Team Notes: League Play Begins at Ingalls
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The first weekend of
conference play in New Haven features an old rivalry and a new one.
The Tigers of Princeton (0-2) come to town on Friday to renew an
old series with the Bulldogs before the team from Hamden, the
Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-2), invade downtown on Saturday night. Both
games at David S. Ingalls Rink faceoff at 7.
TICKETS
Tickets are still available for both nights. Call the Yale Ticket
Office at 203.432.1400 or pick up tickets on game night while they
last at the Ingalls Rink box office starting at 5:30.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO INGALLS
Both games can be seen live on yalebulldogs.com as a pay-per-view
broadcast on Yale's All Access Package. Both games can also be
heard for free on wybc.com.
SERIES
Yale owns a 124-99-8 lead on Princeton in a series that dates to
1899, but the Tigers have taken six of the last 10. The Bulldogs
won all three meetings last winter. Quinnipiac leads the series
with Yale 6-3-1 in a New Haven County rivalry that began in
2005-06. The Bobcats and Bulldogs each won their home games last
season.
LAST WEEK AT INGALLS
The Bulldogs, who outscored their opponents 14-7, won both games
of the Ivy Shootout at Ingalls Rink on Oct. 29-30, defeating Brown
7-4 before taking a 7-3 decision with Dartmouth. Yale had the
advantage in shots, 79-46, but only managed a pair of power-play
tallies on 10 attempts. Last week's opponents hit the net on five
power-plays, including four (2 were 5-on-3s) last Friday against
the Bears.
KEARNEY GETS ECAC AWARD
Denny
Kearney (103 gp, 33-65-98), who is one of the premier
set-up men in college hockey, became the hottest goal scorer in the
country after one weekend with four goals and eight points in two
games . Kearney, ECAC Hockey's Player of the Week, notched his
first collegiate hat trick (natural) with a three-goal, four-point
Friday night against Brown that included the GWG. He added a goal
and three assists against Dartmouth on Saturday for the best
weekend of his collegiate career. All four assists were primary
ones. Only two other ECAC players entered this season with more
career assists than the Yale senior, whose sister, Hannah Kearney,
won an Olympic gold medal in mogul skiing at the 2010 Games.
LITTLE BUSTS OUT
Yale senior forward Broc
Little (Rindge, N.H.) notched Yale's first goal of the
season – shorthanded – and went on to score three goals
and hand out three assists last weekend. He had a goal against
Brown and hit the net twice vs. Dartmouth. Little was named one of
the 20 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in hockey. The
award honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the ice. To
be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as
an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four
areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and
competition. Little (97 gp, 56-49-105) led the 2009-10 Bulldogs
with 27 goals, a Yale record for juniors, while leading all of
Division I in goals per game (.79). He was second on the team with
41 points and garnered numerous post-season honors. Little was
named RBK Second-Team All-America and first-team All-ECAC, All-Ivy
and All-New England. He was also named ECAC Hockey Player of the
Year by the New England Hockey Journal. Little, a political science
major, has shown the same dedication in the classroom. He owns a
3.1 GPA and has been a three-time ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team
pick.
BENCH LEADER
Keith Allain '80, Yale's Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey, is
74-49-12 as a head coach, including 9-7 in the post season. Only
four other Yale hockey head coaches have more wins, and none have
reached the 70-win mark faster than Allain. The former Yale goalie
has led the Blue to three Ivy League titles, two ECAC regular
season championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
Allain, who played and worked for Tim Taylor at Yale, earned the
2008-09 Tim Taylor Award as the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year by
leading the Elis to the best season in the program's history. A
school-record 24 wins, Yale's first ECAC Tournament Championship
and a school-best No. 5 national ranking in late March were a few
reasons why he was selected. College Hockey News named him 2008-09
national coach of the year. This is Allain's 12th overall year at
Yale; he spent four as a student-athlete goalie and three as an
assistant coach in the 1980s.
CAPTAIN MARTIN
He's the team leader but the team does not rely on him for
offense. Captain Jimmy
Martin (St. Louis, Mo.) is a defensive defenseman who got
very involved at the other end last year. Martin, who has four
goals and 35 career points, notched a pair of goals and 17 assists
last winter.
IN THE POLLS
Yale took the No. 5 spot in this week's uscho.com Division I poll.
The Bulldogs finished No. 6 last March after reaching their
best-ever ranking of No. 4 on Feb. 22, 2010.
TIGERS CLOSE CALLS
Princeton, tied after 40 minutes both days, dropped 2-1 games to
Dartmouth and Brown last weekend to start the season at Ingalls
Rink. Both goals were scored by senior F Matt Arhontas with assists
from freshman F Andrew Calof on both. Sean Bonar stopped 25 of 27
shots against the Big Green, while Mike Condon (21 of 23) got the
decision in net the next day.
BOBCATS SPLIT AT ST. CLOUD
Quinnipiac split games last weekend at No. 17 St. Cloud State. The
Bobcats got goals from four different players in a 4-2 win before
falling 5-2 the next night. Spencer Heichman tallied the
game-winner midway through the third period of game one. Heichman
and Kellen Jones (6 points) are tied for the team lead with three
goals. The Bobcats were tied entering the third period behind
goals by Jeremy Langlois and Kellen Jones, but surrendered three
goals in the final frame in the loss. Eric Hartzell got his first
win in his first game of the year against the Huskies with 21
saves, while Dan Clark (2.61, .902, 3-2) took the loss in the
second game.
MILLER TIME
Sophomore F Andrew
Miller (35 gp, 5-32-37) had three assists last weekend,
picking up where he left off his rookie campaign. Miller registered
the most (34) points by a Yale rookie since Tom Walsh set the bar
with 41 in 1984-85. Miller was second among conference rookies with
one point per game, which also put him fourth in the country for
newcomers. He ranked eighth in Division I with .85 assists per
outing.
BACKSTOPS
Sophomore Jeff
Malcolm (11 gp, 3.16, .869, 6-3-0) made 16 saves in the
7-4 win over Brown. All four Bear goals came on the power play, two
with a 5-on-3 advantage. Senior Ryan
Rondeau (15 gp, 3.57, .874, 3-1-1) stopped 23 of 26 Big
Green shots. One of the three goals allowed came with a
man-advantage. Sophomore Nick
Maricic (14 gp, 2.95, .888, 7-4-2) is the other returnee
between the pipes.
HELPING HAND
Junior F Brian
O'Neill (69 gp, 31-45-76) began 2010-11 with a bang. He
had 3-2-5 in the two wins including 2-1-3 and the GWG against
Dartmouth. Last winter he led the Elis last year with 29 assists
and 45 points while ranking seventh in the country with 1.32 PPG.
One of his best plays of 2009-10 was a pass he put on Sean
Backman's stick in OT that set up the winner at Cornell. He also
had the tying goal in the OT draw at the Badger Showdown title game
against Wisconsin. O'Neill's best night was 2-1-3 against Sacred
Heart on Nov. 24, 2009. He made the 2008-09 CHN (national) and ECAC
Hockey All-Rookie teams after going 12-14-26.
FROSH
The class of 2014 includes four forwards and one defenseman. All
five competed in the Northeast during 2009-10. Three of the new
Elis played in the juniors (Eastern, North Atlantic) last winter
while two come to Yale from New England prep schools. F Clinton
Bourbonais was the only rookie to hit the net last
weekend, but D Gus
Young, F Kenny
Agostino (1 assist) and F Jesse
Root also saw action in one game.
RED LIGHT DISTRICT
It is only two games into the season, but the Bulldogs lead the
nation in scoring with a 7.0 average. Yale led Division I with over
four goals per game.
GEOGRAPHIC BALANCE
The Yale roster includes players from 12 different states and
three provinces. Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are represented twice each on the
roster while six hail from Alberta, including a Calgary pair.
SHOOTERS
The Bulldogs outshot both opponents last weekend after having the
advantage in 26 of the 34 games last year.
SHORTY
Yale's first goal of 2010-11 was shorthanded by Broc Little, the
school's career leader with six. The Elis had four SHG last
winter.
BULLDOG BITES
Brock Little, Brian O'Neill and Andrew Miller are the only
Bulldogs with more career points than games played although Denny
Kearney is very close. … Yale's longest win streak last year
was eight games, which came to an end in the last game of the
regular season at Quinnipiac… ECAC Hockey teams have won
NCAA Tournament games five of the last six years.
BULLDOGS IN THE PROS
Fourteen former Yale players are skating professionally this
winter, including Brad Mills '07, who just played his first game
for the New Jersey Devils. Here are the details on each. Sean
Backman '10 (Texas Stars, AHL), Ryan Donald '10 (Reading Royals,
ECHL), Mark Acrobello '10 (Stockton Thunder, ECHL), Alec Richards
'09 (Rockford Icehogs, AHL), Brennan Turner '09 (Elmira Jackals,
ECHL), David Meckler '09 (Manchester Monarchs, AHL), Matt Cohen '07
(Hamburg Freezers, DEL), Brad Mills '07 (New Jersey Devils, NHL),
Chris Brooks '06 (Bakersfield Condors, ECHL), Chris Higgins '05
(Florida Panthers, NHL), Joe Callahan '05 (Rochester Americans,
AHL), Stacey Bauman '03 (Tulsa Oilers, CHL), Jeff Hamilton '01
(HIFK Helsinki, FNL), Ray Giroux '98 (Chelyabinsk Traktor,
KHL).
INGALLS RENOVATIONS
The Yale hockey program celebrated the re-dedication of Ingalls
Rink on Jan. 16, 2010, with ceremonies on and off the ice. The rink
has been modernized in many ways while adding 13,000 square feet of
varsity operational space. The additions include locker rooms and
space for strength & conditioning (including skating
treadmill), student-athlete study area, medical & training,
officials, video, coaches, equipment, reception (Schley Room) and
more. There are new historical displays and concession stands and
bathrooms.
YALE HOCKEY BROADCASTS
The pay-per-view Yale home hockey broadcasts on yalebulldogs.com
are a Yale Athletic Department production that employs students to
produce, shoot and broadcast the action. Sam Dorward '13 is the
producer and Joel Oblizalo '12 does the camera work. This weekend's
broadcasters will be Evan Ellis '11 and Chelsea Janes
'11.
NCAAS BACK AT HARBOR YARD
Yale co-hosted the 2009 East Regional at The Arena at Harbor Yard
in Bridgeport, and the Bulldogs were one of the four teams to
participate. The 2011 and 2012 East Regional Tournaments will also
be at The Arena co-hosted by the Elis and Fairfield. This coming
NCAA tourney is March 25-26. Game times on the 25th are 4 and 7:30
with a 7 p.m. championship contest on the 26th.
filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director
