Yale Athletics

The Yale men’s hockey team (7–12–0, 5–8–0 ECAC) dropped two games this past weekend on a roadtrip to upstate New York. On Friday night, the Bulldogs fell 5–3 to Clarkson (12–9–1, 6–3–1 ECAC). Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs lost 4–2 against St. Lawrence (7–12–3, 5–4–1 ECAC). However, both games were back-and-forth affairs that could have gone either way.

“The real positive here is that the games have been very close with both tied going into the third period,” head coach Keith Allain told the News. “It’s tough to win on the road in our league but we had a real opportunity to win both games right up until the final whistle. We are a good team when we play with confidence and consistency in our structure, whenever we stray from that we reduce our chances for success.”

The Elis came into their matchup in Potsdam against Clarkson one point behind the Golden Knights in the ECAC standings. Nathan Reid ’24 started in net for Yale and was tested early on by a Clarkson team revved on by a passionate fan base.  

The Bulldogs potted the first tally of the game on a textbook three-on-two offensive rush. Nik Allain ’24 picked up the puck in the center of the ice, head-manned it to Briggs Gammill ’25 who then kicked it back to Allain on the wing. Allain found the back of the net under the glove of the Clarkson goalie.

Clarkson tied up the game in the second period on a powerplay and then made it 2–1 when Yale gave up a shorthanded goal. Yet, the Elis countered with their own shortie at the midway point of the second period when Will Dineen ’25 found the twine after intercepting a dangerous pass by the Clarkson netminder.

Since his return from injury, Dineen has provided some much needed secondary scoring. He has notched four goals in ten games played this season.

“Will missed time early in the season due to injury but is now starting to hit his stride,” said Allain. “He is a big-body who can play with pace and has a high compete level. He is a guy that we trust in all situations and is really the anchor on his line.”

The game was tied 2–2 going into the third period, but just two minutes in, Ryan Conroy ’24 had trouble with sticky ice behind his own net and Clarkson was able to capitalize on an unlucky turnover. In a scrapy third period, the Golden Knights went up 4–2 on a tally by Michigan State transfer Jesse Tucker.

But the Bulldogs stayed in the hunt and Dineen potted a second goal when he redirected a point shot from Conroy late in the third. Unable to find the back of the net the rest of the game, the Bulldogs fell 4–2 after giving up an empty netter.

 With the lack of offensive production a key reason for the Bulldogs’ loss against Clarkson, Allain told the News what he believes can help generate more scoring.

 “I believe the best way for our group to sustain more offensive zone time is to break out of our end more cleanly and navigate the neutral zone with more authority,” he said. “Right now, we are turning pucks over in those two zones and that not only limits our offense, but it helps the offense of our opposition.”

The following night, the Bulldogs took the ice against St. Lawrence, a team who came into the game 4–1 in their last five ECAC home games.

Both teams came out skating hard, and junior Saints forward Tomas Mazura scored the game’s first goal when he buried his own rebound behind first-year Bulldog goalie Jack Stark ’27. 

In a scary moment later in the first period, first-year defender Rhys Bentham ’27 appeared to skate off injured after a high hit by SLU captain Josh Boyer. Bentham has had a terrific first-year campaign so far, and is one of the Bulldogs’ most offensively minded D-men.

Yale evened the scoring at one apiece on a David Andreychuck ’27 wrister under the glove of Saint goalie Ben Kraws. SLU then countered with a tally in six-on-five play with the goalie pulled due to a delayed penalty. However, David Chen ’26, the Bulldogs top scorer of the season, evened the game at two just minutes later.

In the third, Yale came out all over the Saints but were unable to beat Kraws. The Saints scored a third goal after a scramble in front of Stark and then finished with an empty-netter to make it 4–2.

For the second night in a row, the Bulldogs struggled to produce goals and high quality chances against a very solid defensive team. Nevertheless, with Chen’s line as a consistent goal threat, and Dineen finding success as well, Yale should be poised to ramp up the offense. One forward that has been playing well but has been snake-bitten in the last three games is senior forward Ian Carpentier ’24. 

“Carp is a big driver for our offense, and I believe he is due for a big scoring outbreak,” said Dineen, Carpentier’s linemate. “He is an elite skater. As a center man, when you play with a skilled winger like Carp, you always want to try and get him the puck in space as much as possible to give him room to make plays and allow him to use the great release he has on his shot.” 

Carpentier and the Bulldogs will look to get back on track when Yale faces off against Quinnipiac in the opening game of the CT Ice at the XL Center on Friday, Jan. 26.