Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman Broc Little scored at 5:40 of the third overtime to give Yale University a 3-2 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the first game of the best-of-three ECAC Hockey first round series at Ingalls Rink. Little’s goal, his ninth of the season, ended the eighth longest game in NCAA history (105:40).
The Bulldogs’ Denny Kearney (Hanover, NH) set up the game-winning goal by collecting the puck along the end boards and backhanding a pass to the front of the goal, where Little was stationed. He one-timed the pass along the ice and into the net.
The game was the longest in RPI hockey history and the longest in the history of Yale’s Ingalls Rink, which was built in 1958. The previous Rensselaer school mark was 90:50 – set on December 28, 2001 – a 5-4 win over Quinnipiac in the RPI Invitational.
Yale, the seventh seed, built a 2-0 lead midway through the first period before RPI, the tenth seed, scored twice within three minutes late in the period to send the teams tied, 2-2, after the opening stanza.
Chris Cahill (Haverhill, MA) put the home team ahead with a wraparound at the 5:42 mark and Matthew Thomey (Harbour Grace, NL) doubled the lead at 13:35 on a deflection of a Mike Matczak (Sewell, NJ) shot from the right point with Yale on the power play. Jimmy Martin (St. Louis, MO) also had a helper on the play.
The Engineers goals came off the sticks of Garett Vassel (Westhampton, NY/New York Apple Core) and Scott Halpern (Boca Raton, FL/Bay State Breakers). Vassel scored from the bottom of the left faceoff circle when his wrist shot hit the right post, bounced off Yale goaltender Alec Richards (Robbinsdale, MN) and across the goal line. The goal, which came at 16:43, was set up by Paul Kerins (Weston, ON/North York Rangers).
Halpern tied the game on a wrist shot from the right circle at 19:18. After collecting a cross ice pass from Tyler Helfrich (Calgary, AB/Prince George Spruce Kings), Halpern notched his fifth of the season by beating Richards on the shortside. Chase Polacek (Edina, MN/Academy of Holy Angels) was credited with the secondary assist.
RPI junior Mathias Lange (Klagenfurt, Austria/New York Apple Core) stopped 53 shots, including 14 in the first period, seven in both the second and third, nine in the first overtime and eight in the second and third extra sessions.
Yale’s Richards made 27 saves. He had two in the first, seven in the second, sixth in the third period, five in the first overtime, five in the second and two in the third overtime.
Rensselaer falls to 11-22-4 while the Bulldogs improve to 14-12-4.
These same two teams meet again on Saturday night at 7pm in Game 2. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for Sunday at 7pm.
