Team Notes: Yale Opens with Tigers
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's hockey team opens the 2011-12 regular season by playing Princeton Friday afternoon in the Ivy Shootout at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H. Yale takes on the Tigers at 4 p.m. and then plays tournament host Dartmouth at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The other games in the shootout include Brown playing Dartmouth (Friday, 7) and Princeton (Saturday, 4). Only the games Dartmouth plays will be video streamed.
YALE-PRINCETON SERIES
The Elis won both meetings last winter and now lead the series
128-101-8 heading into the 148th contest.
YALE-DARTMOUTH SERIES
The Bulldogs and Big Green are heading into the 198th meeting with
Yale leading 101-84-12.
EXHIBITION GAME
The Bulldogs had the advantage in shots, 42-32, but came up a goal
shy in a 2-1 exhibition decision at Ingalls Rink against Waterloo.
The Warriors, winners of five of their six games this season, got a
pair of goals from forward Chris Ray to take the first of a
two-game swing through ECAC Hockey. Ray tallied at 13:30 of the
first to even things at 1-1 and then slipped a low wrister past
Connor Wilson (7 saves) at 7:32 of the third for the
game winner. Waterloo did not allow a shot on net after the
Elis pulled their goalie for the last 74 seconds. The Bulldogs had
a 1-0 lead in the first period when junior forward Antoine
Laganiere converted a feed from sophomore Clinton
Bourbonais. Laganiere, with a man-advantage, held the puck
for a moment before firing a low wrister stick side on Keaton
Hartigan (41 saves). Junior Jeff Malcolm got the
start in net for Yale and stopped seven of eight shots in the first
frame. Classmate Nick Maricic had the most action by
stopping all 16 shots in the second period before Wilson, the
newcomer, took over in the third. The three Bulldog netminders
combined to blank the Warriors on five power plays.
LAST YEAR WITH TIGERS
The Blue scored five goals in both wins. In the first game on Nov.
5, Yale won 5-3 with two Chris Cahill goals. Andrew
Miller's four points on Feb. 20 helped Yale win 5-4 at
Princeton. Brian O'Neill netted four points against
Old Nassau, while Miller had a goal and four assists. Yale's power
play went 4 for 12 over the two games.
LAST YEAR WITH BIG GREEN
Yale won both meetings in 2010-11 by a combined score of 6-3. Ryan
Rondeau '11 stopped 57 shots over the two games while Dartmouth
netminder James Mello made 73 saves. No Bulldog had multiple
goals.
NEW BLUE
The class of 2015 includes four forwards, three defensemen and a
goalie. Here are some quick facts on each newcomer: D Bennett
Carroccio was an EJHL All-Star for the Boston Jr.
Bruins… F Anthony Day scored 30 goals St.
Francis High School... D Tommy Fallen played on the
U.S. Team that captured gold at the 2010 World Junior A
Challenge... D Matt Killian notched 30 career goals at
Delbarton School... F Trent Ruffolo scored 129 points
over 89 games for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs… F
Alex Ward was a three-sport star at Deerfield
Academy… F Nicholas Weberg played high school
hockey in Minnesota while skating for Team Norway U20s at the 2011
World Junior Championships… G Connor Wilson, a goalie for
Chicago in the USHL, was a three-sport standout at the Berkshire
School.
FIRSTS ON ROSTER
For the first time in the history of Yale hockey, an Eli roster
includes a Floridian (F Trent Ruffolo), a North Carolinian (G
Connor Wilson) and a skater from Norway (F Nicholas Weberg).
GOALIE COACHES
When Yale and Dartmouth play it's a matchup of former goalies, who
played for three seasons against each other, now coaching their
alma maters. Keith Allain played at Yale from 1976-80 while Bob
Gaudet was between the Big Green pipes from 1977 to 1981. Dartmouth
went 3-2-1 vs. Yale during the six games they were on opposite
sides as players.
ALLAIN ON EXHIBITION GAME
"I think we learned a lot tonight," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's
Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey. "This sends a good message
to our guys. You need a certain intensity level to compete in our
league, and it's hard to simulate that in practice."
PERSPECTIVE ON LAST YEAR
Yale's 28 wins last year were a school record, four better than
the 2008-09 Elis. Yale's 17 ECAC wins equaled the record reached by
the 1997-98 team with an identical 17-4-1 mark. Yale's 35 ECAC
points tie the school record established by the 1997-98
Bulldogs.
LEAGUE WITHIN A CONFERENCE
Six members of ECAC Hockey compete for the Ivy League's Hobey
Baker Trophy, which is all that is on the line in this race. Yale
won its third straight (4th in 5 years) Ivy title by going 9-1 last
winter and having 18 points. Dartmouth was second with 13
points.
MILLER TIME
A 2010-11 first-team All-ECAC pick, junior F Andrew Miller (70 gp,
17-62-79) had another outstanding season last year. Miller, voted
"best passer" by his teammates, had 12-33-45. He was No. 4 in the
nation with .97 assists per game (tops in ECAC). More impressive is
that 22 of his 33 assists were primary ones. His team-high 33
helpers (2nd best at Yale and five behind Mark Kaufmann '93) were a
sophomore school record while 45 points were second on the team. He
probably had his best offensive weekend as a collegian on Feb.
25-26 when he hit the net three times against Colgate/Cornell
combined. Miller (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), was 12th in the nation
with 1.29 points per contest and registered the most (34 as a
freshman) points by a Yale rookie since Tom Walsh set the bar with
41 in 1984-85. The speedy forward was the 2008-09 USA Junior Player
of the Year and 2007 Michigan High School Mr. Hockey. In 2009-10 he
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 that year with .85 assists per outing.
WHALE OF A TIME
The Whale (Ingalls Rink) has been a tough place for visitors in
recent years. Yale, which enjoyed its first undefeated (15-0-1,
only Division I team to do that) regular season at Ingalls last
winter, finished 17-1-1 at home. That is the most wins ever in New
Haven for a Yale team (The Blue went unbeaten at New Haven in
1928-29). The Bulldogs are 40-10-3 over the last three seasons at
the Whale and 12-10-3 in home ECAC playoff games all time.
SOLD OUT
Ingalls Rink was sold out for the last 12 games of the 2010-11
regular season. The Nov. 26 Boston College game is already sold
out, while only G.A. and S.R.O. tickets remain for contests with
Cornell, Harvard and Dartmouth.
CAPTAIN
2010-11 first-team All-ECAC selection Brian O'Neill (103gp,
48-69-117) was named captain of the Bulldogs last April. He has led
the team in scoring the last two seasons. That includes a
career-high three goals at Clarkson on Feb. 12, which helped him
rank 15th nationally with 1.29 points per game. He began 2010-11
with a 3-2-5 weekend in the two wins including 2-1-3 and the GWG
against Dartmouth on Oct. 30. The year before, he led the Elis with
29 assists and 45 points while ranking seventh in the country with
1.32 PPG. O'Neill (Yardley, Pa.), who was voted "most humorous" by
his teammates, made the 2008-09 CHN (national) and ECAC Hockey
All-Rookie teams after going 12-14-26 in 2008-09.
NET
There are two returning goalies and both are juniors. Combined
they have 29 games played and 23 starts. Alta Loma, Calif., native
Nick Maricic (2.29, .890) has five more games played than Jeff
Malcolm (2.75, .868), from Lethbridge, Alb. Ryan Rondeau '11 owns
some season and career records after a 2010-11 campaign where he
took almost all of the work. Both returnees have seen quality and
pressure-filled ice time. Maricic saw some time in the NCAA
Regional final last March.
BLUE LINE
There are seven defensemen on the Yale roster: two seniors, a
junior, a sophomore and three freshmen. Three of the seven have a
depth of experience. Seniors Kevin Peel (Onoway, Alb.)
and Nick Jaskowiak (Bloomington, Minn.) have been
regulars since arriving in New Haven. Junior Colin
Dueck (Calgary, Alb.) became a mainstay last winter and
sophomore Gus Young (Dedham, Mass.) got in a few key
games as a rookie.
AGOSTINO
Yale sophomore forward Kenny Agostino was Yale's
rookie of the year last winter after scoring 11 goals and 25
points. Agostino, the HCA National Rookie of the Month for January
(8-4-12), was the first Bulldog to receive that award. He was ECAC
Hockey MLX Skates Rookie of the Week on Jan. 23 (3 goals vs.
Clarkson/SLU), becoming the only Bulldog to earn conference rookie
honors in 2010-11. The former Delbarton School star
had a goal and three assists before the holiday break, and 10
goals and 11 assists after. He ranked 11th nationally among rookies
with .86 points per game. Agostino became the first Yale
newcomer in 30 years to record five points in one game on Jan. 2.
He notched three goals and two assists against Holy Cross and
became the school's first freshman to tally five points since
former Olympian and NHL star Bob Brooke '83 established the school
rookie record against Dartmouth in 1980.
GEOGRAPHIC BALANCE
The Yale roster includes players from 13 different states and
three provinces. New York and Minnesota are represented by three
players from each state while Alberta brings in four players.
BULLDOG BITES
Derrick Pallis of Princeton and Yale's Gus Young were teammates at
Noble and Greenough School… The Blue had a win streak of 10
games last year… Yale's streak of 57 straight ECAC games
without consecutive losses came to an end during the Union/RPI trip
in January 2011… The Class of 2011 became the winningest at
Yale with 89 victories.
CODE RED
There is one new face on the Yale bench this season, Dennis "Red"
Gendron, who replaced Kyle Wallack as the Bulldogs' associate head
coach. Dennis "Red" Gendron, an assistant at the University of
Massachusetts the last six seasons and a former University of Maine
coach from 1990 to 1993. He helped the Black Bears win a 1993 NCAA
Championship before working in the New Jersey Devils
organization.
YALE'S LAST 3
The Yale men have left a mark on Division I over the last three
seasons under Keith Allain '80, the Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of
Hockey. The combined statistics from 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11
make the last three years the best in the history of the sport in
New Haven and among the best in the nation over that span.
The Numbers From 2008-11
Overall Record: 73-25-6
(.729)
ECAC Record: 47-14-5 (.749)
Scoring:
405 goals, 104 games
(3.89)
All-Americans: 4
All-ECAC:
8
All-Ivy League: 10
Accomplishments
 Top Winning Percentage in
Division I
 Two-time Division I Scoring
Leader (2009-10, 2010-11)
 Led nation in scoring
defense 2010-11
 2 ECAC Hockey Tournament
Championships (2009, 2011)
 2 ECAC Hockey Regular Season
Titles (2008-09, 2009-10)
 3 Ivy League Titles
 3 NCAA Tournament
Appearances
 2 NCAA Regional Final
Appearances (2010, 2011)
 School-record 28 wins
(2010-11)
 10 All-Ivy League
Selections
 8 All-ECAC Hockey
Selections
 4 All-America Selections
 2 Hockey Commissioners
Association Players of the Month
BULLDOGS IN THE PROS
There are 22 former Yale hockey players skating professionally,
including eight from the class of 2011. Here are the Bulldog pros,
youngest to oldest. Chris Cahill '11(AHL, Milwaukee Admirals),
Denny Kearney '11(ECHL, Trenton Titans), Broc Little '11
(HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden, VIK Västerås HK), Jimmy
Martin '11(ECHL, Bakersfield Condors), Brendon Mason'11 (Division
1-series in Sweden, Nybro Vikings), Mike Matczak '11 (ECHL,
Kalamazoo Wings), Ryan Rondeau '11 (CHL, Laredo Buck), Ken
Trentowski '11 (SPHL, Augusta Riverhawks), Sean Backman '10 (AHL,
Bridgeport Sound Tigers), Ryan Donald '10 (Charlotte Checkers,
AHL), Mark Acrobello '10 (Oklahoma City Barons, AHL), Alec Richards
'09 (Rockford Icehogs, AHL), Brennan Turner '09 (Dundee Stars,
EIHL), David Meckler '09 (Manchester Monarchs, AHL), Matt Cohen '07
(Fife Flyers, EIHL), Brad Mills '07 (New Jersey Devils, NHL), Chris
Brooks '06 (Bakersfield Condors, ECHL), Chris Higgins '05
(Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Joe Callahan '05 (Hamilton Bulldogs,
AHL), Stacey Bauman '03 (Tulsa Oilers, CHL), Jeff Hamilton
'01 (HIFK Helsinki, FNL), Ray Giroux '98 (Chelyabinsk Traktor,
KHL).
CURRENT NHL CONNECTIONS
Three players on the current Yale roster have been drafted by NHL
teams: Gus Young (Colorado, 7th, 184, 2009); Kenny Agostino
(Pittsburgh, 5th, 140, 2010); Brad Peltz (Ottawa, 7th,
190, 2009).
YALE HOCKEY BROADCASTS
Pay-per-view broadcasts of Yale hockey regular season home games
are available on yalebulldogs.com. The Yale Athletic Department
production is almost entirely student run: Sam Dorward '13 is the
producer; Tom Stokes '12 and Patrick Ouziel '13 are the
cameramen; Evan Ellis '12, the Voice of Yale Hockey, and Max
Valenstein '13 are the broadcasters.
WYBCX.COM
The Yale student radio station formerly found on AM-1340 and on
wybc.com, is only available via internet this season. WYBC does
most of the home contests and a pre-game interview with Coach
Allain.
INGALLS RENOVATIONS
Yale hockey celebrated the re-dedication of Ingalls Rink (3,500
capacity) on Jan. 16, 2010, with ceremonies on and off the ice. The
rink built in 1958 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 for the building nicknamed the Yale
Whale because of its humpback-shaped roof.
HARBOR YARD
Yale and Fairfield hosted the 2009 and 2011 NCAA East Regional
Tournaments in Bridgeport at Webster Bank's Arena at Harbor Yard,
and the Bulldogs participated in both. The 2012 East Regional is
also slated for the Yard, which has also hosted numerous NCAA
post-season events.
filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director
