Hampshire coach Dick Umile, the Wildcats missed second opportunities they had to win a nonconference game against Yale Saturday Night at the Whittemore Center. Instead, it was Yale that capitalized, scoring late in the third period and then scoring in overtime to upset UNH.
Yale would score with 3:14 remaining in the contest to send the game into overtime. Freshmen Greg Beller would then go onto to score on a breakaway to give the Bulldogs the overtime win. First-year Yale coach Keith Allain was satisfied with the team’s win tonight.
“We were pretty excited to win the game up here tonight,” he said. “With the prestigious program they have up here, and the respect we have for the players and the coaching staff to come up here and get the victory is something that’s really pleasing for us.”
Yale got on the board first, when it scored on the power play. Yale’s Mark Arcobello and UNH’s Trevor Smith were in the penalty box for hitting after the whistle calls. Thirty six seconds later, UNH’s Greg Collins would get called for holding the stick, giving Yale a four-on-three power play. From there, senior defensemen Bill Leclerc would fire a shot that was deflected by a UNH defensemen and the puck would get past Regan.
UNH had a chance to tie it up when it had a two-man advantage for 2:27 but the Wildcats were unable to score, and the first period ended with Yale scoring the only goal of the period.
The second period was all UNH as it scored three goals, one being on the power play. Just 1:26 into the second, Trevor Smith would score his fifth goal of the year after being set up by linemates Matt Fornatoro and Jerry Pollastrone. The tie was short lived, as Yale’s Tom Dignard had his shot slide past the goal line. Just 16 seconds later, Mike Radja redirected a shot taken by defensemen Craig Switzer and tied the game at two. Brett Hemingway was also given the assist on Radja’s goal.
UNH would score another goal at the 12:26 mark of the second. Yale defensemen Ryan Donald would get a high sticking call, putting the Wildcats on the power play. Jacob Micflikier scored his second goal of the season to give UNH the 3-2 lead.
In the third period, UNH’s Hemingway would get a game misconduct after being called with hitting from behind. The UNH penalty kill held strong, and the Bulldogs were unable to score on the five-minute penalty. It was a 3-2 UNH lead until freshmen Chris Cahill scored on Regan. Neither team was able to score in the time remaining, and the game would be sent into overtime.
At 3:03 in overtime, Yale freshmen Greg Beller would score on a breakaway giving Yale the overtime victory. Chris Cahill would get the assist on the goal. This was several seconds after a controversial UNH non-goal. Josh Ciocco snuck the puck past Richards, but referee Tom Fyrer called no goal because it was after the whistle had blown.
Yale is now 2-0-0 on the season, while New Hampshire falls to 2-2-0. Next weekend Yale plays two conference games at home against Colgate and Cornell. New Hampshire will face a home and away series against Northeastern.
