2015–16 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season

The 2015–16 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented Yale University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Keith Allain, '80, his tenth season behind the bench at Yale. His assistant coaches were Jason Guerriero, Josh Siembida, and Stephen Volek. The Bulldogs played their home games at Ingalls Rink on the campus of Yale University, competing in the ECAC.

2015–16 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season
Ivy League Co-Champions NCAA East Regional semifinal, L 2–3 OT vs. UMass-Lowell
Conference	2nd ECAC Hockey
Home ice	Ingalls Rink
Rankings
USCHO	#11
USA Today	#10
Record
Overall	19–9–4
Conference	14–5–3
Home	8–5–1
Road	8–3–2
Neutral	3–1–1
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Keith Allain
Assistant coaches	Josh Siembida Ryan Donald Stephen Volek Nick Costanzo
Captain(s)	Mitch Witek
Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey seasons « 2014–15 2016–17 »

Offseason

Seven Senior Bulldogs graduated in May: Captain Tommy Fallen – D, Anthony Day – F, Matt Killian – D, Trent Ruffolo – F, Nicholas Weberg – F, and Connor Wilson – G.

On April 22, 2015, it was announced that Senior defensemen Mitch Witek was named Captain for the 2015–16 season.^[1]

On July 6, 2015, Josh Siembida was promoted from Volunteer Goalie Coach for Yale to a full-time Assistant Coach.^[2]

On October 5, 2015, Ryan Donald, a 2010 Yale graduate and the 2009-10 Yale hockey team captain, was named Assistant Coach of the Bulldogs.^[3]

Recruiting

Yale added seven freshmen for the 2015–16 season: four forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie.

Player	Position	Nationality	Notes
Charlie Curti	Defense	United States	Mound, Mn; Played for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
Andrew Gaus	Forward	United States	Wexford, PA; Played for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
Ted Hart	Forward	United States	Cumberland, ME; Played for Phillips Exeter Academy
J.M. Piotrowski	Forward	United States	Irving, TX; Played for the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
Joe Snively	Forward	United States	Herndon, VA; Played for the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
Sam Tucker	Goalie	United States	Wilton, CT; Played for Choate Rosemary Hall (USHS-CT)
Anthony Walsh	Defense	United States	Burr Ridge, IL; Played for the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)

2015-16 Roster

Departures from 2014–2015 team

• Anthony Day, F - Graduation
• Tommy Fallen, D - Graduation
• Matt Killian, D - Graduation
• Trent Ruffolo, F - Graduation
• Nicholas Weberg, F - Graduation
• Connor Wilson, G - Graduation

2015-16 Bulldogs

As of December 22, 2015.^[4]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Sam Tucker	Freshman	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-04-16	Wilton, Connecticut	Choate (USHS–CT)	—
2		Adam Larkin	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1995-01-28	Clarkston, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—
3		Dan O'Keefe	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1994-03-06	North Wall, New Jersey	Surrey (BCHL)	—
4		Rob O'Gara	Senior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1993-07-06	Nesconset, New York	Milton (USHS–MA)	BOS, 151st overall 2011
5		Tim Bonner	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1992-08-19	Plymouth, Minnesota	Tri-City (USHL)	—
6		Stu Wilson	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1991-11-15	Pittsford, New York	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
7		Joe Snively	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1996-01-01	Herndon, Virginia	Sioux City (USHL)	—
9		Carson Cooper	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	1992-03-18	Bow Island, Alberta	Fort McMurray (AJHL)	—
10		Mitch Witek (C)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1992-02-04	Downers Grove, Illinois	Waterloo (USHL)	—
11		Andrew Gaus	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1995-02-23	Wexford, Pennsylvania	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
12		Cody Learned	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1991-10-02	Amherst, New Hampshire	Boston (EJHL)	—
13		Matthew Beattie	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1992-12-14	Whitehouse Station, New Jersey	Phillips Exeter (USHS–NH)	VAN, 207th overall 2012
14		Ryan Obuchowski	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1992-06-07	West Bloomfield, Michigan	Indiana (USHL)	—
15		Henry Hart	Sophomore	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	1994-09-27	Stillwater, Minnesota	Phillips Exeter (USHS–NH)	—
16		Anthony Walsh	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1995-09-21	Burr Ridge, Illinois	Green Bay (USHL)	—
17		Frankie DiChiara	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	1993-09-22	Ronkonkoma, New York	Dubuque (USHL)	—
18		Nate Repensky	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1993-11-22	Duluth, Minnesota	Bismarck (NAHL)	—
19		Ted Hart	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-02-20	Cumberland, Maine	Phillips Exeter (USHS–NH)	—
20		John Baiocco	Sophomore	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1995-06-06	New Vernon, New Jersey	Dubuque (USHL)	—
21		John Hayden	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1995-02-14	Greenwich, Connecticut	USNTDP (USHL)	CHI, 74th overall 2013
22		J. M. Piotrowski	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1995-05-01	Irving, Texas	Sioux City (USHL)	—
23		Charlie Curti	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1995-05-24	Mound, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
24		Mike Doherty	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1993-08-21	Reading, Massachusetts	Islanders (EJHL)	—
25		Chris Izmirlian	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1992-12-28	Highland Beach, Florida	Islanders (EJHL)	—
27		Charles Orzetti	Senior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	1992-02-02	Ridgewood, New Jersey	Surrey (BCHL)	—
28		Ryan Hitchcock	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1996-03-30	Manhasset, New York	USNTDP (USHL)	—
30		Patrick Spano	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1993-03-01	Montreal, Quebec	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	—
34		Alex Lyon	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1992-12-09	Baudette, Minnesota	Omaha (USHL)	—

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons Coaching at Yale University	Alma Mater
Keith Allain	Head Coach	14	Yale University (1980)
Josh Siembida	Assistant coach	3	Quinnipiac (2006)
Ryan Donald	Assistant coach	1	Yale University (2010)
Stephen Volek	Assistant director Strength & Conditioning	2	Penn State (2010)
Nick Costanzo	Volunteer Coach	1	Johnson and Wales University (2013)

Standings

2015–16 ECAC Hockey men's standings v t e
	Conference record								Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#2 Quinnipiac † *	22	16	1	5	37	84	44		43	32	4	7	163	85
#10 Yale	22	14	5	3	31	57	37		32	19	9	4	86	57
#9 Harvard	22	12	6	4	28	72	47		34	19	11	4	116	81
#17 St. Lawrence	22	11	8	3	25	68	50		37	19	14	4	106	84
Clarkson	22	10	9	3	23	52	51		38	20	15	3	101	95
Rensselaer	22	8	7	7	23	47	49		40	18	15	7	97	104
Dartmouth	22	11	11	0	22	60	69		35	18	16	1	94	104
#18 Cornell	22	8	8	6	22	46	50		34	16	11	7	79	82
Union	22	6	10	6	18	53	62		36	13	14	9	91	96
Colgate	22	6	14	2	14	45	71		37	11	24	2	95	132
Brown	22	3	13	6	12	47	70		31	5	19	7	75	107
Princeton	22	3	16	3	9	40	71		31	5	23	3	60	99
Championship: March 19, 2016 † indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 8, 2016

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Exhibition
December 29	7:00 pm	McGill*	#13	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 4-1	3,215	6-4-2 (3-3-2)
Regular Season
October 30	7:30 pm	vs. Princeton*	#13	Sun Center • Trenton, NJ (Capital City Classic)		Lyon	W 3-1	1,200	1-0-0 (0-0-0)
October 31	7:30 pm	vs. Massachusetts*	#13	Sun Center • Trenton, NJ (Capital City Classic)		Lyon	W 6-1	530	2-0-0 (0-0-0)
November 6	7:00 pm	at #7 Harvard	#12	Bright Hockey Center • Cambridge, MA	NESN+	Lyon	T 2–2 OT	3,095	2–0–1 (0–0–1)
November 7	7:00 pm	at Dartmouth	#12	Thompson Arena • Hanover, NH		Lyon	W 3-2	2,506	3-0-1 (1-0-1)
November 13	7:00 pm	at RPI	#10	Houston Field House • Troy, NY	RPI TV	Lyon	L 2-3 OT	3,019	3-1-1 (1-1-1)
November 14	7:00 pm	at Union	#10	Achilles Rink • Schenectady, NY		Lyon	W 2-1 OT	2,017	4-1-1 (2-1-1)
November 20	7:00 pm	Cornell	#11	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	T 0-0 OT	3,500	4-1-2 (2-1-2)
November 21	7:00 pm	Colgate	#11	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 3-1	3,500	5-1-2 (3-1-2)
November 28	7:00 pm	at #1 Providence*	#10	Schneider Arena • Providence, RI	OSN	Lyon	L 3-4	3,030	5-2-2 (3-1-2)
December 4	6:30 pm	#3 Quinnipiac	#10	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT	ASN	Lyon	L 0-3	3,500	5-3-2 (3-2-2)
December 6	7:00 pm	Princeton	#10	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	L 2-4	3,145	5-4-2 (3-3-2)
December 11	7:00 pm	Boston University*	#15	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT	ESPN3	Lyon	W 3-2	3,500	6-4-2 (3-3-2)
January 5	7:00 pm	at Massachusetts*	#12	Mullins Center • Amherst, MA		Lyon	W 3-2 OT	1,313	7-4-2 (3-3-2)
January 8	10:00 pm	vs. Arizona State*	#12	Gila River Arena • Glendale, AZ (Desert Hockey Classic)	Pac-12 Network	Lyon	W 4-0	5,028	8-4-2 (3-3-2)
January 10	12:00 pm	vs. Michigan Tech*	#12	Gila River Arena • Glendale, AZ (Desert Hockey Classic)	Pac-12 Network	Lyon	T 1-1 OT		8-4-3 (3-3-2)
January 15	7:00 pm	Brown	#12	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 3-2	3,500	9-4-3 (4-3-2)
January 16	7:00 pm	at Brown	#12	Meehan Auditorium • Providence, RI		Lyon	W 2-1 OT	1,452	10-4-3 (5-3-2)
January 22	7:00 pm	at Clarkson	#12	Cheel Arena • Potsdam, NY		Lyon	T 2-2 OT	2,186	10-4-4 (5-3-3)
January 23	7:00 pm	at St. Lawrence	#12	Appleton Arena • Canton, NY		Lyon	W 3-2	1,545	11-4-4 (6-3-3)
January 29	7:00 pm	Union	#11	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT	ESPN3	Lyon	L 1-2	3,500	11-5-4 (6-4-3)
January 30	7:00 pm	#16 RPI	#11	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 3-0	3,500	12-5-4 (7-4-3)
February 5	7:00 pm	Dartmouth	#11	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT	ESPN3	Lyon	W 5-1	3,500	13-5-4 (8-4-3)
February 6	7:00 pm	#7 Harvard	#11	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 2-1	3,500	14-5-4 (9-4-3)
February 12	7:00 pm	at Colgate	#10	Starr Rink • Hamilton, NY		Lyon	W 3-0	1,397	15-5-4 (10-4-3)
February 13	7:00 pm	at #15 Cornell	#10	Lynah Rink • Ithaca, NY		Lyon	W 4-2	4,267	16-5-4 (11-4-3)
February 19	7:00 pm	#18 St. Lawrence	#8	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 4-3	3,500	17-5-4 (12-4-3)
February 20	7:00 pm	#20 Clarkson	#8	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT		Lyon	W 3-1	3,500	18-5-4 (13-4-3)
February 26	7:00 pm	at Princeton	#7	Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, NJ		Lyon	W 6-0	2,084	19-5-4 (14-4-3)
February 27	7:00 pm	at #1 Quinnipiac	#7	TD Bank Sports Center • Hamden, CT (Heroes Hat)	SNY	Lyon	L 1-4	3,696	19-6-4 (14-5-3)
ECAC Tournament
March 11	7:00 pm	Dartmouth*	#7	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT (ECAC Tournament Quarterfinals)		Lyon	L 3-4 OT	3,500	19-7-4 (14-5-3)
March 12	7:00 pm	Dartmouth*	#7	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, CT (ECAC Tournament Quarterfinals)		Lyon	L 1-2	3,500	19-8-4 (14-5-3)
NCAA Tournament
March 26	7:30 pm	vs. #8 UMass-Lowell*	#11	Times Union Center • Albany, NY (NCAA East Regional semifinal)	ESPN3	Lyon	L 2-3 OT		19-9-4 (14-5-3)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

• On September 21, Yale was picked to win the ECAC Hockey Title by the ECAC Hockey Media Association, with 10 first place votes.^[5]
• On October 31, the Bulldogs beat Massachusetts 6–1 to win the Capital City Classic at the Sun Center.
• On January 5, Yale's Ryan Hitchcock was away, representing the United States at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The US beat Sweden 8–3 to win the bronze medal.
• On January 10, the Bulldogs lost to Michigan Tech 2–1 in a shootout to finish 2nd in the inaugural Desert Hockey Classic at the Gila River Arena.
• On January 30, Alex Lyon broke the school record for most wins in a career which was previously 42 by Alex Westlund.^[6]
• On February 10, the ECAC suspended senior defenseman Rob O'Gara for two games due to his actions in the third period of the game against Harvard on February 6.^[7][8]
• On March 20, the NCAA tournament Selection Committee placed Yale as the 3-seed in the East Regional at Albany, playing 1-seed UMass-Lowell in the first round.
• On March 26, Yale lost to 2-seed UMass-Lowell in OT by a score of 3–2 in the first round.

Rankings

Main article: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings

Poll		Week
		Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23 (Final)
USCHO.com		12	13	13	13	12	10	11	10	10	15	13	12	12	12	11	11	10	8	7	8	7	10	11	11
USA Today		12	14	15	15	9	8	10	9	10	15	12	12	12	12	12	11	10	8	7	8	7	11	12	10

Statistics

As of the completion of the season.^[9]

Skaters

No.	Player	POS	YR	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PP	SHG	GWG	+/-	SOG
7	Joe Snively	F	FR	32	10	18	28	12	2	0	0	+5	75
6	Stu Wilson	F	SR	31	8	18	26	8	3	0	2	+1	112
21	John Hayden	F	JR	32	16	7	23	26	6	0	5	+2	136
17	Frankie DiChiara	F	JR	32	7	8	15	18	1	0	0	+4	78
28	Ryan Hitchcock	F	SO	22	8	6	14	0	2	0	1	E	40
12	Cody Learned	F	SR	31	6	6	12	6	0	1	2	+8	42
25	Chris Izmirlian	F	JR	27	4	8	12	10	0	0	1	+6	58
4	Rob O'Gara	D	SR	30	4	8	12	41	1	0	1	+5	61
14	Ryan Obuchowski	D	SR	32	4	8	12	20	2	0	1	+5	63
24	Mike Doherty	F	JR	22	2	10	12	23	1	0	0	+5	55
10	Mitch Witek	D	SR	32	0	12	12	2	0	0	0	+12	63
9	Carson Cooper	F	SR	30	3	8	11	28	1	0	0	+4	57
19	Ted Hart	F	FR	24	3	6	9	4	0	0	2	-2	41
11	Andrew Gaus	F	FR	18	3	1	4	2	1	0	2	-5	44
22	JM Piotrowski	F	FR	28	3	1	4	10	0	0	2	+4	39
18	Nate Repensky	D	SO	13	1	3	4	6	1	0	0	E	18
23	Charlie Curti	D	FR	23	1	3	4	2	1	0	0	-5	22
2	Adam Larkin	D	SO	30	0	3	3	4	0	0	0	E	23
16	Anthony Walsh	D	FR	27	2	0	2	12	0	0	0	+2	28
15	Henry Hart	F	SO	17	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	+4	6
3	Dan O'Keefe	D	JR	10	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	+2	4
34	Alex Lyon	G	JR	31	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	+15	0
30	Patrick Spano	G	JR	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-2	0
20	John Baiocco	F	SO	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	+1	5
27	Charles Orzetti	F	SR	24	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	-1	17
	Bench							2
	Team			32	86	138	224	246	22	1	19	+12	1087

Goaltenders

No.	Player	POS	YR	GP	MIN	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
34	Alex Lyon	JR	G	31	1905:37	19	8	4	52	1.64	818	766	.936	5
30	Patrick Spano	JR	G	1	59:18	0	1	0	3	3.04	30	27	.900	0
	Empty Net			11	5:24				2		2
	Team			32	1970:19	19	8	4	57	1.74	850	793	.933	5

Awards and honors

Preseason awards

ECAC All-League Team^[10]

• Alex Lyon, G - Preseason All-League Team
• Rob O'Gara, D - Preseason All-League Team

Weekly awards

ECAC Player of the Week

• John Hayden, F – Week of December 15, 2015

ECAC Rookie of the Week

• Joe Snively, F – Week of November 3, 2015
• Joe Snively, F – Week of February 23, 2016

ECAC Goaltender of the Week

• Alex Lyon, G – Week of November 3, 2015
• Alex Lyon, G – Week of November 10, 2015
• Alex Lyon, G – Week of February 16, 2015

American Sports Network Player of the Week

• Alex Lyon, G – Week of February 9, 2016

College Hockey News Warrior Player of the Week

• Alex Lyon, G – Week of February 16, 2016

Monthly awards

ECAC Rookie of the Month

• Joe Snively, F – Month of January 2016

ECAC Goaltender of the Month

• Alex Lyon, G – Month of January 2016
• Alex Lyon, G – Month of February 2016

Postseason awards

Ivy League All-Stars^[11]

• Stu Wilson, F – 1st Team All-Ivy
• Rob O'Gara, D – 1st Team All-Ivy
• Alex Lyon, G – 1st Team All-Ivy
• Ryan Obuchowski, F – 2nd Team All-Ivy
• John Hayden, F – Honorable Mention All-Ivy
• Joe Snively, F – Honorable Mention All-Ivy
• Mitch Witek, D – Honorable Mention All-Ivy

Ivy League Awards^[11]

• Joe Snively, F – Ivy League Rookie of the Year
• Keith Allain – Ivy League Coach of the Year

ECAC All-Stars^[12]

• Rob O'Gara, D – First Team All-League
• Alex Lyon, G – First Team All-League
• Joe Snively, F – All-Rookie Team

ECAC Awards^[12]

• Carson Cooper, F – Best Defensive Forward
• Rob O'Gara, D – Best Defensive Defenseman
• Alex Lyon, G – Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year
• Carson Cooper, F – Best Defensive Forward
• Joe Snively, F – Rookie of the Year
• Yale University Bulldogs – Sportsmanship Trophy

References

1. Conn, Steve (April 22, 2015). "Witek Named Hockey Captain". Yale University Athletics. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
2. Conn, Steve (July 6, 2015). "Siembida Named Assistant Coach". Yale University Athletics. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
3. Conn, Steve (October 5, 2015). "Donald Named Yale Assistant Coach". Yale University Athletics. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
4. "2015–16 Yale Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Yale University Athletics. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
5. Krajewski, Ed (September 22, 2015). "ECAC Hockey Media Association picks Yale to win ECAC Hockey Title" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
6. Conn, Steve. "Lyon, Blue Blank RPI 3-0 - Yale Bulldogs". yalebulldogs.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
7. "League Issues Suspension - ECAC Hockey". www.ecachockey.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
8. "ECAC Hockey Suspends Yale's O'Gara". SB Nation College Hockey. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
9. "Yale Bulldogs (Men) 2015-2016 Team Statistics". collegehockeystats.net. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
10. Krajewski, Ed (September 22, 2015). "2015 Men's Preseason All-League Team" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
11. "Men's Ice Hockey All-Ivy, Postseason Awards Announced - Ivy League". www.ivyleaguesports.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
12. "League Announces Postseason Awards - ECAC Hockey". www.ecachockey.com. Retrieved April 7, 2016.