Yale National Championship Hockey Coach Keith Allain Retires

After 19 years leading his alma mater, Yale, head coach Keith Allain announced his retirement on Friday.

“It is with profound gratitude that I announce my retirement from Yale Hockey,” he said in a statement. “My wife, Mi, our three children, and I have been truly blessed by our time with the Bulldogs. I want to thank each of my players, who inspired and challenged me to be at my best; the coaches and administrators who became like family as we worked toward a common goal; and our alumni and fans, whose unwavering support in both good times and bad made Ingalls Rink a true home for all of us. Serving as Yale’s head hockey coach has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Thank you.”

No immediate reason for his departure was given despite the Bulldogs being so close to the 2025-26 season, which is set to start Oct. 3.

Allain, 66, went 282–254–54 while leading the Bulldogs to six NCAA tournaments and the 2013 national championship. The Bulldogs were seeded 15th out of 16 teams and promptly knocked off Minnesota 3-2 (OT) and North Dakota 4-1 to advance to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh. It survived against Massachusetts Lowell, 3-2 (OT) before stunning Quinnipiac, which it had lost to in the third-place game of the ECAC Tournament the previous month, 4-0.

It’s the lone national championship in program history. Allain also had the Bulldogs atop the polls during the 2010-11 season, when it set a school record for wins (28-7-1) and won the ECAC Tournament championship.

As a player, he was a goaltender for Yale for four years, playing in 39 games from the 1976-77 season through 1979-80. Allain is still fourth in career wins at Yale, and is also fourth with 2,337 career saves.

After serving three seasons as an assistant coach, he followed Tim Taylor as head coach in 2006, and was also an assistant coach with the United States men’s national ice hockey team at the 1992 (Albertville), 2006 (Torino), and 2018 (South Korea) Winter Olympics.

“Keith’s legacy at Yale extends far beyond wins and championships,” said Victoria M. “Vicky” Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics. “His vision and passion for the game has shaped Yale Hockey. We are profoundly grateful for all he has contributed to Yale and to the lives of so many within our community.  Please join me in celebrating Coach Allain’s remarkable career and wishing him and his family all the best in this next chapter.”

Assistant coach Joe Howe will serve as interim head coach this season. He joined the Yale staff in July 2021 after three seasons at Alaska-Fairbanks, and had previously spent three years at Denver as a volunteer assistant coach and director of hockey operations. He’s been serving as  assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team, which just wrapped training camp on Sunday for the upcoming 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup starting Monday in Brno, Czechia and Trencín, Slovakia.

He spent part of last summer with USA Hockey as well, as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-17 team at the Five Nations Tournament in Pieštany, Slovakia.

Regardless Yale announced that “a national search for the program’s next head coach will begin following the conclusion of the season.”