March 10, 2005
By
CollegeSports.com
The latter half of the 2004-05 season has been pretty tough on Yale. With only one home weekend since the New Year, the Bulldogs were, in all likelihood, pretty sick of buses by the time the ECAC Hockey League playoffs rolled around. So, the Yale women decided to stay home this year, and one has to suspect that they're pretty pleased with their decision.
Under third-year head coach Hilary Witt, the Bulldogs have seen a healthy share of program milestones. In November, they recorded their first win over Harvard in nearly 20 years. In December, they made their first-ever appearance in the USCHO/CSTV national rankings. In February, they broke the program record for wins in a season.
None of those firsts are quite as important as the ones March has brought to Yale, however: the first home playoff series, the first playoff win, and, thanks to a 2-0 series sweep of Princeton, Yale's first trip to the ECACHL semifinals.
Along the way, the Bulldogs also made up for lost time by giving the fans in
The Bulldogs scored first on a shot from the point by freshman defenseman Helen Resor, but found themselves down 2-1 by the end of the first period on goals from Kim Pearce and U.S. National Team member Liz Keady. Natalie Babony appeared to give Yale some momentum when she tied the game early in the second period, but a goal from
In the third period, Yale threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Tigers, but a quick
Neither Witt nor Princeton coach Jeff Kampersal could recall having witnessed a penalty shot in their coaching careers, but it's tough to imagine anyone forgetting the shot taken by Resor - dubbed "The Shot Heard `Round the Whale" - as the rookie was able to draw Gaudiel out of the net before connecting on a wide-open net to the delight of the home crowd.
"I just kind of knew Helen was going to score," Witt said. "I don't know why, I just had a feeling, and she got it done."
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Resor, for her part, wasn't nearly as sure. "I just tried not to think at all, if possible," Resor said of her preparation for the shot. "If I started thinking, I was going to get myself nervous."
As for the shot itself, Resor said, "That's my set move. I knew what I was going to do before I got on the ice, and I just hoped that she didn't know it, because I do it all the time."
Neither team was able to score in the rest of the third period, and the first home playoff game in Yale women's hockey history went to overtime.
"It came down to who got the bounce," Witt said, "because both teams were tired, and we're so equally matched, it's unreal. We were lucky enough to get the bounce, and give us the advantage going into [Saturday's Game 2]."
That bounce came from junior forward Deena Caplette, who banged home a rebound from sophomore Kristin Savard at the 15:22 mark of overtime to give the Bulldogs their first ever playoff win.
"Deena Caplette, I don't where she got it from," Witt said, "but she got some energy out there that I couldn't believe. You give the kid any more credit, she was unbelievable in that overtime. I think she carried us."
"It was a great feeling," Caplette said of her game-winner, "especially seeing the whole team charge after me."
From there, the Bulldogs finished the job, defeating
"We had a lot of people come out," said pep band student conductor Doug London. "People were very excited about this game, so it wasn't too difficult to get people who didn't already have plans to come out to this game. We're glad to have one of the [hockey] teams home, and I'm glad it was the men."
Yale athletic director Tom Beckett was happy with what he saw as well. "I think Hilary Witt has done an absolutely incredible job," Beckett said. "Her coaching this year, and the way she's managed the program since she's been our head coach is just a work of art."
If Witt's coaching is a "work of art," the Yale athletic department staged an exhibition of sorts, offering free admission to the playoff games, a move that Beckett hopes will bring new fans to Ingalls next season. "It's such exciting hockey, how would you not want to come back and watch more?"
Indeed, Witt feels confident in her team's ability to please the home crowd. "We play better here," Witt said. "It's just a fact, if you look at our record, we play better here."
Furthermore, Witt was thrilled to see her senior class rewarded with the first playoff win in school history, a monumental step in the program's history. "Obviously getting the first playoff win in school history was a big step," Witt said. "For the program, and for the growth of the program, it was outstanding, and for that senior class, to finally get that win, I'm just so happy we got that win while they're still here. They've done so much work for this program over the last four years, they are so deserving of what they're going through right now."
Senior captain Erin Duggan, who also assisted on the game-winner, certainly felt rewarded after the historic win. "My freshman year was the first time we made the playoffs," Duggan said, "and we got killed by Brown. Just to see how the team has grown over the past four years, it's definitely a sense of pride for me. It's definitely exciting that we made a mark in this program."
Now, the Bulldogs will look to make another mark, as they take on No. 5 Harvard in the ECACHL semifinals on Saturday. The Bulldogs handed the Crimson their lone ECACHL loss back in November, but the Crimson have not lost in 2005, making it a tall order for Yale to win.
No matter what, this has been a banner in team history, and as the program continues to improve under Witt's guidance, the message is clear: the `Dogs are about to have their day.
Elliot Olshansky is an Assistant Editor for CSTV.com
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