PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College women's ice hockey team suffered a 5-1 loss in a non-conference game against the Yale University Bulldogs on Friday, Dec. 6 at Schneider Arena. The Friars overall record shifts to 7-11-0, while their 3-5-0 Hockey East record remains the same.
Yale held a 2-0 lead over the Friars at the end of the first period. Phoebe Staenz got Yale on the board first at 3:53 of the first period when she capitalized on a breakaway, tucking the puck past Providence sophomore goaltender Sarah Bryant (Bethlehem, Pa.). Taylor Marchin recorded the lone assist on the opening goal.
Staenz's second goal of the game doubled the Bulldogs lead at 11:12 of the first. Staenz put the rebound from a play by Hanna Astrom and Stephanie Mock past Bryant. This would prove to be the eventual game winner for the Yale.
Staenz capped off her natural hat trick at 13:36 of the second period, giving Yale a 3-0 lead. Her goal from the slot came after a rush up the ice with Astrom and Mock. Both players notched their second assist of the game on the play.
The Friars tightened the Bulldogs lead at 6:16 of the third period when red-shirt junior Stephanie Demars (Vermontville, N.Y.) scored her second goal of the season. After receiving a pass from senior Corinne Buie (Edina, Minn.), DeMars fired a bad angle shot from right outside the goal line that beat Yale netminder Jaimie Leonoff for a 3-1 score. Buie's assist on the goal was her fourteenth of the season, a team-high, as well as putting her within three points of the 100 career point milestone, with 97.
Staenz finished her four-goal night with an unassisted breakaway goal. The freshman's goal was scored at 12:03 while Yale was shorthanded. Staenz intercepted the puck and skated in alone before sliding the puck around Bryant to regain Yale's three goal lead. Patricia McGauley scored the final goal of the meeting at 17:40 of the third period when she re-directed a shot by Marchin past Bryant for a 5-1 Bulldog advantage. Marchin finished the game with two helpers.
Providence could not capitalize on any of their three power-play opportunities in the game. The Bulldogs did not score on their only power play chance in the game, but did add a shorthanded goal.
Despite the loss, the Friars outshot the Bulldogs, 39-28, in the game. Providence outshot Yale in every period, including 20-13 in the third.
Bryant stopped 23 shots in the game, including in the 11 in the final period. Goaltender Jaimie Leonoff made 38 saves for Yale in the win, led by a 19 save effort in the third.
The Friars will break for Christmas before returning to the ice on Tuesday, Dec. 31 for a non-conference game against Dartmouth. The game will be hosted by Dartmouth and is set to start at 2:00 p.m.