Men's Hockey Takes Heroes Hat, Defeats Yale, 5-1
2/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
HAMDEN, Conn. – Bryan Leitch (Coquitlam, British Columbia), Dan Travis (Wilton, N.H.) and Brandon Wong (Victoria, British Columbia) each scored a goal and added an assist as the Quinnipiac men's hockey team defeated Yale, 5-1, in front of a TD Banknorth Sports Center record 4,213 Friday night. Bud Fisher made 25 saves in net for the Bobcats, who improve to 16-7-4 and 8-3-4 in the ECAC Hockey League. The winners were presented with the Heroes Hat following the game. Yale falls to 10-8-4 and 6-5-4 in ECAC play.
The Bobcats got on the board late in the first period with a power-play goal from Travis. Dan Henningson (Edmonton, Alb.) took Wong's pass at the point, where he wristed a shot that Travis redirected through Yale goaltender Billy Blase's five hole with 2:28 left in the first. Travis' ninth of the season proved to be the period's only goal. The helpers were the 20th and 16th of the year for Wong and Henningson, respectively.
Dan LeFort (Toronto, Ont.) kept the Bobcat momentum going into the second period with his second goal of the season at the 3:26 mark. LeFort's slapshot from just above the right face-off dot was tipped by a Yale defenseman, high glove side past Blase. Leitch and Brett Dickinson (Furlong, Pa.) assisted on the goal.
The Bulldogs had a golden opportunity go awry near the 13-minute mark of the middle frame as Sean Backman intercepted an clearing attempt by Fisher, but Backman's shot on the open net clanged harmlessly off the right post.
The Bobcats countered with a missed opportunity near the midpoint of the period. A Dickinson shot from point was kicked to the side where Eric Lampe (Madison, Wisc.) passed right to David Marshall (Buffalo, Minn.). Marshall's shot to a seemingly empty net was denied by a quick move to the right by Blase.
Shortly after the Bobcats killed a 4-on-3 and 5-on-4 penalty with eight blocked shots and a pair of Fisher saves, Backman got the Bulldogs on the board at the 1:45 mark of the second period. A Chris Cahill shot popped into the air and Backman was on the doorstep to hammer it home past Fisher. Broc Little and Cahill picked up assists on the goal.
Quinnipiac scored an insurance goal less than a minute into the third period. Wong took a pass from the left goal line from Jean-Marc Beaudoin (St. Paul, Alberta), put a move on Blase and wrapped the puck into the right side of the net as he fell to the ice. Beaudoin and Travis assisted on Wong's eighth goal of the year.
The Bobcats made it a three-goal lead with 17:02 remaining as Leitch intercepted a Yale clearing attempt near center ice. He skated with a Yale defender draped around him while skating down the left side before centering the puck on net. Blase appeared to have stopped the shot, but the puck trickled between his skates and into the net. The unassisted goal was Leitch's 11th of the year.
Quinnipiac continued to pour it on at the 13:07 mark, when Marshall got his stick on a centering pass from Andrew Meyer (St. Louis, Mo.) and tipped it past Alec Richards, who replaced Blase in net following the fourth Bobcat goal. Meyer and Lampe each picked up assists on Marshall's 10th goal of the season.
The Bobcats return to action Sunday, when they play host to Brown in a game televised live on the New England Sports Network (NESN). The game is set to begin at 12:30 p.m.
