Yale Athletics

The Yale men’s ice hockey team is looking to carry over a strong finish last year into the beginning of their 2023-2024 season. With the season kicking off, the Elis’ senior class is poised to lead the way. 

“I am really excited to see the impact that our senior class will have on our team this season,” head coach Keith Allain told the News. “They have battled through a lot in their Yale career, and they feel a real sense of responsibility to our program and this team in particular. They are all different players; they are all leaders and they will all make a major contribution to the success of our team.”

Senior forward and captain Reilly Connors ’24 will be leading the charge, and his exceptional work ethic and drive for improvement have been clear over the course of his Yale career. Connors told the News that Yale Hockey’s competitive and relentless spirit could help set it apart from its ECAC opponents this year. Not only, he said, does that mentality create a team that is tough to play against, but it can also help spur offensive production.  

Maintaining trust and positivity throughout the long season is also crucial.

“We are emphasizing the importance of confidence and making high IQ plays rather than throwing pucks away hastily,” said Connors. “We hit our stride toward the end of the season last year, and we saw the confidence within our players grow, and our production increased consequently. Focusing on the small details that our coaches foster is going to be pivotal to winning close games this year.”

Another Bulldog who will play a very important role this season is sophomore David Chen ’26. Last season, Chen finished his exceptional first year second on the team in points, with eight goals and seven helpers. Chen and senior Ian Carpentier ’24 both earned invitations to National Hockey League Development Camps.

Carpentier skated with the Vegas Golden Knights over the summer while Chen suited up with the Winnipeg Jets. The NHL Development Camps serve to help the professional teams develop their young prospects, and the two Bulldogs gained the opportunity to strengthen relationships with their prospective future teams.

After last year’s strong performance, Chen said that he is focused on continuing to develop all areas of his game, both offensively and defensively, and is also hoping to slowly take on more of a leadership role.

In net, Allain has confidence in all three goaltenders in the program, Jack Stark ’27, Nathan Reid ’24, and Luke Pearson ’25. Within the defense core, the Elis are bringing back seven returners, as well as two of the seven first-year recruits. Each new first-year in this year’s impressive class will look to contribute as quickly as possible. 

“Each of the freshmen brings something unique to the table,” Connors said.  “Whether it’s grit, scoring touch, or lockdown defense, all of the freshmen are brought into the team’s structure and goals for the season.”

This year, the team has been working tirelessly since the beginning of August, and they even traveled to Europe to play professional clubs in both Austria and Slovenia. 

The early start was a focused effort to build camaraderie and integrate the first-year players, as well as to ensure that the players are more than up to speed for the start of the regular season. 

“I think our main strengths heading into the regular season will be our overall conditioning and speed of play,” Chen told the News. “The coaches have emphasized a fast pace of play for the entire preseason and we are hoping this will translate to dominating in games. I think our team has an extra confidence this year that will naturally produce high quality plays all over the ice.”

The Bulldogs’ 29-game regular season kicked off on the road at Brown on Oct. 27 in Providence, and will be followed by their first home game on Nov. 3.