Life after Hamilton: Yale hockey regroups

After an Ivy split and increased scoring, Eli hockey learns to live without its captain.

Gone are the days of Jeff Hamilton, SM '00, when the men's hockey team could bank on a sure thing, when the standout center could promise the club a point or two every game. Fri., Dec. 3—four days short of the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7—proved a date that would go down in Yale hockey infamy. That day, the discovery of Hamilton's plans to withdraw from the club—and from Yale—for the remainder of his senior season due to an abdominal injury dropped a bomb on the college hockey world. By departing early, Hamilton retained his eligibility for an additional year, but he also forced his teammates, many of whom he had played with for his entire college career, to face life without their captain—a reality to which they had grown accustomed during the senior's injury-plagued season. "Guys were sitting around waiting, thinking Hammy would return," forward and new captain Cory Shea, BR '00, said. "When the news came down, there was no more uncertainty. The guys realized, `This is [our] team, now let's start playing hockey.'"

Yes, those days are gone, to return only when the dog days of summer have passed and a new season has opened next fall. For Hamilton, the decision was a difficult one, the culmination of his growing frustration and his inability to make a healthy return to the lineup. "It was obviously one of the toughest decisions I have been faced with," Hamilton said. "I think most of my team realized how depressed I had been and how it was taking away from my everyday life. It wasn't fair to the team to have a captain watching from the stands, and wondering when he was going to return."

Before Jeff, after Jeff

"Clearly, if we had Jeff Hamilton, we would be a potentially stronger team," Head Coach Tim Taylor said. "It was very difficult for Jeff to not spend his last year of college hockey with these guys. This wasn't the kind of senior year he envisioned for himself." Nor was it what the team had imagined, after the luxury of having the Hobey Baker finalist in the lineup for three years. In the 1998-99 season, Hamilton led the club in points, establishing himself as an important team leader on and off the ice. With question marks between the pipes and on the blue line before the season, the team believed that Hamilton's scoring touch was one of the few things upon which it could surely depend.

But Hamilton missed the first five games of the season due to suspension and succumbed to injury soon after he returned to the team. It would be wrong to say that the club lost Hamilton on Dec. 3, having never really had him all season long. Although the news of his withdrawal proved the worst possible, it merely extended his stay on the injured list from a few games to an entire season. And while the decision sent shock waves through the team, it simply made definite what had stood indefinite all season long—the date of the center's return. "It was the resolution to a nagging question, and the answer was ultimately never," Taylor said. "But it didn't shake us to our very core."

By ending the uncertainty, Hamilton's announcement defined new responsibilities for the team and called upon each player to work even harder. "It meant we had to suck it up," Taylor said. "We didn't have any one player to step up, so we needed to all collectively step up."

As the team absorbed the news, whispers that had made their way throughout college hockey circles turned into deafening cries, similar to those that could be heard when the team entered the season without all-time Eli great Alex Westlund, SM '99. Hamilton's decision forced the team to come together and pressured each player to shoulder a greater share of the load.

Much of that burden has fallen upon Shea since he was thrust into the role of captain. The hard-working and gritty Shea, one of the best defensive forwards in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), brings a style of leadership to the team that is much different than Hamilton's. "Cory has always been a leader in terms of his work ethic and the job he does, a leader by example who is able to provide inspiration in the locker room and on the ice," goalie Trevor Hanger, SY '00, said. Hamilton, on the other hand, led the team with his scoring and, as Taylor described, "his great desire to win." Like Hamilton, Shea holds the respect of his teammates. In fact, in the vote for captain last spring, Hamilton was chosen over his eventual successor by only the narrowest of margins. Shea downplays his importance to the team, however. "My role hasn't changed at all. Some people are misled by the role of captain," Shea said. "My job is to deliver hits and kill penalties. There are 11 guys in the senior class, bringing different leadership qualities."

One of those crucial seniors is forward Jeff Brow, SM '00, who has stepped up his game and is second on the team in points. He trails center Ben Stafford, BR '01, who is second in the ECAC in points and has proven the team's best player thus far. "We had high expectations of Benny, and now I'm glad he's enjoying the fruits of his labors," Taylor said of Stafford. But the center, like Brow, is only one piece of the puzzle; his increased production is part of Taylor's larger goal of redistributing the offensive contributions once made by Hamilton. So far, different players have emerged every night to assume the role of the hero. On Sat., Jan. 8, it was forward Paul Lawson, BK '00, who scored his second and third goals of the season in a 6-5 win over Brown. Against Colgate on Fri., Dec. 3, the day of Hamilton's decision, it was defenseman Stacey Bauman, BR '03, who notched the game-winning goal.

Problems and solutions

"To say you're a better team without Hamilton is ludicrous," defenseman Keith Fitzpatrick, TD '00, said. "Look at the power play. When they missed chances, there have been times where I've looked to the guy beside me on the bench and said, `If Hammy is on the ice, that's a goal.'" The team has struggled all year long on power plays, only recently showing flashes of life. Gradually, the Bulldogs have begun to capitalize on their chances, something the offense must do with more consistency. The team's obvious weakness is its inability to light the lamp. Despite scoring six goals against Brown, the Elis have posted two or fewer goals in nine games. Though different players have stepped up on different nights, the club's first three lines face the challenge of increasing goal production, which many experts believe is essential for Yale to be successful.

Paltry goal scoring has put added pressure on the defense, the backbone of the team. While other ECAC teams can afford to give up a few goals, Yale knows it will have to win many of its games in low scoring affairs. Fortunately, the blue line talent, strongest in Fitzpatrick and in James Chyz, BR '00, has helped hold down opposing teams. Similarly, the team's forwards have played great defense. In fact, Hanger argued that the biggest impact of Hamilton's absence all year was the fact that it forced the entire team to buy into a defensive system.

At the heart of the defense has been the team's goaltending. The two-man rotation has worked remarkably well, and Dan Lombard, SM '02, is third in the ECAC in goaltending. "We drive each other; we're good friends, and each other's biggest fan," Hanger said.

For all the positives, however, there remain areas for improvement. The team still has yet to show a knack for finishing, despite plenty of chances. More importantly, perhaps, the Elis still have not consistently shown the ability to play a full 60 minutes of hockey, as they often dig holes out of which they are forced to climb. In its Fri., Jan. 7 loss to Harvard, 3-2, the team came out flat, allowing the Crimson to jump ahead early 2-0. "If you play 40 minutes of hockey, you're not going to beat anyone," Fitzpatrick said.

It is in these areas that Hamilton's presence is so sorely missed. For all the words of players to the contrary, the absence of Hamilton casts a large shadow over the team. It is not a shadow that hamstrings them, but rather one that drives them and reminds them of what they have to prove: that they can win without him.

The future

Thus far, the team has been up to the challenge, standing second in the ECAC and bucking pre-season predictions of mediocrity. But the ECAC has seven teams within four points of first place. While Yale has posted impressive wins in three of the four games since Hamilton's decision, a tough final two months await the squad.

While the team has lost a great deal in Hamilton, it still has the most depth in the ECAC. Its immediate test comes in the form of No. 7 Boston College, whom they will face on Sun., Jan. 16 at home. This might be a contest in which the absence of Hamilton proves too much to overcome.

Then again, if the team has proven anything this year, it is that they should never be counted out. "It is a team with enough talent, heart, and determination to win the league again," Hamilton said.

"My team has a mindset that is very resilient, courageous. It is something I'm really proud of," Taylor said. Photos of No. 14 Cory Shea and No. 10 Jeff Hamilton by Julia Tiernan.

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