Game On: #12/11 Union vs. #5 Merrimack

The Dutchmen play what may be their most important--or at least most telling--non-conference game of the season so far at 4:00 today. Union, who moved down in the national rankings from #9 last week to #12 (USA Today) / #11 (USCHO), plays #5 Merrimack, which, at 10-2-2, remains among the upper echelon of college hockey teams. Today's game be a litmus test for Union's potential playoff readiness--expect Bennett's crew to be fully aware of the bragging rights at stake today. Merrimack is 19-6-3 lifetime versus Union.

Here are today's lines, courtesy, as always, of our friends over at the Official Blog of Union Hockey:

#9 Daniel Carr - #19 Kelly Zajac (A) - #21 Wayne Simpson
#16 Kevin Sullivan - #27 Jeremy Welsh (A)- #9 Josh Jooris
#15 Matt Hatch - #12 Kyle Bodie - #29 Trevor Mingoia 
#26 Brian Yanovitch - #18 Max Novak - #11 Sam Coatta


#28 Shawn Stuart - #22 Mat Bodie
#3 Ryan Forgaard - #2 Nolan Julseth-White (C)
#14 Shayne Gostisbehere - #20 Greg Coburn


#1 Troy Grosenick
#30 Colin Stevens


Some notable changes from coach Bennett: Kyle Bodie takes Mark Bennett's place as third line center; Brian Yanovitch slides down to the forth line; Cole Ikkala is out in favor of Trevor Mingoia. Otherwise, the top lines of Carr-Zajac-Simpson and Sullivan-Welsh-Jooris remain the same. Defense is almost identical, save for the fact that Coburn and Gostisbehere switch sides on the point.

Union Player to Watch: Max Novak
Novak has proven that he has a nose for the net so far during his freshman campaign. He can provide energy for a very capable fourth line that may have to do some heavy lifting today versus a tough--and deep--Merrimack lineup. Union will need to fire on all cylinders today.

Merrimack Player to Watch: Joe Cannata
Merrimack's potential Hobey Baker goaltender leads Hockey East in GAA and SV%, remaining near the top in national categories. Merrimack must control rebounds and second chances to be successful, considering there is a high likelihood that any initial shot will be stopped.

How to follow:

• As always, follow Ken Schott and Union Hockey on Twitter.
• Also, if you want to pony up some dough, you can watch here.
• Merrimack has game notes here and a live audio stream of the game.
• The game will also be on Fox College Sports Atlantic, so check your local listings. 

Last, but not least, Daniel Carr tweets:

All we want for Xmas is a #WIN at Merrimack#UHockey

--ZP