Sullivan peaking late for Dutchmen

By Ryan Fay

When Union brought winger Kevin Sullivan into the program three years ago, they were hoping to get a go-to guy.

Sullivan's prep hockey statistics certainly hinted at that kind of potential. In his senior season at the Berkshire School, he was the leading scorer in the New England Prep League with 66 points (21 g, 45 a). He was a first-team All-New England and was named Berkshire's Most Valuable Player.

Sullivan in action last season

For the most part, though, the first few years of Sullivan's collegiate career didn't match the hype. Through his first 85 games with Union, the Darien, Connecticut native registered just 30 points (9 g, 21 a)

But Sullivan has become what Union was hoping for in the latter stages of his Dutchmen career.

The 22-year-old was a big force behind Union's postseason run last season, scoring nine points (5 g, 4 a) in eight March contests.

The momentum has carried over into his senior season, as he leads the team with eight points (all assists) through four games. He didn't record his eighth point until his 29th game last season and the eight assists are currently tops in all of Division I.

Sullivan credited finding the right lines as a difference maker. As his numbers spiked this past March, the one constant was being on the same line in every game as winger Matt Hatch and center Max Novak.

"That line had pretty good chemistry," remembered Sullivan.

He's still skating with Hatch, but with Novak sidelined with a lower-body injury, highly-regarded freshmen Alex Gonye and Michael Vecchione have taken turns centering Sullivan's line. The mix has gelled as the line has produced three goals and three assists through four contests.

"It has been clicking pretty well," said Sullivan, who also has five assists on the power play. "We've been grinding teams down, and keeping it simple.”

Union head coach Rick Bennett said Sullivan's play this season can also be attributed to a strong offseason.

“I thought he paid the price over the summer,” Bennett said. “He went to [NHL skills coach] Paul Vincent's development camp, and it's really helping him a ton. He put the effort in, and he's building off last year's playoffs.”

Sullivan's late development may be traced to making the big leap from prep hockey to college hockey. Some players do a year or more of junior hockey in between to get ready for the collegiate game.

"He was young," Bennett said of Sullivan, who debuted at Union when he was 19-years-old. "He came right from prep school. Could he have done another year [before coming here]? I guess that's open for debate. But he has matured through school and through hockey. He's just a more confident guy."

Considering Union lost four 25-plus point producers after last season (forwards Josh Jooris, Wayne Simpson, and Kyle Bodie plus defenseman Greg Coburn), Sullivan's senior season breakout couldn't have come at a better time.

"It's huge for us," said linemate Hatch. "Some of our younger guys can take their time and get into it a little bit easier. Being a veteran and coming in and stepping up like this makes it easier for everyone."

Sullivan said he wants to end his Union career on a high note.

"We've come up short each year of one of our main goals, which is to win a national championship," he said. "We have a couple ECAC championship banners hanging from the rink here, but it would be really nice to leave a national championship."

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Union-Yale ECAC Quarterfinals Scouting Report

by Ryan Fay

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.

Union sweeps away Dartmouth, 5-2 (with 3 videos)

BOX SCORE

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY -- Union completed an ECAC Quarterfinals sweep of Dartmouth with a 5-2 win in front of 1,835 fans Saturday night at Messa Rink.

The win advances the defending Whitelaw Cup winners from Schenectady to the league semifinals on Friday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Union's opponent will be determined following the completion of the quarterfinal round on Sunday.

“It was nice,” Union head coach Rick Bennett said of advancing. “I was thinking about it today, the fact that we wanted just to tell those seniors that they were the first team [here] to get to our league [final] four in back-to-back seasons. That’s something they should be proud of.

“There’s been some ups and downs. But I tell you what, it seems like every article that comes out always starts out that Union is having an up-and-down season. But we still have 19 wins. To me, that’s a heck of a season.”

Junior forward Matt Hatch made a heck of a pass to Kevin Sullivan, who one-timed it past Dartmouth goaltender Charles Grant to give Union a 1-0 lead at the 1:32 mark of the first period.

“The first goal was all Hatch,” Sullivan said. “It was a great forecheck by him. I got a good a piece of it on the one-timer. It was a great feed by him.”

Kyle Bodie's ninth goal of the season pushed the lead to 2-0 when his blocked shot rebounded back to him and he sent it past Grant at 2:37 of the middle period.

“Quite honestly, I don’t even know how the puck ended up in the slot there,” Bodie said. “Yeah, that first one got blocked. It landed flat. I just got it on net. There was probably two or three of our guys alone in front of the net. It kind of had eyes, and found its way through.”

19th-ranked Union quickly increased its lead to 3-0 just over two minutes later when defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere launched a rocket into the back of the net.

“The goal that 14 [Gostisbehere] scored, I don’t think any goalie has that puck, not at the college level,” said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet.  “It’s a great play. When they wheel around, they are a very good team.”

Gostisbehere's goal chased Grant from the game, and Gaudet turned to Cab Morris the rest of the way. Grant stopped 12-of-15 shots before being relieved.

"[Grant] did a real good job for us," Gaudet said. "It was one of those nights where they shot it where he wasn't."

Dartmouth (15-14-5) got on the board, 3-1, at 9:20 of the second period when Eric Neiley scored a shorthanded goal following a hooking penalty to Rick Pinkston. Neiley pickpocted Josh Jooris, capitalized on a two-on-one, and beat Troy Grosenick low.

Jooris redeemed himself when he upped Union's lead to 4-1 after he beat Morris high at the 11:15 mark of the third period.

A Gostisbehere turnover led to Dustin Walsh giving Dartmouth a little hope when he lit the lamp at 15:02 to make it a 4-2 game. But Sullivan's second goal of the night with a minute to play iced the series for the Dutchmen, who didn't trail at any point over the weekend.

“[Daniel] Carr took a one-timer, and I think his stick broke,” Sull­ivan said of his second goal. “He whiffed on it, which is pretty rare. I just got a lucky tip.”

PAIRWISE UPDATE
When the smoke cleared Saturday, Union (19-12-5) remained 15th in the Pairwise.

MR. CLUTCH
Sullivan, who scored two goals in Saturday's quarterfinal clinching game, also scored two goals in last year's quarterfinal clinching win over RPI.

ON THE ROAD
Union is offering ticket and transportation packages to Atlantic City. For more information, click here.

THREE STARS

1. Sullivan, Union - Scored two goals and added an assist.

2. Grosenick, Union - Backstopped Dutchmen to Atlantic City with 28 saves.

3. Hatch, Union - Great feed lead to Union's first goal.

POSTGAME VIDEOS

Union 4, Clarkson 0 - postgame blog (with 2 videos)

by Ryan Fay

BOX SCORE

IN A NUTSHELL
Union blanks Clarkson, 4-0, in the regular season finale in front of 2,371 fans at Messa Rink.

BYE, BYE, BYE
With the win, Dartmouth's 4-1 loss to Quinnipiac, and RPI's 4-1 victory over St. Lawrence, the Dutchmen clinched a first round bye and enter the league playoffs as the fourth seed behind Quinnipiac, RPI, and Yale. Union returns to Messa Rink to face a yet to be determined opponent during the weekend of Mar. 15-17.

"It's one of those where anyone would take it," head coach Rick Bennett said of picking up the bye. "It means we can get some players back healthy. Everybody has played so much this year, so it's refreshing to have it. We have to make the best use of it. I thought we did last year, but we have to continue to do what has worked for us this year. Last year is last year, so we have to worry about this year."

RISING TO THE OCCASION
With Troy Grosenick on the sidelines following an injury sustained in Friday's 5-1 win over St. Lawrence, sophomore Colin Stevens stepped in and stopped all 24 shots that came his way. It was Stevens' third shutout of the season and first since blanking Penn State, 2-0, on Nov. 24.

Grosenick was listed first on the line chart released earlier Saturday, which usually indicates a start, but Bennett said Stevens was the guy all along.

"I had a pretty good idea that I was going to be playing after what happened [to Grosenick] last night," Stevens said. "I went about it like any other game. Preparation is huge and I'm glad we got the two points."

Grosenick's status for the playoffs is to be determined.

LIGHTING THE LAMP
With five goals Friday and four more Saturday, Union scored nine goals over the weekend. It marked the best offensive output for a single weekend since scoring 11 goals in a sweep of RPI Nov. 2-3.

"Overall balance on the lines," Bennett said when asked about the increased offensive production. "It was really nice to get three lines going and the fourth line put up some productive shifts. [Fourth liner] David Roy is going to be a heckuva player for us. Once he gains a step here and there, it's really going to help us for the future. [Fourth liners] Sam [Coatta] and Cole [Ikkala] did a tremendous job."

100 POINT CLUB
With an assist on Josh Jooris' third period goal, junior Daniel Carr became the 10th player in the program's Division I era to reach the 100 career points milestone. Senior Wayne Simpson joined the exclusive club earlier this season.

SENIOR NIGHT
Postgame ceremonies were held for the five seniors on the roster. Greg Coburn, Wayne Simpson, Kyle Bodie, Ryan Forgaard, and Shawn Stuart will be graduating this spring. With two more wins, the group will go down as the winningest class in program history.

"Since I've been here, it seems like senior night has been a great night all around," Bennett said. "It's nice that our guys played so tremendously hard for our seniors. That's what we ask as a coaching staff -- to play as hard as you can for them. Not that you're playing any different, but there's always something extra you like to give seniors... a nice going away present, per se."

WEEK TO WEEK
Sophomore defenseman Charlie Vasaturo was injured in the first period of Friday's win and is considered to be "week to week." The blueliner has two goals and two assists in 20 games this season.

PLAYOFF TICKETS
Information on playoff tickets can be found here.

THREE STARS
1. Stevens - The Niskayuna native came through in a pinch and helped Union clinch a first round bye in the ECAC playoffs.

"He had a great game tonight and I'm really happy for him," Bennett said.

2. Kevin Sullivan - The junior scored two goals for his first multigoal game of the season. Sullivan played his best hockey as the regular season drew to a close with three goals and three assists over the final nine contests.

"The first [goal] was basically all Hatch using his speed coming in," Sullivan said. "Just threw it in front and luckily it went on my stick. I took a couple whacks and it went in."

As for the second goal, "Carr and Jooris were working it pretty well up top," Sullivan added. "I just got a lucky bounce on my stick."

When asked for a reason behind the late season scoring surge, the forward said "bigger games, I guess."

3. Carr - The forward had two assists, both in the third period. The second helper was the 100th point of his Union career.

POSTGAME

Dutchmen skate by #9/10 Yale, 4-2 (with 3 videos)

Postgame videos below - Union head coach Rick Bennett, Union players Max Novak, Matt Hatch, and Mat Bodie, plus Yale head coach Keith Allain.

==========

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY -- Union snapped a three game winless streak after skating past #9/10 Yale, 4-2, Friday night at Messa Rink.

Yale (13-8-3, 9-7-1) struck first when Tommy Fallen scored an unassisted power play goal at 17:36 of the opening frame. Fallen picked off a clearing attempt by Matt Hatch and beat Troy Grosenick.

“I was calling for the puck there because Coburn had a lot of pressure,” Hatch said. “He gave me a soft chip. I just flubbed it. I had one guy pressuring me, but I didn’t see the other guy. I gave it right to [Fallen]. I couldn’t get out to block it. Just a little misfire in the corner there.”

The Dutchmen (14-10-5, 7-6-4) came to life after and never trailed again.

With Shayne Gostisbehere in the box for indirect contact to the head-elbowing, sophomore Max Novak evened the game with an unassisted shorthanded goal at 8:25 of the second period. Novak's backhander bounced off the right pad of Yale goaltender Nick Maricic and scooted through the five hole.

"I thought Novak's goal was one of the biggest of the year," Union head coach Rick Bennett said. "It got us going, but it's what we've been preaching. Drive wide, put pucks on the net, and good things are going to happen."

Added Novak, "I had a little bit of room on the penalty kill. I skated up and heard guys yelling drive wide, so I took it hard to the net. Luckily, it went in."

With assists from Kevin Sullivan and Josh Jooris, Hatch's improbable angle shot made it a 2-1 Union lead at 16:00 of the middle period. The junior fired from below the goal line and his shot bounced off Maricic and into the net.

“Our line had a good forecheck going,” Hatch said. “Sullivan passed the puck to Jooris. I was putting it on net, just trying to hit [Maricic’s] stick and get some guys crashing the net. He put it in himself. It was a pretty lucky goal. I was pretty shocked, but it was a good-time goal and our line deserved the goal.”

After allowing two soft goals, Yale head coach Keith Allain yanked Maricic and inserted Connor Wilson.

Changing goaltenders didn't help the Bulldogs. Wayne Simpson's power play goal, his team-best 13th goal of the season, pushed Union's lead to 3-1 just 31 seconds into the third period. Kyle Bodie fired a shot that Wilson stopped, but Simpson cashed in on the rebound.

"We just happened to be at the right place at the right time, which was nice for once," Bennett said.

Junior defenseman Mat Bodie picked up an assist on Simpson's goal. The point was the 80th of his Union career, breaking Lane Caffaro's record for points by a defenseman in the program's Division I era.

"I haven't thought too much about it," Bodie said of the record. "It's an achievement, but maybe something I'll appreciate more in the future. It's a testament to the guys I've played with. I've had some real good goal scorers that I give the puck to and they can do a lot with it."

Jooris picked up his second assist of the night on Daniel Carr's goal at 9:00 of the third. Carr's one-timer beat Wilson and increased Union's lead to 4-1.

After Simpson went off for interference at 9:40, Yale cut the lead to 4-2 when Andrew Miller scored on the man advantage at 11:09. The Bulldogs, who were outshot 42-39, never made it closer.

Grosenick, who was pulled in both losses last weekend, rebounded with a 37 save effort.

"I thought he played like he practiced and he practiced extremely well," Bennett said. "He came prepared all week and worked really hard. He was rewarded for that."

The Dutchmen played with fire by taking eight penalties, including four in the first period alone. The penalty kill stopped Yale on six of the eight chances, but Bennett wasn't displeased with the repeated trips to the box.

"I don't have a problem with hitting too hard," Bennett said. "I don't know what those calls were, but we're going to keep using our shoulder pads. I'm not complaining about the officiating, but we're not stopping."

The coach was just as pleased to see the team follow through on pregame benchmarks.

"They were given a couple staples to follow through for each period. Outside of the first period with shots, they met them all tonight," Bennett said. "It was great to see guys blocking shots and sacrificing themselves. That's what you need -- that ice bag mentality."

With the win, the Dutchmen moved into a tie for fourth place with St. Lawrence. The Saints handed Quinnipiac its first league loss of the season Friday night, 2-1. With Union's victory over Yale, the Bobcats managed to clinch the Cleary Cup despite the loss.

The Dutchmen return to Messa Rink tonight to host Brown (9-10-5, 5-7-5) at 7 pm. The Bears were routed by RPI, 5-1, Friday evening in Troy.

ETC... Defenseman Shawn Stuart, who suffered a lower-body injury in last Friday's loss at Clarkson, is considered "doubtful" for tonight's game, according to Bennett.... The Dutchwomen fell, 2-1, at Brown on Friday. Their playoff chances are out the door.

POSTGAME VIDEOS








Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
#9 Yale Bulldogs vs Union Dutchmen (Feb 15, 2013 at Schenectady, N.Y.)

Yale Bulldogs (13-8-3, 9-7-1 ECAC) vs. Union Dutchmen (14-10-5, 7-6-4 ECAC) Date: Feb 15, 2013 Location: Schenectady, N.Y. Arena: Messa Rink Attendance:2085 Start time:7:07 pm End time:9:29 pm Total time:2:22  Goals by Period 1st 2nd 3rd Total Yale Bulldogs 1 0 1 2 Union Dutchmen 0 2 2 4 Scoring Summary # Prd Time Team Type Scored by Assists Visitor on ice Home on ice 1. 1st 17:36 YALE PP Fallen, Tommy/9 - 22,18,11,7,20 20,15,14,12 2. 2nd 08:25 UNION SH Novak, Max/5 - 18,6,7,22,20 18,3,9,20 3. 2nd 16:00 UNION EVEN Hatch, Matt/7 Sullivan, Kevin/3 28,18,21,14,17 15,6,22,19,7 Jooris, Josh/12 4. 3rd 00:31 UNION PP Simpson, Wayne/13 Bodie, Kyle/21 17,22,21 21,12,22,14,9 Bodie, Mat/15 5. 3rd 09:00 UNION EVEN Carr, Daniel/11 Jooris, Josh/13 21,20,11,26,22 9,7,6,22,19 Vasaturo, Charlie/2 6. 3rd 11:09 YALE PP Miller, Andrew/11 Agostino, Kenny/16 17,18,22,7,6 18,22,6,9 Wilson, Stu/4

Union, Dartmouth skate to 2-2 tie (with 2 videos)

For postgame press conference videos, scroll down or click here. There's two from tonight. One combined video from the Union side with Rick Bennett, Mat Bodie, and Kevin Sullivan. The other is Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet.

=========

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY -- Considering #18 Union and #16 Dartmouth (11-7-3, 7-5-2) entered play tied with 15 points in the ECAC standings, it was only fitting that the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie on Friday in front of 2,271 fans at Messa Rink.

But Union (13-8-5, 6-4-4) was minutes away from coming away with two points instead of one. 

With Union protecting a 2-1 lead, Daniel Ciampini took a tripping penalty at 14:41 of the third period. Dartmouth's Rick Pinkston quickly tied the game at two 24 seconds into the power play when his shot hit the post, bounced off Troy Grosenick, and into the net.

"I wouldn't say it was the hardest working penalty," said Union head coach Rick Bennett. "We've gotten away with some lucky ones with too many men and haven't gotten punished for it. But maybe this is like a justification. Yeah, it was lazy. We've got to curb it."

The game-tying tally was the second power play goal allowed by Union's usually unbreakable penalty kill (89.3%), which allowed more than one power play goal in a game for the first time this season.

Dartmouth's Eric Neiley tied the game at one on the power play at the 9:25 mark of the middle period. Neiley's one-timer from the left faceoff dot came mere seconds into a power play chance generated by a tripping penalty on Kyle Bodie.

Union's country-best power play, which finished 1-for-5, had a golden opportunity in overtime when Eric Robinson went off for elbowing 20 seconds into the extra frame. But outside of a jam attempt by Josh Jooris, the Dutchmen manufactured little on the man advantage.

"Our specialty teams let us down tonight. That's the bottom line," Bennett said. "We had some passengers in the top six forwards. At this time of the year, you can't have that. You just can't. All those guys have been given a great opportunity."

Added defenseman Mat Bodie, "special teams has been a huge part of our team identity so far this year. Tonight, we just didn't get it done. With regards to the power play, we were trying to force some plays. We didn't keep it simple and that's what cost us getting the win."

Following a busy-but-scoreless first period, Kevin Sullivan opened the scoring with his first goal of the year at the 3:25 mark of the second period. Matt Hatch sped down the left wing, went behind the net, and found Sullivan in front.

"I didn't have to do much there," Sullivan said in reference to his goal. "Hatch made a great play. He drove wide and Jooris went to the net. I was just lucky to be driving the net in that spot."

Mat Bodie's power play goal broke a 1-1 tie at 13:25 of the second period when he fired a pass from Matt Wilkins that went over the shoulder of Dartmouth goaltender Cab Morris and into the back of the net.

"Wilkins made a great pass to me and I believe him and Novak were in front of the goalie screening," Bodie said. "Assistant coach Jason Tapp said high on (Morris) from the point, so I shot high. It had eyes."

Since the calendar flipped to 2013, the Dutchmen have scored three or fewer goals in eight of their nine games. Bennett knows what has to change.

"I wish we would have that pack of wolves mentality around the net a bit more," he said. "That's why we're scoring two, three goals. It hasn't been four or five."

Union, which outshot Dartmouth, 39-26, resumes play on February 8th at Clarkson. The Golden Knights tied Colgate, 4-4, on Friday.

POSTGAME VIDEOS





Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
2012-13 Union College Men's Hockey
#16 DART vs #18 Union (Feb 01, 2013 at Schenectady, NY)

DART (11-7-3 (7-5-2 ECACH)) vs. Union (13-8-5 (6-4-4 ECACH)) Date: Feb 01, 2013 Location: Schenectady, NY Arena: Messa Rink Attendance:2271 Start time:7:40 pm End time:10:10 pm Total time:2:30  Goals by Period  1st  2nd  3rd  OT  Total  DART   0  1  1  0  2  Union   0  2  0  0  2  Scoring Summary #  Prd  Time  Team  Type  Scored by  Assists  Visitor on ice  Home on ice  1.  2nd  03:25  UNION   EVEN  Sullivan, Kevin/1  Hatch, Matt/2  14,25,5,4,12  16,15,6,7,3                    Coburn, Greg/13        2.  2nd  09:25  DART   PP  NEILEY, Eric/5  BULLOCK, Ryan/4  11,23,16,9,25  18,9,22,28                    SIKURA, Tyler/17        3.  2nd  13:01  UNION   PP  Bodie, Mat/3  Wilkins, Matt/6  5,4,8,29  22,9,7,18,19                    Carr, Daniel/11        4.  3rd  15:05  DART   PP  PINKSTON, Rick/3  KEENAN, Mike/9  19,7,27,22,21  18,9,16,22                    WALSH, Dustin/7

Game Time: Colgate Vs. Union-ECAC Semifinals

Our own Evan Slavit's view from the stands

Union
15 Matt Hatch - 19 Kelly Zajac (A) - 21 Wayne Simpson
9 Daniel Carr - 27 Jeremy Welsh (A) - 7 Josh Jooris
16 Kevin Sullivan - 12 Kyle Bodie - 17 Daniel Ciampini
23 Cole Ikkala - 18 Max Novak - 11 Sam Coatta

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

1 Troy Grosenick
30 Colin Stevens
31 Dillon Pieri
*Award winners demarcated by italics. 


Colgate


Lineups to come.


Game Notes, Etc. 

• Colgate Athletics has some interesting tidbits about today's game here.
• Ken Schott predicts the semifinals.
• Union is wearing their home whites for the first time since February 4th. It's been that long?
• Kyle Bodie was on the ECAC Hockey Weekly Radio Show.

Follow Along

Union Takes The Ice, via Ken Schott.

• Remember, you can watch the game online here for $10. 
• You can also listen to the game through the radio broadcast online here. 
• Eschew the computer and listen on real radio: 1160 WABY or 1240 WKVZ.
• Follow Ken Schott, Colgate Athletics, Union Athletics.
• Get your live stats here!
• There's a live blog going on over at USCHO.com, so check that out.

Dutchmen Details: 8-1 to 1-0 or 1.000%; Simpson 'Trickery

Coach Bennett's Favorite

• Not to be confused with Chicago's 25 to 6 or 4, the men's hockey team put up some crooked numbers of their own, handily beating Army 8-1 on Saturday for their first win of the year. Ken Schott has video over at the Gazette.
• For the traditional box score, click here. ECAC.com's column is here. Ken's recap is here.
• Union notched an impressive 44 shots evenly spaced over three periods. Army only managed 18. Matt Hatch scored the first goal of the 2011-2012 campaign. Fellow sophomore Kevin Sullivan also found the scoresheet, along with freshman Max Novak (twice), and junior Greg Coburn. Kelly Zajac had three points (all assists in classic Zajac style), while Cole Ikkala also contributed a "2" under the "A" column.
  
• And, oh yeah, Wayne Simpson added an assist to his first career hat trick for an impressive four point game. Wayne earns "1989 and Still Waiting's" ECAC first star of the week with his performance. Dan has an interesting tidbit:

"This was the second season in a row that a Union p

layer scored a hat trick in the home opener (Josh Jooris did it last year in his first collegiate game)."

• The Dutchwomen, meanwhile, had a decisive 9-2 win against Sacred Heart, firing an astounding 75 shots on goal. 75. The Dutchwomen improve to 1-2 on the season with the win. UnionAthletics has a recap 0f the destruction dominance here.
• INCH (Inside College Hockey) posted its preseason predictions/ruminations on Saturday. Union receives the onus of having the most "Pressure To Perform." INCH's reasoning is one that we've heard repeated ad nauseum this preseason: that Union's goaltending will miss Keith Kinkaid.
• An editorial aside here: any media outlet (us included) has concluded that a key to Union's success will be the goaltending in place of the very capable Kinkaid and Milan. What seems to be missing in the onslaught of preseason predictions is the fact that Grosenick, Stevens, and Pieri are very good. By all indications, the goaltending will be a non-issue this year. But as players related to us on Media Day, the pollsters' opinions are relatively meaningless to them. The squad understands the volatility of the ECAC in recent years and is committed--just like the 11 other teams--to winning the Cleary Cup. But we digress...
• On Saturday, the Times Union ran an interview with Coach Bennett. Now you know: he's a Dallas Cowboys fan, while his favorite Clint Eastwood movie is "Hang 'Em High."
• The fantastic RPI blog "Without A Peer" has an interesting piece on potential divisional realignment and its impact on college hockey.
• And finally, so we have content for you tomorrow's Dutchmen Details we'll break down Keith Kinkaid's first game in net with the Albany Devils, a 4-2 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, tomorrow. We'll also talk about Corey Milan, now of the ECHL's Elmira Jackals (affiliate of the Ottawa Senators).
• Our Tweet of the Day goes to Brian Yanovitch. Any Anchorman reference is almost a guaranteed win for our TotD honor:

--ZP