Union Hockey Notebook (2/28/13)

by Ryan Fay

The Dutchmen wrap up the regular season this weekend. St. Lawrence comes in on Friday while Clarkson closes out the regular season on Saturday.

Some news and notes from around Union hockey entering the weekend -

CARR NEARING MILESTONE

With two points this weekend, junior Daniel Carr will become only the tenth player in the program's Division I era to get to 100 career points.

Carr (Union)

"He's had a very nice career here," said head coach Rick Bennett. "If you ask Dan, he'd probably tell you he wants to score more. He has been consistent and he's a very smart hockey player. After his senior season, I'm sure he'll get some looks."

When asked about nearing the milestone, Carr said "it's one of those personal things. I don't think it means too much."

Instead, he was quick to deflect attention to the team.

"The more important thing going into the weekend is for our team to get four points and try to improve our situation going into the playoffs," Carr said.

The Dutchmen currently sit in sixth place and need two points to clinch home ice for the first round. They'll need some help to get a first round bye being one point behind Yale and Dartmouth, who are tied for fourth place.

Some players need a prolonged adjustment period to the college game, but that wasn't the case with Carr. As an 18-year-old freshman, he paced Union in goals with 20 and finished third on the team with 35 points.

The junior attributed his quick transition to the leadership the team had earlier in his career, namely Jeremy Welsh, Brock Matheson, Adam Presiznuik, Kelly Zajac and Nolan Julseth-White.

"Those guys really helped a lot of us out with what it takes to play college hockey and the little things," Carr said.

Bennett, an assistant when Carr was being recruited, still recalls trying to reel the Alberta native in.

"It wasn't the easiest process in the world," Bennett said. "He had a few other things going on with some ivies and some other programs. But at the end of the day, we gave him the best possible chance to come in when he wanted to come in."

Assuming he reaches the milestone, the junior will be the second player to reach the plateau this year. Senior Wayne Simpson did so on Jan. 12 at Quinnipiac.

With a healthy senior season, Carr has a good chance to eclipse Presizniuk's record of 131 career points.

NO CHANGES

St. Lawrence will be without star forward Kyle Flanagan for the next seven to ten days following an emergency appendectomy on Tuesday.

The senior leads the league in assists with 27 and ranks second in points with 41. But don't expect his absence to have much impact on Union's gameplan going into tomorrow.

"Not one bit," Bennett said. "We are prepared like he's in the lineup."

SIMPSON MOTIVATED

When Bennett filled out his lineup for last Saturday's game at Cornell, there was one shocking omission.

Simpson, who is tied with Kyle Bodie for the team lead in points with 29, was a healthy scratch. It marked the first time he wasn't in the lineup in his Union career, snapping a streak of 151 consecutive games played.

After Saturday's 4-2 loss, Bennett remarked that Simpson hadn't scored a five-on-five goal since the Penn State series in late November.

Simpson (Union)

"It was pretty tough," Simpson said of sitting. "You want to be out there and it was an important game. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win, but we have to put it all behind us."

When Simpson registers a point, the Dutchmen are 14-2-3. The team has a 1-10-2 record in contests where Simpson fails to crack the scoresheet.

"I know that I need to be at my best for us to start manufacturing chances," he said. "I have to bring the effort -- sixty minutes, every night."

It's easy to think that getting benched would motivate a player, but Simpson wasn't lacking in that department even prior to sitting.

"There's already a ton of motivation," he said. "My career here at Union is winding down and there are only a couple more games. We're all in it together and we're real committed to these last couple weekends."

Bennett said the senior has responded very well in practice this week, but wasn't ready to promise a spot in tomorrow's lineup.

"Most likely, but it's not guaranteed."

ADJUSTMENTS

Union's trip to the North Country earlier this month wasn't a good one.

The Dutchmen lost, 2-1, at Clarkson on Feb. 8 and gave up three first period goals en route to a 4-2 loss at St. Lawrence the next night.

Simpson knows what the team needs to do for better luck in the latest shot at the two schools.

"There were things we didn't do," he said. "We weren't very physical and they created chances off the transition because they were getting deep. We gave them lanes to the net and they were getting rebounds. We weren't doing the same, so we have to do that. We have to stay out of the box and win the special teams battle."

Union allowed a combined four power play goals in the two losses at Clarkson and St. Lawrence. It set a team high for a single weekend this year.

NEW TEAMMATE

The Dutchmen have a new teammate.

Her name is Kristen Shinebarger, daughter of Shelly Shinebarger, the Director of Student Support Services at Union College. Kristen joins the Dutchmen via Team IMPACT, a not for profit organization which aims to enhance the quality of life for children dealing with serious illnesses.

In November 2010, Kristen was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer most common in children and young adults. Kristen had her right leg amputated, but is now adjusting to the use of a prosthetic leg.

Earlier this week, a ceremony was held in the Dutchmen locker room to officially draft Kristen onto the team. Junior forward Cole Ikkala acted as an ambassador for Team IMPACT and assisted in organizing the proceedings. The 10-year-old was given her own locker stall, which she'll share with her brother, Eric.

The women's hockey team recently dedicated their annual Pink at the Rink day to Shinebarger and over $2,000 was collected via admissions, raffles, and gifts. Funds went to the Shinebarger family to help fight Ewings Sarcoma.

For more on Kristen's Kause, go here.

REMEMBER ME?

Earlier this week, I interviewed I chatted with St. Lawrence assistant coach Kris Mayotte, a goaltender at Union from 2002-2006.

Mayotte discusses his budding coaching career, his time at Union, St. Lawrence star Greg Carey, Friday's tilt, and more.

You can listen here.