60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Yale

Yale

2018-19 Record: 15-15-3 (11-10-1, T-5th in ECAC)
Head Coach: Keith Allain, 14th Year
Top returning scorer: Robbie DeMontis (7G-11A) 
Top returning goaltender: Corbin Kaczperski (Sr.)

If there's a single team who could recently fit the bill as college hockey's team in the middle, it's one who calls the middle of Connecticut, straddling both sides of the Munson-Nixon Line, home.

Yale finished 2018-19 30th of 60 NCAA men's hockey Division 1 teams, according to the Pairwise rankings. It came in a year where the Bulldogs won 15 games and lost 15 games. A year earlier, Yale won 15 games and lost 15 games.

The Bulldogs, tied for fifth out of 12 ECAC teams, had the nation's 30th-ranked penalty kill. Basically, every major stat saw Yale finish between 20th and 40th. When Yale was leading after two periods, the Bulldogs never lost (15-0-1). When the team trailed or was tied after two periods, it never won (0-15-2).

What's New: Yale loses an individual who stood above the mediocrity in graduated forward Joe Snively. Snively, who signed with the Washington Capitals after the end of the season, led the team with 15 goals and had double the points of any Bulldog.

The team brings in seven players - four forwards, two defenders, and a goalie. Defender Brandon Tabakin won a Clark Cup championship with Sioux Falls (USHL). Teddy Wooding and Michael Young were teammates at Vernon (BCHL) while forward Cole Donhauser had 42 points (17G-25A) in 56 games for Chilliwack (BCHL). Goaltender Connor Hopkins replaces Sam Tucker, who served as part of a goaltending platoon the past three seasons.

The Bulldogs will play in the first in-state college hockey tournament featuring the four Connecticut schools (Connecticut, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, and Yale). The Connecticut Ice Festival (AKA the Nutmeg State's Beanpot) runs January 25-26 in Bridgeport as part of a larger weekend celebration of Connecticut hockey (AKA the Nutmeg State's Hockey Day Minnesota). Before that, however, Yale travels down the Metro-North to Manhattan for a January 11th game against Harvard at Madison Square Garden.

Closing Thoughts: To make a New Haven-specific comparison for Yale, basically, the Bulldogs currently are the meat smack-dab in the middle of a hamburger served in a square-shaped Louis' Lunch building.

That the team can play with the best (beating Clarkson in Potsdam) yet also struggle against the best (getting handily swept by Clarkson in Potsdam to end the season) during the same season can make for a frustrating situation. Yale, even without Snively, continues to have some positive pieces inside the belly of the whale that is Ingalls Rink. Phil Kemp is an elite ECAC defender. Jack St. Ivany is a player who could take the next step and help fill some of the lost production during his sophomore season.

The line between the middle of the pack and contender gets smaller the closer one gets to the NCAA Tournament. It's the difference between not having the secondary scoring, or needing to replace a goaltender, or having good nights and bad. The top teams can find a way to win a game when tied or trailing after two periods.

For those reasons, Yale marks the midway point of the "60 Days, 60 Teams, 600 Words (or Less)" series for 2019 and Keith Allain's team knows what needs to change for 2020.

Thirty teams previewed. Thirty to go.

Recent 60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less) Features
Michigan State
New Hampshire
Boston College
Bemidji State
Every Team So Far

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