Dutchmen recall 2010 win vs Gophers

by Ryan Fay

When Union meets Minnesota in the national championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, it will mark the first meeting between the schools in over three years.

The last meeting was a 3-2 overtime win for the Dutchmen on Dec. 31, 2010 in semifinal game of the Mariucci Tournament.

Union forward Josh Jooris, now a member of Calgary Flames organization, scored the game-tying goal at 16:56 of the second period and the game-winner 42 seconds into overtime.

"That was a massive win for us," said senior defenseman Mat Bodie, a freshman at the time. "Guys were really excited. It was an overtime game. It was at their place. It was one of the bigger programs we've ever beaten. It's all about taking baby steps, and I think that was a huge step in the growth of Union College."

The win marked Union's first ever victory over Minnesota, a program that has won five national championships. The Gophers had beaten Union in the only two previous contests between the schools, including an 8-0 drubbing on Dec. 29, 2005.

"It was a monumental win for us, because we went out there a few years previous... it wasn't pretty," said Union head coach Rick Bennett, then an assistant under Nate Leaman. "I know one of our defensemen at the time, Lane Caffaro, found his way through the crease and ran their goalie over. I think we had to put him in a stick bag to get him out of there because it was pretty hostile.

"To come back and have that win in overtime was really special. Who knows, maybe it sets the tone at that time for where they are today."

A win over Minnesota tomorrow will give Union its first national championship.

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