Allain Retires as Yale Men's Coach

Keith Allain (Yale) is stepping down as head coach of his alma mater, retiring after 18 seasons of guiding the Bulldogs. 

Allain, 66, oversaw the Yale men's hockey team from 2006 to 2025, and compiled an overall record of 282-254-54 (.524). In that time, he led the Bulldogs to nine winning seasons, six NCAA tournament berths, four years of 20 or more wins, and the 2013 national championship. His teams also claimed two ECAC Hockey regular-season titles and two ECAC Hockey tournament championships in his tenure, and he earned the Tim Taylor Award in 2008-09 as ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year.

A native of Worcester, Mass., Allain served as an assistant coach with Yale in 1984-85 before moving on to the professional ranks. He served as an assistant with the NHL's Washington Capitals from 1993 to 1997, then later served as goalie coach with the St. Louis Blues and with Worcester (AHL). He also worked as an assistant coach for the United States at multiple Olympic Winter Games and World Cups of Hockey, and is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

A 1980 graduate of Yale, Allain tended goal for the Bulldogs for four seasons, and still ranks among the school's leaders in career saves (2,337) and single-game saves (55). Yale assistant coach Joe Howe (Colorado College) will now succeed Allain as interim head coach for the 2025-26 campaign.

Yale Blanks Princeton on Road, 4-0

Princeton University's home postseason hopes took a bit of a hit with a 4-0 loss to visiting Yale University on Saturday evening, in the Tigers' regular-season home finale at 100-year-old Hobey Baker Rink.

Ian Carpentier notched the game-winning goal for Yale on a 5-on-3 power play in the first period, before closing out the scoring with just over a minute remaining in regulation on an empty-net goal. His two scores were sandwiched around a second-period tip-in by Niklas Allain, and a third-period partial breakaway converted by New Jersey native David Chen.

Yale improved to 6-17-4 overall, and 5-13-2 in ECAC Hockey, in gaining the season series split with Princeton, after a 3-0 loss to the Tigers three months prior in New Haven. Nathan Reid stopped all 40 shots he faced on Saturday in recording his second shutout of the season for the Bulldogs, while Aidan Porter made 22 saves on 25 shots against for the Tigers.

Princeton (12-15-0, 8-13-0) is in seventh place in ECAC Hockey, three points ahead of both Rensselaer and Union. The Tigers will visit both schools next weekend to close out the regular season. 

The top four teams in the conference will receive a first-round playoff bye, while the fifth through eighth seeds will host the ninth through 12th seeds, respectively, in the new single-elimination ECAC Hockey first round that will take place the first weekend of March. The first-round winners will advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals on March 10-12, also on campus sites, before the four quarterfinal survivors advance to the ECAC Hockey championship in Lake Placid on March 17-18. The ultimate winner in Lake Placid will receive ECAC Hockey's automatic berth to the 2023 NCAA tournament.