Meckler Goal Ends Longest Game In NCAA History
March 5, 2006
Photo Gallery | Game-winning Goal Call on WYBC 1340 AM
David Meckler scored a shorthanded goal 1:35 into the fifth overtime session as the Yale men's hockey team defeated Union 3-2 in the longest game in the history of the NCAA men's sport. The victory in game two of the ECAC Hockey League first-round playoff series gave the Bulldogs an upset sweep of the series at Messa Rink and ended a long night for some very tired players and a thrilled crowd of 1,467.
Senior forward Zachary Mayer sent a pass from the point that Meckler got his stick on and tipped into the top of the net to end it.
"I took the initial shot and Mayer got the rebound. He sent a low wrister right on my stick," said Meckler, who also had a goal in the OT victory on Friday night. "All I had to do is extend my stick with one hand. It is one of the greatest feelings I've ever had. We went as hard as we could, and I think we outworked them. Top to bottom, everyone was a part of this win."
The game began at 7 p.m. and ended at 1:10 a.m. and took 141 minutes and 35 seconds of actual game time. The previous NCAA record was 129:30 on March 8, 1997, with Colorado College defeating Wisconsin 1-0.
Yale's Alec Richards made a career-high 57 saves and Union's Kris Mayotte stopped 58 shots.
No. 6 seed Union (16-16-6) ended its season by going 2-for-12 with the man-advantage, while No. 11 Yale (10-18-3) was scoreless on 10 attempts.
"My legs were dying out there and I had a little headache and my vision started to get a bit fuzzy," said Richards, who had 14 saves in the third period. "After the second OT intermission when we came in the locker room each time I just took a break from hockey. I flipped on my iPod and started singing and dancing. I think we learned a lot about winning this weekend."
Both teams played a solid first period, but the Bulldogs could not stay away from the thing that hurt them most in the previous night's OT victory. Yale, outshot 7-6 in the frame, was called for three penalties and one of them resulted in the period's only score. Union winger Olivier Bouchard sent a pass out to the point where defenseman Bryan Campbell wound up and boomed a one-timer through traffic past Richards at 9:55. Campbell, playing his 100th career game, notched his first collegiate goal.
Another penalty-filled period produced just one goal as the Elis evened the score at 1-1 with Nate Jackson's first goal since the Feb.5 Connecticut game at Ingalls Rink. Jackson, who along with his linemates were doing an excellent job of forechecking, found the puck in the low right slot on his backhand. Jackson could see that Mayotte was tied up on the left side and left a big opening to fire at. The Yale senior winger quickly fired it on the ice into the back of the net at 4:54.
The visitors, who outshot the Dutchmen 12-9 in the middle period, had other great chances to cash in but were scoreless on four power-play tries. However, an 85-second Yale two-man advantage did not produce many Grade-A scoring chances.
Yale junior defenseman Matt Cohen won game No. 1 with an OT goal and he figured in another big one nearly 24 hours later. Cohen (4th goal) fired a shot from the high slot that went through traffic before beating Mayotte on the stick side at 4:37 of the third.
For the second straight night the Dutchmen and Bulldogs skated in an extra session. That happened because Union managed to even things with 8:01 left on a powerplay. Jason Visser (2nd) got his stick on the Sean Streich shot from the point and re-directed it past Richards to make it 2-2.
Augie DiMarzo nearly won it for Union with two minutes left in regulation as he raced out of the penalty box to snare a clearing pass by his teammate. The West Haven, Conn. native, who was all over the ice in both games, skated in alone on Richards and deked to the left before trying to tuck the puck past the freshman goalie. Richards (14 saves in the third) ended up with the puck in his glove.
Both teams had great opportunities in the first OT but could not get it past the two hot goalies. Zappala, in the closing seconds of the frame, was on the doorstep with a rebound but Mayotte got a stick on it. The home squad had the shot advantage (10-6) as play continued to be emotional, fast and aggressive at both ends.
The second OT session, which made the game the second longest in the history of the Yale program, was filled with end-to-end action. Unlike prize fighters who grab each other to keep from falling down in the 15th round, these two squads had plenty of bounce in their steps and were still hitting with great force. Union put three more shots on net than the Blue.
Torren Delforte, who left the game with a misconduct, was called for a 5-minute boarding major with 21.3 seconds left in the third OT after knocking Zappala down. Union managed to kill it off and then got a powerplay of its own with a call on David Inman, but nothing came of that.However, the Elis did manage to set their own school record for the longest game, passing the 120 minute thriller against Dartmouth in 1927 at the New Haven Arena.
It was much of the same in the fourth extra frame with great action and amazing signs of indurance from both benches. Some of the crowd could not make it to the end and had left by this point, while television cameras and other media starting coming in to get a glimpse of history.
Zappala took a penalty at the start of the deciding OT session, but he was only in the box for 20 seconds when Meckler performed his heroics.
"That was one for the ages. There was a winning team but nobody really lost this game," said Tim Taylor, the Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey. "Both goalies were great. Everyone used every player on the bench. We got great shifts from all four lines. This was a special team effort. This was a battle of guts, will and character out there."
The last time Yale played a more than one OT was a double OT loss to Cornell in the 1986 ECAC Semifinals at Boston Garden. Tonight's contest is among the longest hockey games of any kind. The longest National Hockey League game went 176:30 in a 1-0 Red Wings win over the Maroons in 1936. International contests are normally decided by shootouts, while high school-aged players rarely play sudden death to that extent.
If Brown wins its series against St. Lawrence tonight, the Bulldogs will travel to No. 2 Colgate for next weekend's quarterfinal round. If the Saints march into the next round, Yale heads to No. 1 Dartmouth.
Hear the call of the game-winning goal by WYBC's Dan Fleschner '01 (.mp3)
Report filed by Steve Conn, Yale Assistant AD & Sports Publicity Director
