In Friday’s rivalry game against Harvard, the Elis scored the game’s first goal when first-year forward Iisai Pesonen ’27 notched his fifth of the year by deflecting a point shot from Ryan Conroy ’24 on the powerplay with twelve minutes remaining in the second period. 

However, just six minutes later, Harvard found the equalizer when another first-year forward, Ryan Fine, found the back of the net. Fine fired a shot pass into traffic and it bounced off a Bulldog D-man’s skate and slipped past goalie Jack Stark ’27. Sixty minutes was not enough to decide the outcome of this back-and-forth game, but the Crimson found the back of the net in overtime.

In the end, Harvard secured the extra point with the overtime win, but the game could have easily gone either way. Both netminders, Stark and Harvard’s Aku Koskenvuo, were impressive as they combined for 55 saves in between the pipes and came up with clutch stops all night long for both teams. 

On Saturday, Yale traveled up to Hanover, New Hampshire, to take on Dartmouth in both teams’ final regular season game of the 2023-24 season. Dartmouth came in on a five-game winning streak, and they showed no signs of slowing down.

Although the Bulldogs once again jumped out to an early lead, on a beautiful one-time goal from Ian Carpentier ’24, Dartmouth bounced right back with a power play equalizer. They then added one in the second, one more in the third, and an empty net goal in the waning minutes to secure a 4–1 home victory.

As the Bulldogs head into the postseason, they will need an offensive spark in order to extend their season past this Friday’s matchup against St. Lawrence. After all, the Bulldogs only managed one goal each in their last four regular-season games and registered the second-fewest total goals scored in ECAC conference play all year. That being said, there are some clear positives heading into the postseason.

In ECAC conference play, the Bulldogs only allowed 57 goals against in 25 games played – the third lowest in the ECAC, behind only nationally top-ranked No. 7 Quinnipiac and No. 13 Cornell.  

Furthermore, with Stark in the net, the Bulldogs have shown that they can compete with any team in the country, as the first year has been phenomenal all year. With him in between the pipes, the Elis know that they will always get solid goaltending.

When the Bulldogs lace up the skates against SLU on Friday night, their season will be on the line. If they win, they will advance to the league quarterfinals and face one of the top four seeds in a best-of-three-game series. If they lose, they will be packing their stalls at Ingalls the next day.

This season, the Bulldogs cruised to a 5–0 victory in their November home matchup against St. Lawrence, but fell 4–2 in the January game at Canton. The Bulldogs are 13–6–3 all-time against the Saints at home, but only 6–9–2 in games played at St. Lawrence.

With the two losses this weekend, the Bulldogs ended the regular season in the same place they did last year in the conference.

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Although the Bulldogs outshot the Tigers in every single period, it was special teams and the Elis’ struggle to capitalize on their opportunities that were the two deciding factors.

“The reasons we struggled were twofold, our lack of discipline and our inefficient offensive game,” head coach Keith Allain told the News. “We took three major penalties against a team that has the number two power play in the nation. That is not a recipe for success.”

Allain added that the Bulldogs “created some chances” offensively but stand to improve on “working early to get inside the game” — and the team plans to work on that this week as they head into the playoffs. 

For the Bulldogs, senior Nathan Reid ’24 got the start in net and he was solid all night long, putting together a 16-save performance. In the first period, the Bulldogs held Princeton scoreless and even killed off a five-minute major penalty.

In the second, the Bulldogs also carried the pace of play, but a sloppy turnover behind their defensive led to a wide-open one-time opportunity for Tiger forward Ian Murphy in the slot, and he capitalized to put Princeton up 1–0. However, Allain had only positive takeaways from the first two frames.

“I think the big positive of our game on Friday is that we played exactly the way we needed to the first two periods,” said Allain. “Although we were down 0–1 going into the third, I felt that we were the better team and if we continued on that path, we would have won the game.”

In the third, the Bulldogs were called for another five-minute major, but this time the top-ranked Tiger power play capitalized. Ian Murphy notched his second of the game just three seconds into the man advantage on a one-time slap shot from the top of the circle. 

Later in the period, the Tigers added two more tallies with a beautiful tic-tac-toe three on two goals, and then another Ian Murphy bury off a rebound in front of the net. Yale got one back late in the third when first-year Iisai Pesonen scored his fourth of the season late in the third but it was too little too late.

The Bulldogs will finish out the regular season with two away games this upcoming weekend. They will face Harvard (5–10–5, 5–17–5 ECAC) on Friday, March 1, and then they will travel to Hanover, New Hampshire to face Dartmouth (9–9–9, 7–6–7 ECAC). Harvard comes into the weekend with only one regulation victory in their last eight games played while a streaking Dartmouth team is unbeaten in their last four.

Currently, Harvard sits on 25 points in the ECAC, one more than Yale. The Bulldogs sit in tenth place in the conference, but only five points behind the sixth-place Union Garnet Chargers.

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“I cannot say enough about what this class has meant to our program overall,” head coach Keith Allain said to the News. “They stayed with us after the program was shut down their freshman year, battled through a sophomore season filled with COVID-19 pauses and depleted lineups in many of our games. They persevered and found a way to improve our team each season they have been with us. They truly leave Yale with the team in a better place than it was when they entered. Future Yale Hockey players owe them a world of gratitude.”

This group has battled through thick and thin together — through both success and failure. To their coach, they embody the values that he preaches to players every year.

“As men, they all have high character, a strong work ethic and a mental toughness that will ensure their success in any endeavor they are passionate about in the future,” Allain said. “They have developed a bond through shared success and failure that will last throughout their lifetimes. They make me proud every day.”

This season, the Elis’ emphasis on continual improvement and perseverance in the face of adversity has led to tangible results. Entering into the tilt on Friday, the Bulldogs come in with their highest winning percentage in the last four years. 

For senior and captain Reilly Connors ’24, one aspect of the team’s success this season has been especially noteworthy.

“My proudest moments have to be our come-from-behind wins this year,” Connors said.  “It rarely happened in the past during our career, yet this year we were able to battle back in games like LIU, Union, Sacred Heart and RPI that resulted in wins. It showed our resilience in tough situations and will pay dividends as we close out this year and enter playoffs.”

The Bulldogs’ team character and grit were on full display in their matchup last weekend against a 12th-ranked Cornell squad when they took the Big Red to a shootout at a packed Lynah Rink.

When they lace up the boots at the Whale on Friday, the Bulldogs will look to play with a similar sense of urgency, aggression and team spirit as they did in front of a sold-out crowd in Ithaca.

Ultimately, the class of 2024 has bonded through the ups and downs of the last four years, and they have come together as a group as much off the ice as they have while on it.  Sometimes, the off-ice moments can be ones that are the most cherished.

“My funniest memory has to be witnessing Nate Reid’s [’24] rendition of Roxanne by the Police during a team meal our sophomore year,” Reilly Connors said.  “During team meals we have a tradition where a player will recite a song of their choice, and Nate knocked this performance out of the park. Every team meal has a ton of laughs and great banter. I can speak for everyone in my class that team meals will be a huge aspect of being on this team we will miss.”

When asked his proudest memory with his teammates over his Yale career, Nik Allain ’24 told the News, “It hasn’t happened yet.” A win against Princeton on senior night and a jump in the ECAC leaderboard going into playoffs would certainly add to the tally.

The Bulldogs currently sit in eighth place in the ECAC with three games total remaining in the 2023-24 regular season. 

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The Yale men’s ice hockey team (10–14–2, 7–10–2 ECAC) lost to the Raiders (13–13–4, 10–6–2 ECAC) on Friday in Hamilton, NY, and tied the Big Red (16–4–5, 11–4–3 ECAC) on Saturday in Ithaca, NY. The loss and shootout loss took a hit to the Bulldogs’ record, ending their four-game streak of regulation and shootout wins. 

The Elis entered the Friday matchup after a weekend of strong play against Brown, where Yale tallied a 3–1 win on Feb. 9. Colgate had previously lost 3–2 against Brown on Nov. 3, but the day following their contest against Yale, they dominated the Bears 4–2. Cornell also had just logged a 3–0 win against Brown on Feb. 16. 

In its game against Colgate on Friday, the Elis started off scoring with a shorthanded goal in the first period. Assisted by forward Henry Wagner ’24 on the penalty kill, forward Elan Bar-Lev-Wise ’26 entered from the blueline and shot past Colgate goaltender Carter Gylander’s glove side for the first Yale goal of the night.

Under ten minutes into the second period, Colgate forward Daniel Panetta passed to defenseman Dom Foglia in the Raiders’ defensive end. Foglia then made a long pass to forward Jack Schneider who netted Colgate’s equalizer. 

Only 22 seconds later, Colgate defenseman Nick Anderson passed to forward Ross Mitton, who one-timed the puck into the goal to put Colgate in the lead. Three minutes later, Mitton passed to forward Simon Labelle in front of the goal, who launched the puck and raised Colgate’s lead to 3–1. 

In the final frame, Raider forward Ethan Manderville received a cross-crease pass from Panetta and secured another point for Colgate. Answering back off the faceoff and on the powerplay, forward David Chen ’26 passed to defenseman Rhys Bentham ’27, who sent the puck over Gylander and into the net. 

Colgate then tallied one more goal with 8.1 seconds remaining in the matchup, when Panetta, assisted by forward Brett Chorske and defenseman Reid Irwin, sent the puck into an empty net. 

Goaltender Jack Stark ’27 made a total of 25 saves during the contest, in comparison to Gylander’s 16, and Bar-Lev-Wise went 6-of-9 in faceoffs. 

On Saturday in their contest against Cornell at Lynah Rink, the Bulldogs tied Cornell 1–1, bringing the game to a shootout, where Yale fell 2–1.

Just over 16 minutes into the first period, Wagner shot on goal, which was blocked by Cornell goalie Ian Shane and picked up by forward Will Richter ’27, who slotted the puck into the goal. The goal was Richter’s first at Yale in his collegiate career and was the first allowed at even strength for Cornell since Feb. 2. 

Under two minutes later, Cornell answered back with a goal by forward Tyler Catalano. Defenseman Hoyt Stanley attempted a shot during a 3-on-1, which hit the right post and was rebounded by Catalano to even the score. 

While there were attempts to tally another goal by both teams throughout the game, neither squad secured another goal, leading to a shootout period. The first three shooters — Cornell forward Dalton Bancroft, Yale forward Will Dineen ’25 and Cornell forward Seger — each scored.

Chen and Catalano had unsuccessful attempts, as well as forward Ian Carpentier ’24, which ended the shootout with a Big Red 2–1 advantage. The win secured Cornell the Ivy League title for the 2023-2024 season, its fifth title in the last six seasons. 

Cornell now has a 14-game unbeaten streak, which leads Division I men’s ice hockey. This is Cornell’s longest streak without a loss since the 2004-2005 season.

During the contest, Stark made 22 total saves in goal, and Wagner tallied his third assist of the season, logging points in both games last weekend. 

The Bulldogs look forward to earning a win next weekend when they return home to New Haven to face another Ivy League opponent.

The Blue and White will next face Princeton (8–14–3, 6–10–2 ECAC) on Friday, Feb. 23 at Ingalls Rink. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

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“We definitely have a chip on our shoulder going into Friday because of the result from the last time we played Colgate,” said senior captain Reilly Connors ’24.  “It’s going to come down to executing our game plan, outworking them and being relentless no matter what they throw at us; which I know our group is capable of.”

This past weekend, the Bulldogs completed a season sweep versus Brown – notching a 3-1 victory against the Bears at Ingalls Rink. It was Connors who got the scoring started for Yale as he potted his first tally of the season ten minutes into the game. For him, the goal was definitely special, but the fact that it played such a big role in the team’s success was even more important. 

“It felt great, yet the win setting in after the final horn felt even better,” Connors told the News. “We knew how big those three points were Friday night, so just happy we could come away with them.”

Sophomore forward  David Chen ’26 netted one in the second period – his team-leading ninth goal of the season – and senior Will Dineen ’25 closed out the game with an empty net goal in the final minutes. Once again, goalie Jack Stark ’27 played lights out, helping him secure ECAC Rookie of the Week. This is the third time the first-year Eli has received the honor.

When Yale suits up against the Raiders this Friday, they will need both Stark and the offense to have another solid performance. After all, Colgate has won six of their last eight games, and they are coming off a shootout win over RPI this past Saturday night.

The Raiders are led by junior forward Ryan McGuire and senior Ross Mitton. Both have 24 points on the year and both scored against Yale in the November matchup.

After taking on Colgate this Friday, the Bulldogs will travel to Ithaca and suit up against a 12th-ranked Cornell (15–4–4, 10–4–2 ECAC) squad at 7 p.m. Yale played the Big Red tight at home in the Bulldogs’ home debut but fell 3–1 in a thriller.

While Colgate comes into this weekend hot, so too does Cornell — they have secured the win in nine of their last 10 games. The Bulldogs will need to shut down senior forward Gabriel Seger who is averaging well over a point a game, and they will need to put a couple past Cornell’s outstanding netminder Ian Shane.

A weekend road trip to upstate New York is always tough, and facing two streaking teams will make it no easier. However, Yale has found their stride in the last month, and they will look to keep that momentum going this weekend with a heavy forecheck, sound defensive play and steady net-minding.

“We are finding ways to win close games which is huge,” said Connors. “Our forecheck can be incredibly effective, and it showed in long stretches over the past few games.”

The Elis currently sit tied for sixth in ECAC standings, but they are just five points behind a Colgate squad in third place.

The Yale men’s hockey team (10–13–1, 7–9–1 ECAC) will look to push their unbeaten streak to five when they square off against Colgate (11–13–4, 8–6–2 ECAC) on Friday night in Hamilton, NY. With the Bulldogs having dropped the first matchup against the Raiders 7–1 in early November, the team is using that as added motivation in a game already crucial for playoff standings.

“We definitely have a chip on our shoulder going into Friday because of the result from the last time we played Colgate,” said senior captain Reilly Connors ’24.  “It’s going to come down to executing our game plan, outworking them and being relentless no matter what they throw at us; which I know our group is capable of.”

This past weekend, the Bulldogs completed a season sweep versus Brown – notching a 3-1 victory against the Bears at Ingalls Rink. It was Connors who got the scoring started for Yale as he potted his first tally of the season ten minutes into the game. For him, the goal was definitely special, but the fact that it played such a big role in the team’s success was even more important. 

“It felt great, yet the win setting in after the final horn felt even better,” Connors told the News. “We knew how big those three points were Friday night, so just happy we could come away with them.”

Sophomore forward  David Chen ’26 netted one in the second period – his team-leading ninth goal of the season – and senior Will Dineen ’25 closed out the game with an empty net goal in the final minutes. Once again, goalie Jack Stark ’27 played lights out, helping him secure ECAC Rookie of the Week. This is the third time the first-year Eli has received the honor.

When Yale suits up against the Raiders this Friday, they will need both Stark and the offense to have another solid performance. After all, Colgate has won six of their last eight games, and they are coming off a shootout win over RPI this past Saturday night.

The Raiders are led by junior forward Ryan McGuire and senior Ross Mitton. Both have 24 points on the year and both scored against Yale in the November matchup.

After taking on Colgate this Friday, the Bulldogs will travel to Ithaca and suit up against a 12th-ranked Cornell (15–4–4, 10–4–2 ECAC) squad at 7 p.m. Yale played the Big Red tight at home in the Bulldogs’ home debut but fell 3–1 in a thriller.

While Colgate comes into this weekend hot, so too does Cornell — they have secured the win in nine of their last 10 games. The Bulldogs will need to shut down senior forward Gabriel Seger who is averaging well over a point a game, and they will need to put a couple past Cornell’s outstanding netminder Ian Shane.

A weekend road trip to upstate New York is always tough, and facing two streaking teams will make it no easier. However, Yale has found their stride in the last month, and they will look to keep that momentum going this weekend with a heavy forecheck, sound defensive play and steady net-minding.

“We are finding ways to win close games which is huge,” said Connors. “Our forecheck can be incredibly effective, and it showed in long stretches over the past few games.”

The Elis currently sit tied for sixth in ECAC standings, but they are just five points behind a Colgate squad in third place.

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The Elis (10–13–1, 7–9–1 ECAC) defeated the Bears (8–13–2, 6–8–1 ECAC) in a home game at Ingalls Rink with 1,637 fans in attendance. The win marks Yale’s seventh conference win this season, which ranks Yale at seventh in the ECAC and second in Ivy League schools, trailing three wins behind Cornell. 

The Bulldogs entered the matchup coming off of a successful weekend, logging a 3–1 win against Union College (13–13–2, 7–7–2 ECAC) on Feb. 2 and a 1–1 tie with a 1–0 shootout win against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (8–17–3, 5–9–2 ECAC) on Feb. 3. The Bears also faced both teams that weekend, tallying a 3–1 loss to RPI and a 4–4 tie and 2–0 overtime shootout loss to Union. 

Yale had also previously faced Brown, where the Bulldogs earned a 3–2 overtime win for its first game of the 2023-2024 season on Oct. 27. 

Just over eight minutes into the first period, forward Elan Bar-Lev-Wise ’26 took a wide shot on goal that hit the back wall and was picked up by forward and team captain Reilly Connors ’24, who beat Brown goaltender Lawton Zacher, finished off the short-handed goal and earned Yale its first point of the night. 

The goal marked Connors’ first of the season and his second career shorthanded goal. 

The rest of the first period remained scoreless, but 6:54 into the second period, Brown tried to take back the reins by netting an equalizer. Brown forward Ryan Bottrill forced a Yale turnover in the offensive zone and passed to forward Tyler Kopff, who hit a one-timer from the top of the right circle.

To re-establish the lead for the Elis, under two minutes later, forward David Chen ’26 took a failed wrap-around attempt by defenseman Kieran O’Hearn ’25 and forward Niklas Allain ’24 and shot the puck from the top circle and raised the score to 2–1. Chen’s goal was his team-high ninth of the season. 

While the remainder of the second period and the majority of the final didn’t see any scoring, with less than ten seconds left in the game, forward Will Dineen ’25 launched the puck into Brown’s empty goal for the game-ender. Dineen was assisted by forward Ian Carpentier ’24 and forward David Andreychuk ’27. 

The final goal of the contest was Yale’s sixth shorthanded goal of the season. This ties Yale for first in the ECAC conference in shorthanded goals during the 2023-2024 season. 

Over the course of the game, goalkeeper Jack Stark ’27 made 19 saves in goal. This marks Stark’s eighth win of his first season on the team. 

While Brown led the game with five power plays, in comparison to Yale’s two, the Bulldogs dominated in shooting 30–20. Yale also prevailed in the faceoff dot, edging the Bears 33–21. 

Dineen and Chen led Yale’s shooting with four shots on goal, followed by Bar-Lev-Wise and forward Briggs Gammill ’25 with three shots each. Not a single Brown player had more than two shots on goal. 

Dineen also led the Bulldogs in faceoffs, tallying 16 wins and five losses, while the Brown player with the most faceoff success, Bottrill, saw nine wins and 13 losses. 

The game also marks the Bulldogs’ first time since 2018 going unbeaten for four consecutive games. In the 2018-19 season, the Elis went undefeated for six straight contests, logging five wins and a 1–1 tie with Union on Nov. 23. 

While the Elis have had strong performances since their win against Sacred Heart on Jan. 27, they will need to prepare for two big conference opponents next weekend, both of which Yale fell to earlier this season. 

The Bulldogs will next face Colgate (11–13–4, 8–6–2 ECAC) on Friday, Feb. 16 in Hamilton, NY and No. 13 Cornell (15–4–4, 10–4–2 ECAC) on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Ithaca, NY. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

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Last weekend, the Elis logged a decisive 3–0 win against Union and a shootout win after a 1–1 tie with RPI the following night. Yale men’s hockey hopes to extend its three-game winning streak this weekend with a singular contest against Brown.

“On Friday we had the lead and came out in the third and added another goal and completely shut them down with an aggressive defensive structure,” head coach Keith Allain told the News earlier this week. “On Saturday we were behind going into the third, again came out with an attack-mindset, scored the tying goal and had them on their heels for most of the period.”

The Elis have already faced Brown this season and look to tally an outright win rather than the overtime win that finished off the last weekend. 

Since 2004, the Bulldogs have met Brown 39 times, leading the series 26–13. The Elis have won three of the past four contests and, notably, seven of their 10 most recent matchups. 

In their last contest on Oct. 28 this season, the Yale men’s hockey team won in overtime, securing a 3–2 victory over Brown. Yale began its scoring in the second period, when forward David Chen ’26 scored his first goal of the season off an assist by forward Niklas Allain ’24 and defenseman Bayard Hall ’26. 

“I think it is always important to get off to a winning start,” Allain said after the game. “Beating a tough opponent on the road, having to come from behind then giving up a late lead to finally secure the victory in overtime are all valuable experiences as we begin to write the story of this team. Our men earned a hard-fought W.”

Chen then assisted forward Briggs Gammill ’25 at the start of the third period, which was eventually answered back by Brown forward Tyler Kopff later in the period. Beginning overtime on the penalty kill, Gammill passed to defenseman Rhys Bentham ’27, who made a backhand shot to earn Yale the win. 

Yale goalkeeper Nate Reid ’24 was in the net for the entire game and made 23 total saves. 

“Coach [Rob] O’Gara [’16] has done a great job with our kill, and the boys have taken a lot of pride in making sure our penalty kill is a strength of our team,” forward Will Dineen ’25 said. “Scoring shorthanded goals is a big team effort. It comes from all four guys doing their respective jobs well structurally and positionally. With that, it opens up opportunities to capitalize on the other team’s power play mistakes.”

Last weekend, Brown faced RPI and Union, tallying a 3–1 outright loss and a 4–4 loss in overtime after a 2–0 shootout, respectively. 

In their Friday contest, the Bears lost but had strong individual performances. Forward Thomas Manty and defenseman Brett Bliss both had career-highs of seven and six shots on goal, respectively. Forward Ryan Bottrill also made his 11th assist of the season. 

“It was not our night, no excuses but we have a lot of regulars that are out and sick and it doesn’t make it easy,” Brown head coach Brendan Whittet said to Brown Athletics after the RPI game. “That being said, we had 39 shots on net, a lot of Grade A’s and really good chances, we have to find a way to score. We have good enough players to score.”

On Saturday, Brown fell behind in shots on goal, trailing Union 46–25. Brown goalkeeper Lawton Zacher, however, made 42 saves over the course of the game. 

Brown started off scoring in the first period when defenseman Nick Traggio deflected a Bottrill rebound, and Brown added another point on the power play in the second period, when forward Mike Cataldo redirected a shot by defenseman Ethan Mistry. In the final period, both Bottrill and Kopff added points, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough to secure the Bears the outright win, as Union won the shootout for the extra ECAC point.

“We’re dealing with a lot of injuries to guys that play a lot of minutes for us so we were a little short,” Whittet said to Brown Athletics. “That being said, we need guys to step up and play the right way. We’re very young, there are going to be inconsistencies in what we do. We’re going to have to play better than we did tonight next weekend.”

The Bulldogs look forward to defending The Whale and defeating the Bears for the second time this season.

On Friday, the Bulldogs will face Brown at 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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“What I liked about our team’s resiliency and grit was really shown in the way we played the third period of each game this weekend,” Head Coach Keith Allain told the News. “On Friday we had the lead and came out in the third and added another goal and completely shut them down with an aggressive defensive structure. On Saturday we were behind going into the third, again came out with an attack mindset scored the tying goal and had them on their heels for most of the period.”

In the game on Friday night, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 1–0 lead with a stellar short-handed goal from senior forward Will Dineen ’25. To pot his second shorty of the season and fifth goal of the season, Dineen swiped the puck from a Union defender and flew in on a breakaway. Showcasing his explosiveness and quick feet, Dineen raced in on net and fired a shot past the goalie low blocker side.

Then it was Kalen Szeto’s ’26 turn early in the third period, when he crashed the net hard and received a beautiful back-door pass from Henry Wagner ’24. For Allain, both Wagner and Szeto have established themselves as dependable two-way forwards. They may be key players to watch as the postseason approaches.

“It was great that Kalen scored after Henry blocked a shot and made a nice play. Their line has done a really good job for us since the new year,” said Allain. “They are responsible defensively, are very good on the fore-check and create offensive opportunities every night. They have become valuable contributors to our team.”

While Union got one back later in the period, an Ian Carpentier ’24 power-play snipe sealed a 3–1 Eli win in a game that was fought tooth and nail. Once again, first-year Jack Stark ’27 was rock solid in net as he stopped 30 of 31 shots against the Garnet Chargers.  

On Saturday, the Bulldogs fell behind 1–0 eight minutes into the game. However, Dineen came up big again with a goal early in the third period as time expired on a powerplay — his fourth goal in his last six games.

“I was hurt for about a month at the beginning of the year, but I’ve started to find my game over the past three weekends,” Dineen told the News. 

Allain has certainly come to rely upon the senior forward for offensive production, and Dineen has more than stepped up to the challenge.

“Will is playing at a high level, he is mentally engaged, using his size and speed to his advantage, winning 1-v-1 battles and just competing on both side of the puck,” Allain said.

RPI and Yale remained tied at 1-1 through three periods and overtime, but the Elis pulled out the extra point with a shootout victory when Briggs Gammill ’25, the fourth Eli shooter, came down and buried the puck five-hole on a nifty shot. Stark then closed the door on RPI forward Ryan Brushett to cement the win.

Great save by Stark for the DUB! pic.twitter.com/puHgkNA6i2

— Yale Men's Hockey (@YaleMHockey) February 4, 2024

Stark not only stopped all four RPI players in the shootout, but he also put on another thirty-save performance during regulation. With Stark in net, the Bulldogs seem to play with an extra boost knowing that their netminder is always there to come up with a big save.

“Starky has been rock solid for us all year, but he has taken his game to another level within the past month,” Dineen said. “He’s very level-headed and mature for his age. When you have someone with his calm demeanor in the net, it rubs off on the whole group and gives all of us confidence out there. Off the ice, he’s a great guy, very humble, and always has a smile on his face.”

For his strong performances on the week, Stark earned ECAC Goaltender of the Week Honors with a .962 save percentage in the two games. The rookie goalie was also recently named to the Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Watchlist, an award given to the best first-year in all of Division 1 men’s hockey. 

Stark and the Bulldogs will lace up the skates next against Brown on Friday, Feb. 9 at Ingalls Rink as they look to push their undefeated streak past four.

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After falling 1–0 to Quinnipiac in the first round of the Connecticut Ice Tournament, the Bulldogs finished out the weekend on a high note, tallying a 3–2 win against Sacred Heart in the consolation round. The Elis will travel home to face two conference opponents, Union and RPI, this weekend on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 7:00 p.m., respectively. 

“I think our win against Sacred Heart was fueled by our team’s penalty kill, our ability to score timely goals and solid goaltending,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 said. “We need to build on those things against two tough opponents this weekend.”

On Feb. 1, ECAC Hockey named Bulldog goalkeeper Jack Stark ’27 the Bitcoin Rookie of the Month. Stark was named ECAC Rookie of the Week twice in a row — on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15 — making 334 saves throughout this season and earning a .905 save percentage. 

Stark was also named to the Hockey Commissioners Association Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year “Watch List” on Feb. 1. The list includes 32 first-year NCAA men’s hockey players, four of whom are goalies, that may receive the Tim Taylor Award for National Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.

“Jack has been very good for us in goal,” Allain said. “Jack has done a nice job of giving the group that confidence, he has shown great poise in net for us.”

The Yale men’s ice hockey team has already met this weekend’s opponents earlier this season, logging wins against both.

Since 2004, the Elis have faced Union 38 times. Union leads the series 19–15–4, but in the past seven games, Yale has seen five wins and two losses, one of which was an OT shootout loss on Jan. 14. 

In their last matchup on Jan. 6 this season, the Bulldogs edged the Garnet Chargers by two goals, securing a 4–2 win. At the start of the second period, forward Briggs Gammill ’25 assisted forward David Chen ’26 with the first goal of the night, which was answered back by Union twice in the third period. 

In the final four minutes of the game, the Bulldogs tallied three goals to earn the win. Forward Niklas Allain ’24 tipped in a shot by defenseman Connor Sullivan ’25, and 51 seconds later, forward Teddy Wooding ’24 tallied another point during a backdoor opportunity. 

With less than two minutes remaining in the final period, forward Ian Carpentier ’24 added Yale’s fourth and final point with his empty net goal. 

“Carp is a big driver for our offense, and I believe he is due for a big scoring outbreak,” forward Will Dineen ’25 told the News after the Bulldogs dropped a game to St. Lawrence. “He is an elite skater.”

Since 2004, Yale has met RPI 36 times, leading the series 23–13. The Bulldogs are currently on a two-game winning streak and have won 12 of their past 13 contests. 

Yale most recently faced RPI on Jan. 5 this year, when the Elis secured a 2–1 victory. In the middle of the second period, Chen earned Yale its first point when he split four defenders entering the offensive zone to fire a shot from the slot. 

The Engineers answered back 16:11 into the third period when Rensselaer defenseman Jimmy Goffredo scored off an assist by forwards John Beaton and Ryan Brushett. Forty seconds later, however, Wooding passed to defenseman Ryan Conroy ’24, who shot the puck past RPI goalkeeper Brett Miller for the game-winner. 

“I think that [last weekend’s] game was great for my confidence individually but for our team as a whole as well,” Stark said. “Knowing that as a group we have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country gives us a lot of confidence as we head into the final stretch of the season.”

Last weekend, Union faced RPI in the 2024 Capital District Mayor’s Cup, logging a 5–3 win over the Engineers. The Garnet Chargers dominated the game with a 31–25 lead in shots, as well as a 5–1 lead in power plays, one of which resulted in a goal by Union forward Ville Immonen in the third period. 

Union defenseman Cullen Ferguson led the game in points, with a goal and two assists, and Union forward Josh Nixon had two assists. Union goalkeeper Kyle Chauvette made 22 saves during the contest.

RPI was able to secure the lead early in the second period, after a goal by forward Tyler Hotson in the first period and Brushett in the second. In an effort to regain their lead later in the second period, after Union scored twice in five minutes, RPI forward Dovar Tinling added the Engineers’ final goal of the night. 

Playing in front of a goalkeeper with a .948 save percentage for the month of January, the Elis are ready to face their next two opponents and add two more wins to their record. 

“Overall improvement as a team defensively is a factor [in our successes] as well,” Allain said. “Hockey is the ultimate team sport.”

On both Friday and Saturday, the puck is slated to drop at 7:00 p.m., and each game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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“Our team is better defensively than we were earlier in the year, as a result we are spending less time in our zone, allowing fewer scoring chances against and as a result we have the puck a little more so that we can be a threat offensively,” Allain told the News. “The team commitment to defense will make us harder to play against as we head into the playoffs.”

In the Friday tilt against Quinnipiac, the Bobcats were looking to get back on track after dropping two ECAC away games last weekend. They came out flying and got on the board with seven minutes to go in the first period on a goal by first-year forward Mason Marcellus. However, their high-flying offense was shut out for the rest of the night by red-hot first-year netminder Jack Stark ’27. The Bulldog goalie’s 35-save performance kept the game tight for sixty minutes, a sharp contrast from Yale’s last matchup with Quinnipiac earlier in the year. When Yale squared off against the Bobcats just over two months ago, they lost 5–2.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” said forward Jojo Tanaka-Campbell ’26. “We’ve closed the gap quite a lot compared to the beginning of the year and it’s a testament to all the hard work everyone puts in every single day. Collectively, we put in so much work into shaping our team and it’s really nice to see it paying off little by little. That being said, we still have a lot more to do and we will most definitely continue to develop into the best versions of ourselves to give us the best chance towards the end of the season.” 

Another clear positive was the Bulldogs’ ability to limit a high-powered Quinnipiac power play. Although the Bobcats had four-man advantages, they weren’t able to cash in on a single one of them.

The following night, the Bulldogs squared off against a Sacred Heart team that fell to UConn in the other semi-final matchup. Although the Pioneers jumped out to a 1–0 lead, David Andreychuk’s ’27 third tuck of the year evened the score at the tail end of the first period. Just twenty-two seconds into the second period, Briggs Gammill ’25 put the Elis ahead when he capitalized on a defensive turnover by the Pioneers and fired a shot that trickled past their netminder.

Later, with just over thirteen minutes to go in the third, Tanaka-Campbell scored an absolute beauty. Not only did it turn out to be the game-winner, but it was also the sophomore forward’s first collegiate goal. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone, skated down the wing, took one step to the middle and fired a laser through the SHU D-man that zipped right past their goaltender. For Tanaka-Campbell, this was a very special moment in his young NCAA career.

“Like every first goal, it’s something that you only live through once and this time around, it couldn’t have come at a better time,” he said. “You only get to play so many games in a Yale jersey, which means every game is extremely important. To be able to help our team to a win is one of the best feelings.”

However, in his correspondence with the News, Tanaka-Campbell revealed that this goal was much more meaningful than just a first collegiate tally.

“It was a milestone, of course, but I also took it as a way to thank all of my teammates and close people in my life for supporting me throughout my time at Yale,” he said. “I have been battling a lot of mental health issues and continue to do so today, and sometimes the road has been extremely tough to get through. The only thing I can say is that it’s thanks to everyone, especially my family and teammates, for being incredibly supportive of me that I am where I am today, and this goal meant a lot for me as a way to express my gratitude to them.”

In the Saturday victory over Sacred Heart, Jack Stark also played a critical role, once again standing on his head. After coming off of a 35-save performance against the Bobcats, Stark stopped another 35 against the Pioneers. With Coach Allain increasingly leaning on the young goaltender, mindset and preparation have proven to be pivotal.  

“Playing back-to-back is definitely tough, but I try to approach it as an opportunity and a challenge to better myself as a goalie,” said Stark. “It also helps going into games knowing how hardworking and defensively sound our team is. As far as adjusting to the NCAA schedule our strength coach Alex Mowatt-Larssen has been invaluable to helping me and our other freshmen adjust smoothly to college hockey.”

Stark, Tanaka-Campbell and the Bulldogs will return to Ingalls for two home games this weekend. They will square off against the Union Garnet Chargers on Friday and then RPI on Saturday. 

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