# 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.

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

## 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.

### 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 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 |
| #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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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

| 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 |
| 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 (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.

### 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
* 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
* 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
* Joe Snively, F – Ivy League Rookie of the Year
* Keith Allain – Ivy League Coach of the Year
ECAC All-Stars
* Rob O'Gara, D – First Team All-League
* Alex Lyon, G – First Team All-League
* Joe Snively, F – All-Rookie Team
ECAC Awards
* 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