The 1980–81 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented Yale University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team is coached by Tim Taylor, his fifth season behind the bench at Yale. The Bulldogs play their home games at Ingalls Rink on the campus of Yale University, competing in the ECAC.
The Bulldogs posted a regular season record of 13 wins, 12 losses, and 1 tie. Despite finishing 2nd in the Ivy Region of the ECAC Conference, Yale didn't qualify for the postseason.
Five Senior Bulldogs graduated in May: Captain Gary Lawerence – F, Keith Allain – G, Steve Harrington – D, Wally Row – F, and Gavin Thurston – F
On June 11, forward Bob Brooke was drafted 75th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.
Senior defensemen Doug Tingey was named Captain for the 1980–81 season.
| Name | Position | Seasons Coaching at Yale University | Alma Mater | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Harvard University (1963) | |||
| Bob Richardson | Assistant coach | 2 | Providence College (1975) | |
| Ben Smith | Assistant coach | 4 | Harvard University (1968) |
| Name | Position | Seasons Staffing at Yale University |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Maturo | 3 | |
| Student manager | 2 | |
|-!colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#00356B" | Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#00356B" | Regular Season
| Player | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Brooke | F | 19 | 27 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 59 | |
| Joe Gagliardi | F | 27 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 32 | ||
| Dan Poliziani | F | 21 | 26 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 14 | |
| Dan Brugman | F | 27 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 18 | ||
| Jim Murphy | F | 27 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 18 | ||
| Ed Kilroy | F | 27 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 56 | ||
| Mark Crerar | F | 27 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 8 | ||
| Jim Steiner | F | 27 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 16 | ||
| Paul Castraberti | F | 14 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 6 | ||
| Bill Nichols | D | 19 | 27 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 10 | |
| David Williams | F | 27 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 14 | ||
| Matt Bohan | F | 27 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 14 | ||
| John Meehan | D | 22 | 27 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 | |
| Bill Thurston | D | 27 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 31 | ||
| Blair Wheeler | D | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 50 | ||
| Dave Tewksbury | D | 27 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | ||
| George Minowada | F | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Doug Tingey | D | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 30 | ||
| John Weber | D | 23 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| Matt Baab | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Ted Lowe | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Paul Tortorella | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ken Shaw | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mark Rodrigues | G | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team | 27 | 127 | 215 | 342 | 410 |