Presizniuk Breaks Record in 3-1 Win Over SLU

Adam Presizniuk

Last night the Dutchmen opened up the Winter term with a 3-1 win over the Saint Lawrence Saints. The game was very reminiscent of last year's ECAC semifinal game where Union beat SLU 3-1. It was a very good hockey game with a lot of hard-hitting action and solid goaltending play. Keith Kinkaid has one of his better performances of the year as he stopped 26 shots.

The most important play of the night came when Union took a 2-1 lead early in the third period for a number of reasons:

1. Union just allowed SLU to tie the game very late in the second period, so the Saints had a lot of momentum going into the period. The goal halted any momentum the Saints had.
2. The goal was scored by Kelly Zajac, who has been on a bit of a cold streak. Also, the upperclassmen haven't been scoring too much, so it was nice to see Zajac and Justin Pallos score Union's first two goals.
3. Adam Presizniuk assisted on the goal; giving him 116 points on his career. This is the record for most points by a Dutchman in the D-1 era. Jason Walters '10 set the record last season. Congrats Prezie! Keep it up!
4. Matt Hatch made a great pass to Zajac in the slot to set up the goal. Coach Leaman has been looking for the missing link on that line, and Hatch is off to a good start to filling that hole.

The Dutchmen were also excellent on the penalty kill as they stymied all six of SLU's power-play opportunities. They blocked tons of shots and were great positionally. I was especially impressed with Andrew Buote, Kyle Bodie, and Pallos on the kill.

Justin Pallos (#11)

Speaking of Pallos, I just want to say that he has done an excellent job this season and has been a very valuable member of this team. Even though he is undersized, he works his butt off every night and is always in the right place at the right time. In the beginning of the season when I did my "projected lineup" I didn't even give Pallos a shot to crack the lineup. Obviously, I was wrong. Keep it up Justin! Also, he is the featured player in this week's Dutchmen Game Day, so make sure you pick up your copy at the rink and read a very interesting article about Pallos.

Tonight, the Dutchmen look to make it a weekend sweep of the North Country teams when they welcome in Clarkson. Last night, the Golden Knights upset RPI 3-2 in overtime.

For more on last night's game check out:
Union Athletics.com
USCHO
Ken Schott's Blog


Here's video from last night's post-game press conference with Coach Leaman (and his 13-month old son), Kelly Zajac, Justin Pallos, and Adam Presizniuk:


Also, here's a video from the Hot Harry's burrito eating contest featuring my friend John Russell (he lost):