Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
6-10-2
Yale University
2-10-1
Hockey Tripped Up by Yale to Open Second Half of Season
January 02, 2023 | Hockey
NEW HAVEN, CONN. - Army West Point hockey (6-10-2, 5-5-1 AHA) suffered a 5-1 defeat on the road to Yale (2-10-1, 1-8-1) in its first game in over three weeks. The Black Knights fell behind by two goals in the first period and were unable to mount a comeback on the road.
Returning for the second half of the season, Army found itself with a five-on-four opportunity just over three minutes in as Yale took an early penalty. Max Itagaki had an early chance which was saved, before Yale put the pressure on shorthanded. After Army failed to clear the puck from its own end, Yale got on the board with a shorthanded score as Cole Donhauser slotted past Justin Evenson at the 4:53 mark. Minutes later, the Bulldogs would get a power-play opportunity of their own and convert to make it a two-goal deficit for Army within the first nine minutes.
Yale would take the 2-0 lead into the second period, with the next goal proving pivotal as Donhauser netted his second of the contest 3:53 into the period to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage. After a flat opening 30 minutes, the Black Knights got on the board with 8:20 to play in the second. With Army on the break, Thomas Farrell found Max Itagaki who delivered a pass that squeaked through to a crashing Ricky Lyle. Lyle deposited a one-time finish past Luke Pearson in the Yale goal to give Army life and its first goal of the new year. With Army having momentum for the first time in the game, Yale responded and kept Army off the board for the remainder of the second and took a two-goal lead into the third period.
Army had its chance to get back into the game with an early power-play in the third, but it was Yale who had the best chance during the two-minute stretch, as Teddy Wooding found himself on a breakaway. Justin Evenson made a fine stop to keep the Black Knights alive, one of 22 saves in the contest for the Army netminder. Shortly after, Bayard Hall restored the three-goal lead for Yale with a goal at the six-minute mark of the third. Army had a surge just over midway through the final period, with Joey Baez hitting pipe and then Army coming close moments later after a frenzy in front of the Yale net. The officials took it to video review and the call stood as no goal for the Black Knights. After pulling Evenson, Donhauser deposited his third goal of the contest to secure the 5-1 scoreline for the Bulldogs.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ricky Lyle potted his sixth goal of the season and first of the new year for Army. Lyle trails only Joey Baez and John Keranen for the team-lead in goals.
- Max Itagaki recorded his 15th assist of the season and has logged a point in 13 of his last 15 contests.
- Thomas Farrell extended his point streak to five games and has tallied seven points across that span.
- Justin Evenson made 22 stops in net for the Black Knights.
Postgame reaction from @Coach_BRiley after Army went down 2-0 early and fell to Yale in the second half opener #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/7P4NmyRu4e
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) January 3, 2023
Up Next
Army will travel to Sacred Heart on Thursday for an Atlantic Hockey contest at 7:00 p.m.
