# 2016–17 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season

The 2016–17 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 122nd season of play for the program and the 56th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Bulldogs represented Yale University and were coached by Keith Allain, in his 11th season.

## Season

Despite losing two of its best defensive players to graduation, Yale entered the season ranked. After a bad week in mid-November, however, the team found itself outside of the top-20 and it quickly sank to the bottom of the conference. After finishing 3rd in the Shillelagh Tournament, Yale clawed its way back up to a .500 record and then promptly lost back-to-back matches to ranked teams.
After the disappointing start, Yale began the new year more focused and put together a strong stretch in the month of January. The Bulldogs went 6–1–2 with ties against #16 St. Lawrence and #6 Harvard, putting them in contention for the NCAA Tournament. In February, however, their fortunes reversed and the team won just one of its last eight games, finishing 8th in ECAC Hockey.
When the conference tournament began, Yale's only chance of reaching the national tournament was a conference championship. The team took care of business in the first round with a pair of wins over Dartmouth, which set up a showdown with arch-rival Harvard. By then the Crimson had risen to #2 in the country but they got a tougher challenge than they were expecting from the Bulldogs. Yale scored six goals in two games, but their defense wasn't able to hold back Harvard's attack. The Bulldogs dropped both games and abruptly ended a once-promising season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Matthew Beattie | Forward/Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Étoile Noire de Strasbourg) |
| Tim Bonner | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Carson Cooper | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Étoile Noire de Strasbourg) |
| Cody Learned | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Alex Lyon | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Philadelphia Flyers) |
| Rob O'Gara | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Boston Bruins) |
| Ryan Obuchowski | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Missouri Mavericks) |
| Charles Orzetti | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Stu Wilson | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Rochester Americans) |
| Mitch Witek | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Étoile Noire de Strasbourg) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Will D'Orsi | Forward | United States | 19 | Sudbury, MA |
| Robbie DeMontis | Forward | Canada | 20 | Vaughan, ON |
| Matt Foley | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Longmeadow, MA |
| Corbin Kaczperski | Goaltender | United States | 20 | China Township, MI |
| Chandler Lindstrand | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Medina, MN |
| Evan Smith | Forward | Canada | 20 | Markham, ON |
| Mitchell Smith | Forward | Canada | 20 | Markham, ON |
| Luke Stevens | Forward | United States | 19 | Duxbury, MA; selected 126th overall in 2015 |
| Billy Sweezey | Forward | United States | 20 | Hanson, MA |

## Roster

As of August 1, 2016.

## Standings

2016–17 ECAC Hockey men's standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #3 Harvard†* | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 85 | 47 | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 146 | 77 |
| #11 Union† | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 87 | 56 | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 143 | 113 |
| #13 Cornell | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 70 | 51 | 35 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 99 | 81 |
| St. Lawrence | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 61 | 44 | 37 | 17 | 13 | 7 | 104 | 88 |
| #20 Quinnipiac | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 27 | 69 | 55 | 40 | 23 | 15 | 2 | 121 | 101 |
| Clarkson | 22 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 23 | 67 | 62 | 39 | 18 | 16 | 5 | 124 | 112 |
| Princeton | 22 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 19 | 63 | 75 | 34 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 103 | 111 |
| Yale | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 18 | 62 | 67 | 33 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 99 | 98 |
| Dartmouth | 22 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 59 | 80 | 31 | 10 | 18 | 3 | 83 | 111 |
| Colgate | 22 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 40 | 62 | 37 | 9 | 22 | 6 | 78 | 113 |
| Rensselaer | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 52 | 76 | 37 | 8 | 28 | 1 | 83 | 138 |
| Brown | 22 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 47 | 87 | 31 | 4 | 25 | 2 | 66 | 132 |
| Championship: March 18, 2017 † indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 6, 2017 |||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | vs. Sacred Heart* | #17 | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | W 4–1 | 2,619 | 1–0–0 |
| November 4 | 7:00 PM | at #20 Union | #16 | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | | Spano | L 3–5 | 1,836 | 1–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | at Rensselaer | #16 | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Spano | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,500 | 2–1–0 (1–1–0) |
| November 11 | 7:00 PM | vs. Colgate | #19 | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | L 1–4 $^{OT}$ | 3,210 | 2–2–0 (1–2–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | vs. Cornell | #19 | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | L 3–6 | 3,500 | 2–3–0 (1–3–0) |
| November 18 | 7:00 PM | at #20 St. Lawrence | | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | | Tucker | L 2–5 | 1,171 | 2–4–0 (1–4–0) |
| November 19 | 7:00 PM | at Clarkson | | Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York | | Spano | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,002 | 2–4–1 (1–4–1) |
| Shillelagh Tournament ||||||||||
| November 25 | 4:05 PM | vs. Clarkson* | | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Shillelagh Tournament semifinal) | | Spano | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 4,581 | 2–4–2 |
| November 26 | 4:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross* | | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Shillelagh Tournament consolation game) | | Spano | W 3–1 | 3,865 | 3–4–2 |
| December 9 | 7:00 PM | vs. Rensselaer | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | W 7–3 | 3,113 | 4–4–2 (2–4–1) |
| December 10 | 7:00 PM | vs. #15 Union | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Tucker | L 3–5 | 3,500 | 4–5–2 (2–5–1) |
| December 13 | 7:05 PM | at #6 Boston University* | | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Tucker | L 2–5 | 3,892 | 4–6–2 |
| December 28 | 7:00 PM | vs. Ottawa* | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut (Exhibition) | | Spano | W 7–1 | 3,061 | |
| January 3 | 7:00 PM | vs. Northeastern* | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | W 5–4 | 2,708 | 5–6–2 |
| January 7 | 3:05 PM | at Connecticut* | | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | | Tucker | W 4–2 | 4,909 | 6–6–2 |
| January 10 | 3:05 PM | vs. Providence* | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | L 1–3 | 3,061 | 6–7–2 |
| January 13 | 7:00 PM | vs. Clarkson | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | W 2–1 | 2,955 | 7–7–2 (3–5–1) |
| January 14 | 7:00 PM | vs. #16 St. Lawrence | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,500 | 7–7–3 (3–5–2) |
| January 20 | 7:00 PM | at Dartmouth | | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire | | Spano | W 7–0 | 2,477 | 8–7–3 (4–5–2) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | at #6 Harvard | | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts | | Spano | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 3,095 | 8–7–4 (4–5–3) |
| January 27 | 7:05 PM | at Brown | | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | | Spano | W 4–3 | 1,406 | 9–7–4 (5–5–3) |
| January 28 | 7:00 PM | vs. Brown | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Tucker | W 4–1 | 3,500 | 10–7–4 (6–5–3) |
| February 3 | 7:00 PM | vs. Princeton | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Tucker | L 2–4 | 3,500 | 10–8–4 (6–6–3) |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | vs. #19 Quinnipiac | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | L 2–5 | 3,500 | 10–9–4 (6–7–3) |
| February 11 | 7:03 PM | at #12 Cornell | | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York | | Tucker | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 4,267 | 10–9–5 (6–7–4) |
| February 12 | 3:05 PM | at Colgate | | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | | Tucker | L 2–4 | 1,164 | 10–10–5 (6–8–4) |
| February 17 | 7:00 PM | vs. #3 Harvard | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Spano | L 2–4 | 3,500 | 10–11–5 (6–9–4) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | vs. Dartmouth | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Tucker | W 4–0 | 3,500 | 11–11–5 (7–9–4) |
| February 24 | 7:04 PM | at Quinnipiac | | TD Bank Sports Center • Hamden, Connecticut | YES | Tucker | L 2–3 | 3,695 | 11–12–5 (7–10–4) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | at Princeton | | Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey | | Spano | L 1–4 | 2,200 | 11–13–5 (7–11–4) |
| ECAC Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 3 | 7:00 PM | vs. Dartmouth* | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut (First Round Game 1) | | Tucker | W 6–1 | 1,755 | 12–13–5 |
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | vs. Dartmouth* | | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut (First Round Game 2) | | Tucker | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,025 | 13–13–5 |
| Yale Won Series 2–0 ||||||||||
| March 10 | 7:00 PM | at #2 Harvard* | | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 1) | | Tucker | L 4–6 | 1,821 | 13–14–5 |
| March 11 | 7:00 PM | at #2 Harvard* | | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 2) | | Tucker | L 3–4 | 2,028 | 13–15–5 |
| Yale Lost Series 0–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Joe Snivley | LW | 33 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 34 |
| John Hayden | C/RW | 33 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 62 |
| Frankie DiChiara | LW | 30 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 28 |
| Ryan Hitchcock | C/LW | 17 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 8 |
| Ted Heart | C/RW | 33 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 12 |
| Mike Doherty | LW/RW | 33 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 20 |
| Adam Larkin | D | 32 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 18 |
| Charlie Curti | D | 32 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
| Chris Izmirlian | F | 31 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 22 |
| Andrew Gaus | RW | 32 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 |
| Evan Smith | C/LW | 33 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 30 |
| Henry Hart | F | 27 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| Robbie DeMontis | LW | 33 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 6 |
| Anthony Walsh | D/F | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 |
| Matt Foley | D | 33 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 18 |
| Chandler Lindstrand | D | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Billy Sweezey | D | 33 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 40 |
| Luke Stevens | LW | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Mitchell Smith | LW | 30 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| John Baiocco | F | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Will D'Orsi | C | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| J. M. Piotrowski | F | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Dan O'Keefe | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sam Tucker | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Spano | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | 33 | - | - | - | 4 |
| Total | | | 99 | 171 | 270 | 392 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Patrick Spano | 20 | 1155 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 52 | 485 | 1 | .903 | 2.70 |
| Sam Tucker | 15 | 847 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 382 | 1 | .899 | 3.05 |
| Empty Net | - | 16 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 33 | 2019 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 98 | 867 | 2 | .898 | 2.91 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
*USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| John Hayden | ECAC Hockey Second Team | |

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2017 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 7 | 208 | Phil Kemp$^†$ | Edmonton Oilers |
† incoming freshman