Veteran Bulldogs ready to break the ice

Two Jeffs, a wall, and the Coach of the Year have opponents shaking in their skates.

By Matt Matros

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Leading scorer Jeff Hamilton, SM '00, can also pass: he dished 20 assists last season for the Bulldogs.

It was all over for the Bulldogs. They had seen a seemingly insurmountable six-point conference lead dwindle to just one in the span of two weekends. On the regular season's final day, Fri., Mar. 6, they faced a must-win game at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., with defensemen Jeff Glew, BR '98, and Daryl Jones, PC '98, out with injuries. But, on the strength of a third-period goal by Jeff Hamilton, SM '00, Yale inched out to a 2-1 lead. Then, with seconds left, and RPI's goalie watching from the bench, Matt Cumming, JE '98, hit a slapshot from center ice and found the back of the net. The celebration was on. Yale had won its first-ever ECAC championship, and was headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 46 years.

As if by magic, the team picked to finish 10th in the ECAC became Yale's winningest hockey team ever. Now, a season later, the expectations have risen. Yale has been picked to finish fourth in the ECAC. Hamilton, last year's leading scorer, is considered a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the nation's top player. The Bulldogs have set more ambitious goals for themselves this season.

"Obviously our main goal is to be the best team in the ECAC," head coach Tim Taylor [see Coach's Corner, pg. 22] said.

Some of last season's heroes are gone, but this group of Bulldogs is looking to shorten the time between trips to the NCAA tournament from 46 years to one.

The captain

Captain Keith McCullough, BR '99, has some big skates to fill. Last year's captain Ray Giroux, BK '98, was a first-team All-American, ECAC Player of the Year, ECAC Best Defensive Defenseman, a finalist for the Hobey Baker, and team MVP. Giroux now plays for the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League [see story, pg. 22].

"Taking the reins from an All-American and arguably the greatest player Yale's had in recent memory is a little overwhelming if you look at it that way," McCullough said. "I try not to."

Instead, McCullough said, he tries to lead by committee with his fellow seniors. So far it seems to be working. "I think [he] is doing a great job," Taylor said of McCullough. "He's a very hard worker. He's good at a lot of the gritty, hard-nosed things we do. "These things include winning faceoffs, killing penalties, and checking aggressively.

"If there's one thing this year's team has, it's confidence," McCullough said. He added that victories will be a direct result of the team's work ethic. McCullough has been calling captain's practices since early September.

"I think this year could be another really successful year for Yale hockey," he said.

The scorers

To be successful in hockey, you need players who can score goals. Expect the bulk of Yale's goals this season to come from two Silliman juniors named Jeff. Hamilton, Jeff number one, led the team with 27 goals last year, second-most in Yale's history. Brow, Jeff number two, was second with 13. The two Jeffs played on the same line last year, and McCullough doesn't expect that to change.

"Brow and Hamilton are basically inseparable," McCull-ough said, "and just as offensive-oriented, if not more, than last year." Hamilton, a first-team All-ECAC and second-team All-America selection last season, would become Yale's all-time leading goal scorer if he could repeat last year's numbers for two more seasons. He also led the team in goals his freshman year, with 10. But Hamilton also collected 20 assists last year--third on the team--an indication that he's more than happy to spread the wealth.

Taylor noted that because Hamilton and Brow are coming off great years, the opposition has taken notice. "They're going to be marked men," Taylor said. "Other teams are going to put out their best defensive players against them." This did not stop the duo, however, from each scoring a goal in Yale's 7-2 exhibition victory over McGill on Sat., Nov. 7.

The wall

Sure, seeing Hamilton fire the puck past Harvard goalie J.R. Prestifilippo '00 ("Sieve!") in front of a frenzied crowd at The Whale last Valentine's Day, was great, but Yale hockey fans tend to leave the rink remembering not the goals, but the saves. The reason is second-team All-American, first-team All-ECAC and Dryden Award-winning goalie Alex Westlund, SM '99. The Dryden Award goes to the ECAC's best netminder.

"He's the pillar of the team," McCullough said of Westlund. "He's going to be standing there like a rock." Westlund's 2.32 goals-against average last year was third-lowest in Yale's history and the lowest in 47 years. Now in his senior season, Westlund can break Yale's career records for wins (the record is 31; Westlund has 30), saves (2,365; Westlund has 1,975) save percentage (.899; .901), shutouts (5; 4), and games played in goal (81; 71).

Even his astounding numbers do not reveal how Westlund maintains his intense focus for every minute of every game he plays, no matter what the score. Westlund is known for skating the width of the rink during dead time and showing little reaction when his team scores. "Concentration...is probably the most important part of goaltending," he said.

Westlund's focus paid off during last year's ECAC quarterfinal series against St. Lawrence last March. With Yale trailing 3-1 and at a man disadvantage with just over six minutes to play, some fans exited Ingalls Rink to beat out the traffic. Westlund, however, continued to make save after impossible save. Minutes later John Chyz, BR '99, (who is not enrolled at Yale this year) scored a shorthanded goal. Yale came away with a tie when Jay Quenville, SY '00, scored a goal with Westlund pulled in the final minute. Yale eventually won the series and moved on to the ECAC Championships at Lake Placid, N.Y.

This season, with Giroux and fellow star defenseman Jones lost to graduation, some have predicted that Westlund will have to make five additional quality saves per game. This does not faze him. "I would imagine that we're going to give up a few more shots," Westlund said. "It's my job to stop them, regardless of how many we give up."

Trying to prevent those "few more shots" than last year will be François Magnant, CC '99, and James Chyz, BR '00. Although Magnant had two goals and an assist against McGill, McCullough expects this year's defense to be more, well, defensive than last year's. No one could reasonably expect Magnant and Chyz to match the 61 points Giroux and Jones put up during their historic season.

"It's a lot different from a fan's perspective," McCullough said of his team's new defensive look. He added that Yale's forwards are among the best defensive forwards in the ECAC. "With our forwards helping out in the transition...it's going to make it a little easier," McCullough said.

The start

This year's Bulldogs do not have the luxury of an easy start. They open Fri., Nov. 13 on the road against Clarkson, the preseason pick to win the ECAC. On Sat., Nov. 14, Yale will travel to St. Lawrence to face the Saints, who are ranked 10th in the nation. Yale will be at a further disadvantage because its opponents are already weeks into their seasons.

"It's one of the hardest...trips in college hockey," Taylor said. The Clarkson Golden Knights have started slow, dropping two games each to No. 1 North Dakota and No. 7 Northern Michigan. "They're obviously going to be very hungry for a win," Westlund said. St. Lawrence, meanwhile, has surprised most hockey fans by jumping out to a 4-1 record. "If we come out of there with two wins, we're going to be elated," McCullough said.

Elation is nothing new to members of the 1998-99 men's hockey squad--they felt it last March in Troy. But after last year's team won the regular season title, it proceeded to win only one of its next six games, including two losses at the ECAC Championships in Lake Placid. This year's playoff-tested Bulldog team is confident it can go further.

Photo of defenseman Keith Fitzpatrick, TD '00, and goalie Alex Westlund, SM '99, by Julia Tiernan.

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