After last Saturday’s 4-1 victory against North Dakota in the NCAA West Regional final (as well as last Friday’s 3-2 overtime victory against Minnesota), the Yale Men’s Hockey Team advanced to the Frozen Four. With it’s 20-12-3 record, Yale will face UMass-Lowell in the semifinals on Thursday, April 11th at 4:30 pm. Check out what the guys have to say about their season, their team, and what lies ahead for them in Pittsburgh!
Be sure to watch the Frozen Four Yale v. UMass-Lowell semifinals on Thursday, April 11th at 4:30 pm on ESPN2.
Here’s a little help with everyone’s names (and more importantly, nicknames):
#21 Colin Duek (Senior) – aka ‘Duey’ or ‘Duke’
#22 Tommy Fallen (Sophomore) – aka ‘Fals’ or ‘Deuces’
#7 Matt Killian (Sophomore) – aka ‘Ace,’ ‘Acer,’ ‘Cer’ or ‘Kills’
#4 Rob O’Gara (Freshman) – aka ‘The Sheriff,’ ‘The Executioner’ or ‘The Golden Bear’
#14 Ryan Obuchowski (Freshman) – aka ‘Obi’ or ‘Obujanski’
#10 Mitch Witek (Freshman) – aka ‘Steak’
#2 Gus Young (Junior) – aka ‘Younger’
#18 Kenny Agostino (Junior) – aka ‘Ago’
#8 Josh Balch (Senior) – aka ‘Beauty,’ ‘Balchie’ or ‘Josh’
#13 Matt Beattie (Freshman) – aka ‘Beats,’ ‘Beater,’ ‘Comish’ or ‘Chief’
#15 Clinton Bourbonais (Junior) – aka ‘Bourbs’
#9 Carson Cooper (Freshman) – aka ‘Coop,’ ‘Freight Train’ or ‘The Hammer’
#19 Anthony Day (Sophomore) – aka ‘Dayzer’
#28 Antoine Laganiere (Senior) – aka ‘Lags’
#12 Cody Learned (Freshman) – aka ‘Dad’ or ‘Daddy’
#17 Andrew Miller (Senior) – aka ‘Skillner’
#27 Charles Orzetti (Freshman) – aka ‘Zetti’
#20 Jesse Root (Junior) – aka ‘Rooter’ or ‘Ter’
#11 Trent Ruffolo (Sophomore) – aka ‘Truffles’ or ‘Roof’
#16 Alex Ward (Sophomore) – aka ‘Wardo’
#26 Nicholas Weberg (Sophomore) – aka ‘Nicho,’ ‘Beast,’ ‘Hoss’ or ‘Meat’
#6 Stu Wilson (Freshman) – aka ‘The Jet,’ ‘El Toro Loco’ or ‘The Kid’ (and many more)
#33 Jeff Malcolm (Senior) – aka ‘Malcs’ or ‘Jefferson’
#31 Nick Maricic (Senior) – aka ‘Cheech’ or ‘Cheetah’
#29 Connor Wilson (Sophomore) – aka ‘Willy’
What is your favorite memory with the team this year off the ice?
“The chartered flight back to Connecticut after beating North Dakota.” – Day
“Our mixer with Theta or the chartered plane back home.” – Weberg
“In the locker room on Sundays at 2:00 pm, post-battle.” – Fallen
“Playing ping pong…” – O’Gara
“One time the guys saw me talking to a girl at the bar – it’s all anyone talked about the next day. It was just a really great feeling being ‘the cool kid’ and it’s something I’ll never forget.” – Root
“Our Secret Santa Christmas party.” – Learned
“Rock climbing!” – S. Wilson
“The chartered flight home from Grand Rapids.” – Orzetti
“We have a time-honored tradition of something called a ‘shoe-check’ at team meals. It gives an ‘unsuspecting member’ (read: ‘underclassman’) the opportunity to stand on a chair and spontaneously wow us and the entire restaurant with his a cappella skills – restaurants love us.” – Maricic
“Probably running shuttles – great team bonding.” – Killian
“Getting a study guide together for the boys for our Food Psych midterm – we all killed it.” – Agostino
“Watching Ken almost faint from being scared of heights on a ropes course twenty feet in the air.” – Miller
What is your favorite memory with the team this year on the ice?
“Defeating North Dakota and advancing to Pittsburgh.” – Day
“So far regionals – but the Frozen Four will be.” – Weberg
“Beating Minnesota nine seconds into overtime to end their season.” – Fallen
“Hopefully it’s still to come.” – O’Gara
“Last weekend was pretty tough to beat.” – Maricic
“Winning the NCAA West Regionals.” – Cooper
“I’m waiting another week for that one.” – Killian
“Pretty easy question… beating Nodak to get to the Frozen Four.” – Agostino
“Rooter scoring the game winner in the Regional Finals.” – Miller
What has made your team so strong?
“We have a great bond on and off the ice, a ‘never die’ attitude and great leadership. That’s what has gotten us to this point.” – Day
“Out-working and out-skating the other teams.” – Weberg
“We have great chemistry and everyone is willing to work hard.” – Fallen
“German fitness ‘consigliore’ Yosef Maher and a strong freshman class dynamic.” – O’Gara
“Maher Rows.” – S. Wilson
“Tarasov circuit.” – Ward
“We’re beauties.” – Orzetti
“Leadership from the upperclassmen and Joe.” – Killian
“We have a great group of guys and we like to keep it loose in the locker room.” – Agostino
“Maher Rows and Penne alla Dubra pasta.” – Miller
Who has been the toughest team you’ve played this year?
“It’s hard to say, but Minnesota, Cornell and Union are the first ones that come to mind.” – Fallen
“The Russians… mostly because of the language barrier.” – O’Gara
“Quinnipiac – they’re a deep team with a lot of upperclassmen and a great goalie.” – Learned
“The blue team in our intra-squad team. I went four dash against the Ago-Root-Miller line.” – S. Wilson
“Probably Quinnipiac because they play to their system very well and make it frustrating to generate chances.” – Agostino
“Cornell – they have some large humans on their team.” – Miller
What is the biggest challenge your team overcame this season?
“We had a five-game skid in February that was a huge test for all of us. Being able to bounce back from that and be where we are now just a month and a half later is a testament to our team.” – Day
“When Malcolm was injured we weren’t playing very well, but once he came back the entire team’s game and mentality changed – we started winning again.” – Fallen
“The constant bickering of Rooter and Kills.” – O’Gara
“Lilly.” – S. Wilson
“The freshman class dynamic and foul language in pre-game speeches.” – Ward
“Turning our losing streak before playoffs into a good run.” – Orzetti
“All the guys with girlfriends.” – Killian
What were your strategies going into the games against Minnesota and North Dakota?
“Skate, skate, skate – turn it into a track meet.” – Day
“Just play Yale hockey.” – Weberg
“Play our game. We knew we would out-skate and out-work them if we all played to our potential.” – Fallen
“Let everyone play their game.” – O’Gara
“Pressure them all over the ice and win battles.” – Learned
“Put the biscuit in the basket.” – Ward
“We knew if we just played our game it would eventually break them down.” – Cooper
“Get pucks to the net and take away their time and space.” – Killian
“We just treated it like every other game.” – Agostino
“Score more goals than them.” – Miller
Why do you think you ended up beating these teams (Minnesota and North Dakota) ranked higher than you?
“Rank doesn’t mean much when the season is on the line. We don’t go into the game thinking we are the underdog – we have beaten great teams all year so we didn’t look at Minnesota or North Dakota any differently.” – Day
“Ranking doesn’t mater once you make the tournament. The only thing that matters is winning.” – Weberg
“We scored more goals than them during the game.” – O’Gara
“Our work ethic and belief in one another.” – Cooper
“We have the one and only Josh ‘The Beauty’ Balch.” – Miller
How did you celebrate making the Frozen Four?
“By hosting a casual gathering at the house with some friends.” – O’Gara
“A quiet night at the hockey house.” – Learned
“A couple cokes and some Doritos.” – S. Wilson
“By taking a chartered flight home.” – Ward
“A small get together with friends.” – Cooper
“We didn’t… we have two more games to win.” – Killian
“Just made sure all the guys got a good night’s sleep. It’s important to make sure no one loses their focus during the week off.” – Agostino
“By getting on a private jet back home.” – Miller
How are you preparing for Pittsburgh next weekend?
“Staying focused and making sure all of our practices are efficient and fast-paced.” – Day
“Resting. This late in the season just about everyone is banged up to a certain degree. We just want to get healthy and continue to prove to people that Yale hockey is a true National Championship competitor.” – Fallen
“Keeping all of our shots on the ice.” – O’Gara
“A couple cokes and some Doritos.” – S. Wilson
“Practicing – and grooming playoff beards.” – Ward
“Resting – and trying not to get too excited… yet.” – Cooper
“The same way we would prepare for any other game. I think it’s important to not let the enormity of the situation effect how you prepare.” – Agostino
“We’re using the extra week to rest and work on some things that will help us out on Thursday.” – Miller
Who is your biggest fan?
“My brothers have been my biggest fans my whole life. I’m the baby in the family so it has been great having two older brothers to lean on throughout my career.” – Day
“At the moment, probably me.” – Weberg (who has not been playing recently due to a concussion)
“Cam Kenney aka ‘Dutchoven_32.’” – O’Gara
“My biggest fan is my dad. He drove me all over the place during my youth career and he loves coming to my games and watching me play.” – Learned
“My mom.” – S. Wilson
“The older Kenney brother – he lives and dies with each second of play.” – Ward
“Hannah Sears.” – Orzetti
“Kevin Peel.” – Cooper
“David Better – that kid lives and dies with our team.” – Killian
“Personally, my dad is my biggest fan. He’s my best friend and we have a really close relationship. He hasn’t missed a game of mine in years.” – Agostino
“There is a Branford crew that sits in the front row at every single game – namely Steven Morales, Will Jordan and Dan Kelly… sometimes.” – Miller
What are your team songs?
“We always play ‘Mr. Jones’ by Counting Crows after a win and ‘Days Don’t Fade’ by Lindbergh Palace after a sweep.” – Weberg
“‘Days Don’t Fade’ and ‘Turn On The Lights’ by Lil Wayne are heard basically whenever Kenny or Dayzer have the urge.” – O’Gara
“Before Sunday morning practices we play ‘Enchanted’ by Taylor Swift.” – Learned
“Heavy metal Pandora with the strength coach.” – Ward
“I just know Kenny and Dayzer pick them.” – Cooper
“I think ‘Turn On The Lights’ is the official song of the team – all the boys love it and even the coaches seem to get into it.” – Agostino
“The ‘IDTSB’ and ‘The Boys’ playlists are usually on at full volume.” – Miller
Do you have any team traditions?
“CEOs, Secret Santa, and winning.” – Weberg
“A few I can’t remember or talk about…” – O’Gara
“The Dogger Invitational.” – S. Wilson
“Sunday practice.” – Alex Ward
“Too many. Every team has a ton.” – Orzetti
“Usually we just recap on how the weekend went at the house around 11:00 pm on Sunday… maybe take a team trip to froyo after.” – Agostino
“We like to make fun of Malcolm and Acer whenever possible. It’s not very hard.” – Miller
What is your favorite night of the year as a team?
“Nothing beats a Saturday night at Ingalls.” – Weberg
“It starts every Sunday at 2:00 pm.” – O’Gara
“Shuttles Eve.” – S. Wilson
“I’d say our team Secret Santa Christmas party. It’s a great time with the boys and we seem to always get the best eggnog!” – Agostino
“This year, winning the Ivy League Championship and then winning the Regional Final.” – Miller
Who’s the joker of the team?
“Me or Jesse Root.” – Weberg
“Malcolm – he’s a terrible human being.” – Fallen
“Uncle Rooter.” – Learned
“Lags.” – Ward
“Nicho or Beattie.” – Orzetti
“Cody ‘Daddy’ Learned.” – Cooper
“Nicho’s probably the biggest joker and Rooter’s the biggest joke.” – Killian
“Jeff Malcolm – most of his jokes come at the expense of his teammates, but he always keeps the mood light in the locker room.” – Agostino
Who gets made fun of the most?
Variations of: “Ace,” “Acerrrr,” “Killian,” “Kills,” “Ceeeerrrrrr,” – Everyone…
“Me, for sure.” – Killian
Who has the best hair on the team?
“Me or Roof.” – Weberg
“Obviously me.” – Fallen
“Clint.” – O’Gara
“Kenny ‘Krusty the Clown’ Agostino.” – Root
“Roof.” – Learned
“Me, followed by Clint.” – Ward
“Cooper.” – Orzetti
“Trent Ruffolo. Not even a question.” – Maricic
“Clint or myself.” – Cooper
“Also me, for sure.” – Killian
“Probably myself. Some might say it resembles that of a clown, but god does it look good in a helmet.” – Agostino
“Clinton Bourbonais.” – Miller
Who has the weirdest pre-game routine?
“Rooter – he makes sure everyone else is miserable #funpolice.” – O’Gara
“Dayzer and Fallen do some weird stuff together.” – Killian
“The freshmen – they get to the rink at 3:00 and kick the soccer ball around for hours together.” – Agostino
“Josh Balch and Jesse Root compete for the worst. There are too many to explain.” – Miller
What’s something most people don’t know about your team?
“We don’t get a lot of girls.” – Weberg
“We’re the oldest team on campus, yet our freshmen grow the best beards… so embarrassing.” – Fallen
“We’re a sensitive group of guys.” – Learned
“We are all huge Diglett fans.” – S. Wilson
“We’re actually really nice, sensitive guys if you get to know us.” – Killian
“We’re obsessed with buzz.” – Agostino
“We have six seniors on our team.” – Miller