Union (19-12-5) will meet Yale (18-10-3) on Friday at 7:30 pm at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the right to compete in the league championship game next Saturday.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
UNION: The Dutchmen breezed by Dartmouth in the quarterfinals, sweeping the Big Green out of Messa Rink in two games by a collective 9-3 score. Union never trailed in either game.
YALE: Yale didn't face much of a challenge in the quarterfinals, either. The Bulldogs swept St. Lawrence in two games and neutralized their star tandem of Kyle Flanagan and Greg Carey. The pair combined for 97 points in the regular season, but like most of the Saints' offense, were held off the scoreboard in the quick two-game set. The Saints mustered one goal in two games.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Friday's semifinal will mark the third meeting between Union and Yale this season. Union is 1-0-1, tying the first game and coming out ahead in the second.
UNION 2 at YALE 2 - Dec. 8, Ingalls Rink
With power play goals from Wayne Simpson and Greg Coburn, Union led 2-0 early in the third period and looked set to walk away with a key road win. But the Dutchmen collapsed, allowing Yale to force an eventual 2-2 draw following third period tallies by Charles Orzetti and Gus Young.
UNION 4 vs YALE 2 - Feb. 15, Messa Rink
Yale struck first in the rematch as Tommy Fallen scored at 17:36 of the first period. Union would take the lead for good with second period markers from Max Novak and Matt Hatch with the latter goal chasing Yale backup goaltender Nick Maricic from the game.
Third-stringer Connor Wilson came in and coughed up two more goals in the third to increase Union's lead to 4-1. Yale's Andrew Miller cut the lead to 4-2 with a power play goal at 11:09 of the third, but that's as close as Yale would get.
The Bulldogs were missing starting goaltender Jeff Malcolm with an upper-body injury, but Malcom has returned to start the last five games. Yale has won all five, including the two-game sweep of St. Lawrence in the quarterfinals over the weekend.WHAT UNION DOES WELL
SCORE: Union's average of 3.03 goals per game is tied with Colgate for the second best mark among ECAC teams. The Dutchmen have scored 18 goals in their past four games, all wins, for an average of 4.50 per contest.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Dutchmen power play operates at a 24.2% clip, second in the country to Minnesota's 25.2% mark. The penalty kill is nearly as strong as Union's penalty kill ranks seventh in the country at 86.4%. The kill has been especially deadly of the late with the unit having allowed no goals in Union's four games so far in March (0-for-10).
DE-FENSE!: Union allows just 2.16 goals a game, tied for sixth best in the country with U-Mass Lowell. Cleary Cup winning Quinnipiac is the only ECAC with a stingier defense as the Bobcats lead the land with 1.59 goals allowed a game.
AREA OF CONCERN
COLLAPSES: Union has been known to squander third period leads. The Dutchmen had third periods but failed to win on five different occasions this season: Dec. 7 at Brown (tie), Dec. 8 at Yale (tie), Jan. 12 at Quinnipiac (loss), Jan. 19 vs Cornell (loss), and Feb. 1 vs Dartmouth (tie).
WHAT YALE DOES WELL
POWER PLAY: While not as proficient as Union's, Yale's power play can't be taken lightly sitting ninth in the country at 22.2%. The unit has been even better than that lately, capitalizing at a 40% clip in four games this month (4-for-10).
LIGHT THE LAMP: The Bulldogs have one of the best offenses in the ECAC as just three other teams (Quinnipiac, Colgate, Union) have an offense averaging at least 3.00 tallies a contest. Yale is right on the brink at 3.00 even.
AREA OF CONCERN
BETWEEN THE PIPES: Yale's goaltenders (Malcolm, Maricic, Wilson) leave something to be desired as they have a collective .910 save percentage, third lowest in the league. Their 2.57 goals against average is middle of the road at seventh in the league. Malcolm allowed only one goal in the quarterfinal sweep of St. Lawrence, but spent most of the weekend standing around as he faced a total of 30 shots in the two games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
UNION: Kevin Sullivan - The junior forward from Darien, Connecticut has nine points (5 g, 4 a) in 11 games since the start of February. He scored two goals in the quarterfinals clinching 5-2 win over Dartmouth on Saturday, the second straight season in which he scored twice in the decisive quarterfinal game.
Other key players: Sr. F Kyle Bodie (9 goals, 23 assists), Sr. F Wayne Simpson (15 goals, 17 assists), Jr. F Daniel Carr (14 goals, 14 assists), Jr. D Mat Bodie (6 goals, 18 assists), Sr. D Greg Coburn (8 goals, 16 assists), So. D Shayne Gostisbehere (7 goals, 17 assists), Jr. G Troy Grosenick (2.17 goals against average, .923 save percentage)
YALE: Kenny Agostino - Another junior forward, Agostino leads the Bulldogs with 22 assists and 37 points in 31 games. He has been especially hot lately with two goals and six assists over the past four contests.
Other key players: Sr. F Andrew Miller (16 goals, 19 assists), Sr. F Antoine Laganiere (14 goals, 13 assists), So. D Tommy Fallen (7 goals, 15 assists), Jr. F Jesse Root (9 goals, 11 assists), Sr. G Jeff Malcolm (2.28 goals against average, .918 save percentage).
PREDICTION
Union wins a close, tight game, 3-2.
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