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Yale Bulldogs

Last Year's Finish - 8th
Last Year's CHF Predicted Finish - 11th

Key Losses - Bill LeClerc Sr. D, Matt Cohen Sr. D

Key Returnees - Sean Backman So. F, Mark Arcobello So. F, Alec Richards Jr. G

Like many of the teams in the league, the Yale Bulldogs are somewhat of an enigma. On one hand they lose two senior defenseman, on the other hand they return 8 of 9 leading scorers from last year. On the third hand they ranked 45th in the nation in scoring offense. And on the fourth hand they return a goaltender who can be just as good if not better than any other tender in the league.

A true enigma.

Head coach Keith Allain indeed has his worked cut out for him if he is improve upon his 11-17-3 record from last year. He has the offense talent to give it a run, but the true test will come from the defense and the consistency of Alec Richards in the net. Unfortunately for Yale, even if everything comes together for the Bulldogs, the league is too top heavy for them to make any serious noise this year.

Up front the trio of sophomore forwards should pace the Eli's this year. Backman, Arcobello and Chris Cahill will need to lead the charge for the Bulldogs this year. Look for sophomore Greg Beller to contribute more to the attack, and for seniors Will Engasser and and Blair Yaworski to pick up points on the lines with the sophomores. However as last year proved if a team can shut down Backman and Arcobello, the Bulldogs lose most of their bite.

The Bulldogs turn to a youthful blueline lead by lone upperclassmen Robert Page. Look for sophomores JF Boucher and Ryan Doyle to get plenty of minutes this season. With the youth on defense the onus falls on junior goalie Alec Richards. The biggest knock on Richards through out his career so far is consistency. As seen last season when Richards opened with a 6-1-1 record, then sputtered the rest of the way finishing up with a 9-15-2 mark. We all know Richards can steal a game, but putting together a solid season has yet to be seen. As Richards goes this season, so will Yale.

Best Case Scenario - 6th
Worst Case Scenario - 10th

Clarkson Hockey Fan's Prediction - 9th