RPI, Union Come To Ingalls

Dec. 2, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The 2008-09 Yale men's hockey team (6-2, 3-1), which has won five of its last six games, hosts an ECAC Hockey weekend set with Rensselaer (2-10-1, 1-4-1) and Union (6-4-1, 1-3-0) at Ingalls Rink this Friday and Saturday. The 7 p.m. games can be seen live Yale's All Access (yalebulldogs.com) and heard on WYBC AM-1340 (wybc.com).

SERIES

Yale and Rensselaer began playing during the 1908-09 season and the Engineers own a 48-35-6 advantage. The Bulldogs have won the last three. Union has a one-game win streak with Yale but the Elis have the overall edge at 18-13-3 in a series that began in 1991-92.

BULLDOGS COMING OFF WIN AT BROWN

Sean Backman (Cos Cob, Conn.) had two goals as Yale came from behind twice to take a 4-3 win over Brown at Meehan Auditorium on Nov. 25. Yale beat Brown for the seventh straight time by outshooting the home team 44-22 and capitalizing on three of eight man-advantages. Sophomore wingers Denny Kearney (Hanover, NH) and Broc Little (Rindge, NH) each pitched in a pair of helpers while classmate Jimmy Martin (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied the game-wining goal. Senior Alec Richards earned the win in net with 19 saves but saw his team keep the puck at the other end for most of two periods.

RPI LOOKS TO END SKID

The Engineers, who already played twice (8) as many non-conference games as Yale, have lost five straight since beating Harvard 3-2 early last month at home. RPI has been getting strong goaltending from senior Mathias Lange (2.90, .912) and freshman Allen York (3.50, .897), but the problems have come at the other end. Rensselaer, coming off a 5-1 loss to Northeastern last Saturday, has been outscored 45-17 and has four players tied for the team lead with three goals each. Sophomore F Chase Polacek has a team-high eight points and both of RPI's game-winning goals.

UNION ON 2-GAME STREAK

The Dutchmen, winners of two straight and coming off home wins over Army (5-4) and Providence (4-2) last weekend, are averaging three goals per game. Union has been outscored 14-5 in the opening frame. However, the Dutchmen have outscored opponents by nine in the middle frame thanks in part to sophomore forwards Adam Presizniuk (5-4-9) and Stephane Boileau (4-5-9). Sophomore Corey Milan (2.64, .912, 6-4-1) has handles almost all of the net work.

BULLDOG TRIO

Three different Bulldogs have started between the pipes this year. Senior Alec Richards (Robbinsdale, Minn.) has five of Yale's six wins to go along with a 2.00 GAA. He is coming off a 19-save win at Brown, while his season-high is 25 stops at Brown in the opener. Sophomore Ryan Rondeau (Carvel, Alb.) made 15 saves but gave up a shorthanded game-winner in the third period of the 1-0 loss to UAH on Nov. 21. Rondeau (1.01, .943) stopped 18 of 19 shots and earned his first collegiate win at UConn on Nov. 11. Junior Billy Blase (Santa Monica, Calif.), who has one game played (3-2 OT loss at St. Lawrence) this season, started 25 contests in 2007-08 and had a 2.51 GAA.

ARCO FUELS ELIS

Junior forward Mark Arcobello (Milford, Conn.) has the hottest hand among the Elis with four goals and six points over the last five games. He made the conference honor roll after netting three goals and an assist combined in wins over UConn and Brown. Arcobello, who had 7-14-21 last winter after netting 24 points his rookie campaign, tied his career-best with two goals against UConn on Nov. 11.

THE POLLS

Six 2008-09 Yale opponents are listed among the top 20 in the latest USCHO.com/CBS College Sports national poll: Princeton (9), Air Force (10), Minnesota State (11), Cornell (13), Dartmouth (16) and Nebraska-Omaha (18). Yale is unranked but received 13 votes compared to six last week.

BACKMAN LEADS NATION

Junior forward Sean Backman (Cos Cob, Conn.), co-ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year in 2007 and a third-team all-league pick in 2008, leads the nation with eight goals in as many games (1.0 average). He has had four two-goal games this season that have accounted for all of his tallies. He scored two in the opener at Brown, notched another pair in a win at Clarkson, hit the net twice in the second UAH game and then did it again at Brown on Nov. 25. Backman, who leads the team with eight goals, led the Blue with 18 goals and 27 points last winter while earning the Murray Murdoch Award for team MVP the second year in a row. Backman was ranked 14th in the NCAA with 0.56 goals per game last winter, which was second best in ECAC Hockey.

FROSH SPLASH

The new Bulldogs have made a splash at Yale already. The Elis, who have had five newcomers on the ice at various times this season, had a season-high six freshmen in the lineup at UConn, including four forwards and a pair of defensemen. Six of the seven members of the class of 2012 have seen action and the class has contributed four goals and seven assists.

BENCH LEADERS

Keith Allain '80, in his third year as the Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey, is 4-1-1 against RPI and 0-3-1 vs. Union. He is a two-time Olympic coach who earned his first collegiate playoff wins as a coach or player last season. Seth Appert (3rd season at RPI) is 23-51-13 in his first collegiate head coaching job and 1-4-1 against Yale. He spent nine years as a University of Denver assistant. Nate Leaman, a former Harvard assistant coach, is 78-92-23 in his sixth season at Union. He is 7-4-1 against the Bulldogs.

ALLAIN AFTER WIN OVER UAH

"We are excited to be at home for our final two games before Christmas. Both RPI and Union are tough opponents who play different styles of hockey. So the challenge will be unique each night. We will be prepared to play at our highest level. It ought to be an exciting weekend of hockey."

BULLDOG BITES

Yale has outscored opponents 26-15 (14-4 in 2nd) and have averaged 15 more shots per game... Junior F Chris Cahill (North Andover, Mass.) returned to the lineup at Brown on Nov. 25 after missing the last five games with an injury... Billy Blase's 27 saves at SLU are a season-high for the Elis... Denny Kearney has points in four of his last five games... Sean Backman has two games this year with 10 shots on goal and Broc Little has one.

HIGGINS THE HAB

There is one former Yale player skating in the National Hockey League. Chris Higgins '05 is in his fifth season with the Montreal Canadiens and has 242 NHL games under his belt. Higgins has 77 goals, 60 assists and 137 points, including 4-5-9 in 18 playoff games and 5-4-9 this season.

WHALE WATCHING

A $23.5 million renovation of historic David S. Ingalls Rink is in the second of three phases. The project includes the addition of approximately 13,000 square feet of varsity operational space as well as a complete renovation of the current facility. The expanded and enhanced home of Yale Hockey will include new men's and women's varsity locker rooms, training and strength and conditioning rooms, two new press boxes, a lower level hockey heritage area, offices for coaches of both programs, a student-athlete study area, new lights, as well as a sound system and de-humidification unit. The upper level interior will also be decorated with photos displaying the rich history of Yale Hockey.

ROSTER BITES

Senior F Patrick Brosnihan and senior G Alec Richards are the tallest Elis at 6-foot-4... Brosnihan and junior D Ryan Donald are the heaviest (220) Bulldogs... Senior F and captain Matt Nelson is the oldest (turns 23 in early January), while freshman D Kevin Peel (19) is the youngest... The Blue has 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies... Yale has seven players from both the USHL and prep schools, five from the BCJHL, two each from the AJHL, EJHL and public schools and one from the U.S. National Program.

AIRING ELIS

Every home game can be seen live on Yale's All Access (yalebulldogs.com) for free. All home games and select road contests can be heard live on WYBC (AM 1340) and wybc.com. Alex Jenson `09, Michael Dunn '10 and Paul Treadgold '10 provide the call for all broadcasts.

CONNECTICUT'S NCAA REGIONAL

Yale and Fairfield Universities are co-hosting the first-ever NCAA Hockey Regional Tournament in the Nutmeg State on March 27-28 at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. There are four regional events that weekend with the winners headed to Washington, D.C., for the 2009 Frozen Four. Yale hosted the 2004 NCAA Women's Frozen Four at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., but has never hosted a men's NCAA hockey event.

ECAC HOCKEY ON NHL NETWORK

The NHL Network airs a Friday night college hockey package showcasing 19 contests beginning Oct. 31 and March 21. Three leagues (CCHA, WCHA and ECAC Hockey) are part of the package, which consists of games produced by network entities but provided to the NHL Network. ECAC Hockey has three league games and three post-season contests on the network.

YALE TUBE

The Elis are on TV at least three times this winter, including two games at Ingalls Rink. Both Quinnipiac games are live TV broadcasts. The game at Ingalls on Jan. 31 is on NESN while the Feb. 20 tilt at TD Banknorth Arena airs live on My9. The last game of the regular season is a stand-alone ESPNU game for Yale and Colgate on Sunday, March 1 at the Whale.

Release filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director