Yale Athletics

The Yale men’s ice hockey team (1–0–0, 1–0–0 ECAC) started their 2023-24 campaign with a hard-fought victory against the Brown Bears (1–1–0, 0–1–0 ECAC) last Friday night. After falling down 1–0 and then seeing a 3–2 lead slip away at the tail end of the third period, the Elis were able to find the back of the net in overtime and start their season off on a high note.

“I think it is always important to get off to a winning start,” said head coach Keith Allain. “Beating a tough opponent on the road, having to come from behind then giving up a late lead to finally secure the victory in overtime are all valuable experiences as we begin to write the story of this team. Our men earned a hard-fought W.”

While most of the Division 1 programs kicked off their season a few weeks ago, the Elis and the Bears were stuck watching tape until last Friday. Early on, both teams’ fresh legs were evident in the lightning fast pace of the game. The Bulldogs’ aggressive forecheck wreaked havoc for Brown, and Yale consistently put pucks on net all game — outshooting Brown 40–25.

One line that Allain relied on heavily was the David Chen ’26, Briggs Gammill ’25 and Nik Allain ’24 combination. They were lively all night long and were able to pot two goals in regulation. Chen scored on a snipe from the high slot in the second period, and Gammill potted a greasy, hard-working goal in the third after out battling a defenseman in front of the net.

“The line of 21-11-24 [Gammill–Allain–Chen] had a huge impact on the game, and we expect big things from them whenever we put them together,” Allain told the News. “As a trio they have a good combination of hockey sense, grit and skill and I believe that they truly enjoy playing for each other.”

In net, senior Nate Reid ’24 got the nod, and he was more than ready. Reid played lights out from the drop of the puck, and made some key saves, bailing out the team on multiple occasions. He made the save of the game at the 5:27 mark of the second period, sliding horizontally right to left in a split second and stoning Brown defenseman Jackson Munro.

“It helps when guys play so well in front of you,” Reid said. “Our team cohesion is rock solid for it being so early in the season, as the trip to Europe in August helped the fellas bond quite a bit. Listening to U2 in the locker room pregame for sure didn’t hurt either.”

The pregame music got the team dialed in, especially on the back end. Junior D-man Connor Sullivan ’25 was eating pucks all game long, including a massive shot block late in the third.

In addition, first-year defenseman Rhys Bentham ’27 looked tremendous in his debut. He appeared confident and poised from the start and also had a key shot block on the penalty kill late in regulation. He capped off his night with the overtime winner, in one of the nicest goals of the college hockey season so far.

“It was an incredible feeling scoring my first college goal in my debut, those are the ones you dream about when you are a kid,” Bentham said to the News. “The whole game was a dream come true for me, getting to wear the Yale jersey, making the opening night line-up and scoring the overtime goal. All my teammates and coaches have supported me along the way so it was nice to help with the success of the team and help get us our first win.”

Bentham’s outstanding play was recognized league wide when he was named Eastern College Athletic Conference Defender of the Week. 

Two other first-year Bulldogs, David Andreychuck ’27 and Owen Forrester ’27, also played sizable roles and looked very comfortable with the jump to college hockey. Andreychuck made strong and mature plays in all aspects of the game and looked more than ready to contribute offensively for the Bulldogs this year.

Allain will look to Andreychuck and others for offense especially after senior forward and last year’s point leader, Ian Carpentier ’24, left the game injured in the second period.

The Bulldogs will be back in action this weekend with a two-game home stand. They play Cornell (2–0–0, 0–0–0 ECAC) on Friday night and Colgate (2–3–1, 0–0–0 ECAC) on Saturday. Both games are at 7 p.m. at the Whale.