Dutchmen's Martin almost was a Bulldog

by Ryan Fay

If things worked out a little differently, Union freshman defenseman Griffyn Martin might be skating for 13th-ranked Yale instead of fourth-ranked Union.

A Southport, Connecticut native, Martin grew up watching and following Yale's hockey program. He originally committed to play for his home state Bulldogs, who visit Messa Rink Saturday night at 7.

But he later decommitted because Yale's staff wanted him to play a year of junior hockey and arrive in 2014-2015, a season later than expected.

Martin

"I committed to Yale pretty early in my sophomore year [of prep school]," Martin said. "As things progressed into my junior year, when they saw me coming in changed a little bit. It wasn't anything to do with their coaching staff or the school. It was more just the logistics of when I was coming in."

Martin only began hearing from Union after his decomittment to Yale. The Dutchmen weren't alone. Martin said he drew a "significant amount" of interest among ECAC Hockey programs when he returned to the open market.

It's easy to see why. He was a decorated player at Avon Old Farms, a prestigious prep school in Connecticut. Martin served as the team captain and earned team Most Valuable Player honors as a senior when he collected three goals and 14 assists in 27 games.

"We saw him play a couple times," said Union acting head coach Joe Dumais, who is manning the bench while head coach Rick Bennett serves a four-game suspension for his role in the Mayor's Cup fracas. "He's a good character kid and coaches at Avon spoke very highly of him."

A few factors helped Union separate from other suitors.

"Mainly the coaching staff," Martin said. "They've done a great job over the past couple years getting the program to be one of the top ones in the nation. Union is also a great academics school, and academics are important to me. It was an easy decision when they asked me to come in right away -- no juniors."

Martin is happy with his decision to come to Union even though playing time has been hard to come by so far. The 19-year-old has been stuck behind four returning defensemen and three other freshman blueliners whose games are currently farther along.

Martin has seen action in only two games this season, a 2-2 tie at UConn on Oct. 25 and a 4-3 win at Clarkson on Saturday.

"I haven't gotten out there too much this year, but I'm taking that in stride and it's nice whenever I can get out there," he said.

Dumais has seen gradual progress from Martin throughout the season. He envisions the blueliner developing into a "solid, steady, defensive defenseman" as his Union career progresses.

"He shows up everyday and continues to improve and get better," Dumais said. "He works hard everyday. The guys were really pulling for him [on Saturday], so it's nice to see him get his chance and do well. He gave us a lot of energy."

Martin hopes to get a chance against Yale on Saturday.

"That would be nice," he said. "That would be a fun game for me to play in personally, but it's whatever the coaches think is the best lineup for the team to win."

Injury updates

Dumais said freshman forward Eli Lichtenwald should be "good to go" when the Dutchmen host Brown tonight at 7.

Lichtenwald, who has seven goals and eight assists in 17 games, missed Saturday's tilt at Clarkson with a lower-body injury. Dumais said he wasn't sure how the injury was sustained.

Senior forward Cole Ikkala will be a game-time decision tonight, Dumais said. Ikkala missed Saturday's game at Clarkson after suffering a lower-body injury while blocking a shot against St. Lawrence last Friday.

Bodie eligible to return

Senior captain and defenseman Mat Bodie will be eligible to return from suspension tonight.

Bodie missed Union's games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson last weekend after being suspended for two games for his role in the Mayor's Cup incident.

It should be a welcome return for the Dutchmen as Bodie ranks second on the team with 23 points, including a team-high 20 assists. He is tied with St. Lawrence’s Justin Baker for most points among ECACH defensemen.

Project: Cameron's Story

Union will be holding a book drive this weekend for Project: Cameron’s Story.

Fans can drop off new children’s books in the lobby of Messa Rink on Friday and Saturday night. The books will be donated to Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the Capital District to aid the bonding of parents with their premature babies.

More information is available at www.ProjectCameronsStory.com.

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