Harvard, Dartmouth Come To Ingalls

Feb. 13, 2007

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Yale men's hockey team (9-13-3, 6-11-1 ECACHL), coming off a pair of losses in the North Country, closes out its home schedule by hosting longtime rivals Harvard (10-14-1, 8-9-1) and Dartmouth (12-10-3, 8-7-3) at Ingalls Rink. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in a game televised live by Comcast CN8 that is also available on CN8.com. In addition, an audio webcast will be provided on Teamline. Sunday's 4 p.m. game, the last at home for the class of 2007, can be seen live on ESPNU and heard on WYBC (AM-1340) and wybc.com.

IN THE DOG'S DISH

With four games left in the regular season, here's what's on the table for the Bulldogs: Yale, which can finish as high as fourth and as low as 12th, is currently part of a three-way tie for 10th. Three other teams are in the same boat while eight ECACHL squads could finish last in the standings. In the race within the race, the Elis (5-2-1) lead the Ivy League teams with 11 points and two games left. Everyone but Harvard still has a shot at the Ancient Eight title.

LEGGIO STOPS BLUE

David Leggio stopped 24 of 25 shots and Shawn Weller tallied twice as No. 10 Clarkson handed Yale a 5-1 setback at Canton on Feb. 10. Michael Karwoski had the lone Bulldog tally as Yale went 0-for-8 on the power play. The Knights hit the net twice on nine man-advantages against goalies Alec Richards (14 saves, 4 GA) and Matt Modelski (4 saves).

MCBRIDE NETS PAIR TO BEAT YALE

Brock McBride scored twice and Alex Petizian needed just 20 saves for No. 16 St. Lawrence to knock off Yale 4-1 on Feb. 9 at Appleton Arena. SLU connected on two pretty passes to lead 2-0 after 40 minutes and then got both of McBride's goals in the third before Yale's Greg Beller got one. Matt Modelski made 23 saves and allowed just one power-play score in six attempts. The Yale special teams went scoreless on seven man-advantages.

CRIMSON, GREEN VS. BLUE

Harvard leads the 106-year-old series with Yale, 133-71-17 but the Blue, looking for its first sweep since 1997-98, has taken two of the last three, including a 5-2 decision on Nov. 18 at Cambridge. Chris Cahill had a goal and an assist and Alec Richards made 32 saves in a Yale win that included a season-high three PPG. The Bulldogs, who got three points from Mark Arcobello, beat Dartmouth the night before at Hanover 4-2 while outshooting the Green 39-16. Yale, looking for its first sweep since 2000-01, now leads the 100-year-old series 94-83-12 but has dropped four of the last five.

THE MATCHUP

Here's how Yale matches up on paper against the Crimson and Big Green in conference play.

Conference Stat...Yale.....Harvard...Dartmouth

Offense...11th (2.50)...5th (2.94)...4th (3.0)

Defense...11th (3.44)...6th (2.89)...9th (2.94)

PP... 7th (14.9)...1st (23.7)...9th (13.4)

PK...9th (80.7)...8th (82.1)...10th (80.6)

PIM... 1st (24.4)...10th (15.6)...3rd (20.2)

OFFICIALS:

Friday- (R) Mark Riley (AR) Bill Bredin, David Spannaus

Saturday - (R) Scott Hansen (AR) Paul Simeon, Marty Demers

HARVARD, DARTMOUTH NEWS

The Crimson, winners of three of the last four, have been led offensively by Ryan Maki (11 goals) and in net by rookie Kyle Richter (.913, 2.50, 7-7-1). Harvard, which lost to Northeastern on Monday, has the best power play (23.7) in the ECACHL. Dartmouth, also 3-1 over the last four that included a win at No. 19 Quinnipiac, has double-digit scorers David Jones (14) and Nick Johnson (10), while Mike Devine (.911, 2.69, 11-10-3) has played in all but one game.

BEHIND THE BENCH

First-year Yale head coach Keith Allain '80, the former Bulldog star goalie and NHL assistant coach, is second at Yale with 31 goaltending wins and third in saves (2,337). "This weekend is a great opportunity for us to make a move in the standings and gain much needed momentum at home before the playoffs. Harvard and Dartmouth are playing well and will be a tough test. It's very exciting to play some of our traditional rivals at this time of the year. I expect our players to play with great energy and enthusiasm this weekend," said Allain.

FROSH AHEAD OF CLASSES

The Yale newcomers lead the team in scoring with 36 goals (by six players) and 77 points. A pair of frosh leads the team in points, but Yale has not had a rookie lead the team in points since Chris Higgins in 2001-02. The Blue has not had a freshman named team MVP since Paul Castraberti in 1977-78. The juniors (10-25-35), seniors (10-20-30) and sophomores (8-11-19) are far behind in scoring. The frosh had an amazing 8-7-15 over the Feb. 2-3 weekend and had three of the six points last weekend.

BACKMAN CLOSE TO FROSH GOALS RECORD

Freshman forward Sean Backman, the son of a former New York Ranger and New Haven (AHL) Nighthawk Mike Backman, was the Feb. 4 ECACHL Player of the Week after scoring five goals (one SHG), including a hat trick at Quinnipiac. His 16 goals rank 21st overall in the country while he is fourth among NCAA rookies. The Yale freshman record for goals in a season is 19 by Tom Walsh (1984-85). Backman, who was ECACHL Rookie of the Week on Jan. 8, leads Yale with 16-9-25 and is second in conference points per game for frosh (fifth overall). Backman, who has two SHG, has a point in 16 of the 25 games including three multiple-goal outings.

ARCOBELLO AMONG TOP ECACHL ROOKIES

Rookie forward Mark Arcobello, who has points in 11 of the last 16 outings, is also among the league's top rookie scorers. After going pointless in the first four games this season, Arcobello has turned it on with 9-12-21, including a three multiple-goal contests. He leads Yale with 12 assists and is third in the ECACHL among frosh with 0.89 PPG in conference play (16th overall).

CAGED BULLDOGS

The Yale goal has been shared three ways this season and could go any direction this weekend. Senior Matt Modelski (3.08, .889, 1-1-0) has started two of the last three games and has a win over Princeton. Sophomore Alec Richards (3.14, .891, 8-12-2) has 84 percent of the playing time this year and a season-high 41 saves in the win over Brown. Richards, who earned ECACHL Goalie of the Week on Nov. 20 (wins at Dartmouth/Harvard), is 14th in conference goals against (3.30) and 13th in save percentage (.890) for league games. Freshman Billy Blase (3.53, .878) started the 4-4 tie with Nebraska-Omaha.

BULLDOG BITES

Chris Cahill has points in three of the last four games... Seventeen different Bulldogs have lit the lamp this year... Senior Bill LeClerc (5-11-16) is a finalist for the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Competition... Brad Mills '07 is Yale's active career leader with 57 points... The Elis are 2-5-1 when outshooting opponents this season... Yale is 2-4-1 vs. teams that were ranked (wins over New Hampshire, Dartmouth) and 1-7-1 vs. team currently in the USCHO national poll.

HIGGINS, HAMILTON PRODUCING IN NHL

Two ex-Bulldogs are having their best pro seasons ever in the NHL. Chris Higgins '05, Yale's highest draft pick ever, has 14-8-22 in 39 games with Montreal. Jeff Hamilton '01, Yale's all-time leading scorer, has 13-11-24 (47 gp) with Chicago. He had his first NHL hat trick on Dec. 2 during a four-point night.