Seniors Dominate Awards At End of Season Banquet

On Sunday at the Mohawk Golf Club, Union held their end of the year banquet and handed out post-season awards. The awards were pretty much swept by the senior class.

Here are the results:

Most Valuable Player: Adam Presizniuk (third time)
Coaches' Award: Brock Matheson
Charles N. Morrison Award: Luke Cain
Thomas VanArden Dukehart Award: Stephane Boileau (third time)
Rookie of the Year: Mat Bodie
Scott Richardson Unsung Hero Award: Andrew Buote (fourth time)
Most Improved Player: Justin Pallos

I can't disagree with any of these selections. But, I also think that Daniel Carr could have been selected for ROY, John Simpson for Unsung Hero, and Wayne Simpson for MIP. You could also make an argument for Keith Kinkaid and Kelly Zajac for MVP. Either way, I bet it was a very tough decision to make for each award.

For more check out Union Athletics.com.

Congrats to the seven players who received an award!

Tonight's Lineups vs. Colgate (Game 3)

Luke Cain & Justin Pallos

Union
Presizniuk - Zajac - Hatch
Sullivan - J. Simpson - W. Simpson
Carr - Welsh - Jooris
Buote - Pallos - Cain

Forgaard - Julseth-White
M. Bodie - Matheson
Coburn - Stuart

Kinkaid
Grosenick
Milan

Notes: Kevin Sullivan replaces Kyle Bodie on the second line while Luke Cain replaces Stephane Boileau on the fourth line. It makes some sense to me since Bodie and Boileau didn't play much of a factor during their time on the ice. Also, it's probably a good idea to have rested guys out there during a Game 3. Hopefully Cain can bring a physical presence to the ice.

Chris Wagner

Colgate
Firman - Day - Prockow
Bartliff - Smith - Brisebois
Mayer - Wagner - Bourdon
Rivellini - McCann - Nasca

Poplawski - Larkin
Price - K. McNamara
Leidl - McPherson

Mihalik
Evin
Bessette

Check out Ken Schott's pregame report (click here).

Videos From Senior Night

Here are some videos I took on Senior Night:

Union Wins The Cleary Cup on Senior Night

Last night was such a great feeling. The emotions of when the final buzzer sounded, all the way to the post-game celebration was perfect. I am so proud of the guys for everything they accomplished, and everything the seniors have done in their four years. The reception the seniors received from the fans was awesome and well deserved. I was also honored and shocked when Andrew Buote gave me a shout out during his speech. I really appreciated it and am just honored to be a very small part of this amazing senior class and Union Hockey.

It was also great to see Luke Cain and Stephane Boileau score goals on Senior Night. They both don't dress every game, so it was awesome to see them capitalize. You could tell how excited they were to score, especially Boileau (check the highlights). John Simpson also added an empty netter.

Union's power-play once again did a great job last night as they scored twice with the man advantage. They lead the nation with a 30.97% conversion rate. Union went 3-for-4 last night and 4-for-6 on the weekend. Daniel Carr netted a PP goal and added an even strength goal later. He is now tied with New Hampshire's Paul Thompson and Colorado College's Tyler Johnson for the nation's lead with 12 power-play goals. Thompson and Johnson are both seniors, while Carr is a freshman. His two first period goals gave Union an 3-0 first period lead. Three has been the magic number this season as the Dutchmen are 21-1-2 in games where they've scored at least three goals.

Keith Kinkaid had another great weekend once again. He made 35 saves (including 17 in the second period) last night to pick up his third shutout of the season. Kinkaid leads the nation with a 1.93 GAA and 24 wins.

Well, now it's on to the playoffs. Union gets the weekend off with the first round bye. Here are the first round matchups:
(5) RPI vs. (12) Colgate
(6) Princeton vs. (11) St. Lawrence
(7) Clarkson vs. (10) Harvard
(8) Quinnipiac vs. (9) Brown

For more on the game check out:
USCHO
Union Athletics
Ken Schott's Blog
Times Union (Sean Martin)
Times Union (Mark McGuire)

I also want to make a special shout out to former Union College president Roger Hull. In January 2004 he said:

"Let me tell you of my idea of being competitive: fielding a team that has a reasonable chance of winning every time it steps on the ice... And when they got to 40 percent [winning percentage], I was proud, and when they reached nearly 50 percent a few years ago, I was tremendously proud of them."

I wonder if he's super-tremendously-ridiculously-doing hand stands proud of this team.

Tonight's Lineups vs. Harvard

Luke Cain has the best headshot on the team

Union
Carr - Welsh - Jooris
Presizniuk - Zajac - Hatch
Sullivan - J. Simpson - W. Simpson
Cain - Buote - K. Bodie

Forgaard - Julseth-White
Coburn - Stuart
M. Bodie - Matheson

Kinkaid
Milan
Grosenick

Notes: Justin Pallos is out of the lineup for the first time in awhile as both Luke Cain and Kyle Bodie join Andrew Buote on the fourth/checking line. Mike Ingoldsby is still out of the lineup, probably still suffering from a concussion.



Danny Biega is known as the "Harvard Hulk"

 Harvard
Morrison - Killorn - M. Biega
Everson - Michaud - Kroshus
Coassin - Moore - Del Mauro
McCollem - Valek - Fallstrom

Ford - Grimshaw
Huxley - D. Biega
Caldwell - Fick

Carroll
Richter

Notes: Danny and Michael Biega are two/thirds of the Biega brothers trio that played together last season (Alex graduated)... The Crimson have four NHL draft picks in their lineup tonight: Killorn (Tampa Bay '07), McCollem (St. Louis '06), Fallstrom (Boston '09), and Danny Biega (Carolina '10).

Players to Watch: Alex Killorn leads the team with six goals and 14 points, and is tied for tops in assists with eight... Danny Biega leads all Crimson defenders with three goals, eight assists, and 11 points. He is known as the "Harvard Hulk" for his impressive performance at the NHL Draft combine... Ryan Carroll made 47 saves in his last appearance at Messa Rink in his team's 4-1 last season. He's only started three games this season, but he's in net tonight looking for a repeat performance.

Make sure to read Ken Schott's pre-game report by clicking here.

Tonight's Lineups vs. Dartmouth

#16 Kevin Sullivan

Union
Carr - Welsh - Jooris
Presizniuk - Zajac - Hatch
Buote - Pallos - K. Bodie
Sullivan - J. Simpson - W. Simpson

Forgaard- Julseth-White
Coburn - Stuart
M. Bodie - Matheson

Notes: Kyle Bodie is back in the lineup after being replaced by Luke Cain last Saturday. I assume Cain was inserted into the lineup against Cornell because of his size. Cain is the feature story of this week's game program.

#24 Evan Stephens

Dartmouth
Estoclet - Fleming - Reber
N. Walsh - Jones - Robinson
D. Walsh - Owsiak - Reeds
Smith - Goodship - Lee

Stephens - Stejskal
Keenan - Goggin
Gaudet - Boldt

Mello
O'Neill
Morris


Players to Watch: Estoclet (8g-8a-16pts), Fleming (8g-12a-20pts), Reber (4g-12a-16pts), Stephens (2g-6a-8pts). Estoclet, Fleming, and Reber are all on the same line. Matt Lindbald leads all Big Green freshman with six goals and eight assists, but is not in the lineup tonight.

Here is a great comparison of the Dutchmen and Big Green courtesy of College Hockey News.

Good Week To Be A Union Hockey Fan/ Links

"Coach's Corner" at Bomers

It's been a good week for me as a Union Hockey fan. On Monday, the Dutchmen popped up in the rankings. On Tuesday, I went to the first ever "Coach's Corner" at Bombers. On Wednesday, I bought an authentic Union Hockey jersey for the reduced price of $60 (they are now $90). This is the first time Union has sold jerseys for their fans (non- game used) in a long time. On Thursday I got to skate on the ice at Messa Rink for a club hockey game. And tonight, I get to run the Union Athletics Live Chat! Come talk with me tonight by clicking here.

Cool week right? Pretty much everything a Union Hockey fan would've wished to do this week. Either way all of those things were way more fun than writing my thesis (haha). Hopefully the Dutchmen can pick up two more wins this weekend and make this week even better.



Here are some links to articles featuring the Dutchmen:

Sean Martin (Times Union) talks about the Carr - Welsh - Jooris line.

Ken Schott (Daily Gazette) reports that Luke Cain will not return next season, even though he has a fifth year of elidgibility.

Joe Gladziszewski (INCH) talks about the success of Union's power-play.

Justin should be posting a preview soon, but in the meantime you can check out the game notes:

Union's game notes

Dartmouth's game notes

Tonight's Lineups vs. Clarkson

Union


Luke Cain

Carr - Welsh - Jooris
Presizniuk - Zajac - Hatch
Sullivan - J. Simpson - W. Simpson
Cain - Pallos - K. Bodie

Julseth-White - Ingoldsby
Coburn - Stuart
M. Bodie - Matheson

Kinkaid
Milan
Grosenick

Notes: Luke Cain returns to the lineup in place of Andrew Buote. I'm a little surprised that both Buote and Stephane Boileau are both out of the lineup. I guess Coach Leaman is not happy with their performances lately. Also, Nolan Julseth-White will dress tonight instead of Ryan Forgaard.

Clarkson

DeFazio - Oakley - Freeman
Zarbo - Morley - McPherson
Pawlick - Tamblyn - Tremblay
Cayer - Burton - Frederick

Borowiecki - Himelson

Brandon DeFazio

Reed - Rufenach
Pokulok - Boak

Karpowich

Rosen

Notes: The Golden Knights have six NHL draft picks on their roster:
Tremblay (Boston '08, 6th round)
Cayer (Detroit '08, 5th round)
Borowiecki (Ottowa '08, 5th round)
Rufenach (Detroit '07, 7th round)
Karpowich (St. Louis '08, 7th round)
Rosen (NY Islanders '10, 7th round)

Luke Cain Can Fight!

It is going to be a little slow around here, so I thought I'd provide some entertainment courtesy of Union power forward Luke Cain.

Supposedly back in juniors, Cainer was a big fighter. According to Drop Your Gloves.com, he led the Cowichan Valley Capitals with six fights during the 2006-2007 season. Below are some fights from that season (he's #20 in the dark uniform).

You can also check out his "Career Fight Card" on the site, which covers all of his fights from three years of juniors. Maybe Luke's new nickname can be Luke "Pain" Cain?

P.S. Cainer was second on the team in goals (40), assists (45), and points (85) in 2006-2007.

Good Luck On Your Finals!

Classes for the Fall term ended yesterday afternoon, so all the Union students are now diligently studying for the finals which begin on Wednesday.

A special good luck goes out to our Dutchmen who just came off an exhausting weekend. But, I doubt they need the extra good luck as 12 current Union players made the ECAC All-Academic team last season:

Jean-Sebastian Bergeron, Stephane Boileau, Andrew Buote, Luke Cain, Nolan Julseth-White, Brock Matheson, Justin Pallos, Taylor Reid, John Simpson, Wayne Simpson, Shawn Stuart and Jeremy Welsh.

I'm pretty confident that "The Professor" will have no problems with his finals considering he was a finalist forthe ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year award, was given the Thomas Vanarden Dukehard award for the highest GPA on the men's ice hockey team, and was named Union College's junior student-athlete of the year last season.

The Dutchmen will return to the ice in two weekends to play at Brown and Yale

College Hockey Video of the Week (6/28/10): Dutchmen on the Hockey Treadmill

This is a new segment that I will be adding to the blog every week. I call it "College Hockey Video of the Week." I will be showing some great goals, hits, fights, etc. from college hockey that have been caught on film. Some of these videos will be Union Hockey videos, just like the one I am presenting this week.

This is a video of some of your favorite Union players working out in the awesome hockey training facility at Athletic Republic in Clifton Park. Here Dutchmen such as Luke Cain and Andrew Buote are training on the hockey treadmill, which might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I definitely need to get one for my house next season! I can't wait for the 2010-2011 season to begin, and I'm sure the players are working hard this summer.

If for some reason you cannot see (I can on my computer) the video click on this link here.

16 Dutchmen named to ECAC All-Academic Team

The ECAC announced today that 181 student-athletes have been named to the ECAC All-Academic team. 16 of the 181 players are from Union. These Dutchmen are: freshman Jean Sebastian Bergeron, junior Stephane Boileau, junior Andrew Buote, sophomore (technically a junior since he red-shirted) Luke Cain, senior Jeff Christiansen, sophomore Nolan Julseth-White, senior Jon Lareau, junior captain Brock Matheson, junior Justin Pallos, sophomore Taylor Reid, senior Jason Shaffer, junior John Simpson, freshman Wayne Simpson, freshman Shawn Stuart, senior captain Mike Wakita, and freshman Jeremy Welsh.

Over half of these guys are Economics majors, which is pretty impressive to me. I took Economics 101 freshman year... and let's just say it wasn't my best class.

To be eligible for the All-Academic team one must obtain a 3.0 GPA.

Congratulations to the 16 Dutchmen and the other 165 ECAC players. The ECAC is by far the most challenging league academically in college hockey. Each team in the ECAC had at least 13 All-Academic selections, except for Clarkson who only had four (weird?).

For more check out ECAC Hockey.com and Union Athletics.com.

Awards handed out at Annual Banquet

This past evening, the Union men's hockey team celebrated the best season in their history at Glens Sanders Mansion. At the banquet the annual awards were given out. Here is who won each award:

MVP: Mario Valery-Trabucco

Rookie of the Year: Keith Kinkaid

Unsung Hero: Andrew Buote

Most Improved: Luke Cain

Coaches' Award: Mike Schreiber

7th Player Award: Mario Valery-Trabucco

Charles N. Morrison Award: Mike Wakita

Thomas VanArden Dukehart Award: Stephane Boileau

No surprises here for the most part. I thought Brock Matheson would get an award over Buote because Buote has won awards in the past, but there are no complaints here on any decisions.

For more on the awards and the banquet go to Union Athletics.com

Union stages epic comeback against Dartmouth

Going down four goals on the road 7:20 into a game is not the way you want to start out, but scoring five unanswered goals... that's character, and last night's game proves that this team has a ton of character. This is the type of game that the Dutchmen will look back on in the playoffs, and say that they can do anything. Granted they were playing an 11th placed team, but a four goal deficit at any level of hockey, no matter who you are playing, is a difficult one to make up.

The really great thing about last night's victory is how the freshmen skaters stepped up when their team needed them. Each Jeremy Welsh, Shawn Stuart, and Kyle Bodie scored a goal, and Wayne Simpson had two assists. It's also important that Union's big players showed up when they need them. The Mario-Wally-Prez line connected for a huge power-play goal in the second period, and Prez and Mike Schreiber picked up assists in the third period. You also can't forget Andrew Buote, who picked up two assists on the night. He is one of the hardest working players on the ice for the Dutchmen every game. And last, but definitely not least, Luke Cain scored the game-tying goal late in the third as he tipped a shot past the Dartmouth goaltender. He has scored a goal in five of Union's last six weekends. Cain is another hard-working player, and it was nice to see him make a huge impact in his return to Thomspon Arena after his horrific injury two years ago. The offense has been clicking lately as they have scored 20 goals in the past three games.

Keith Kinkaid had a very rough night last night, but luckily Corey Milan was able to come in and hold down the fort. Maybe Keith is suffering from some fatigue, so don't be surprised to see Milan in the net tonight against Harvard.

The Dutchmen need to take advantage of the Cornell- Yale matchup tonight as one of these teams has to lose, or they can tie so neither team could pick up two points. There is a very good chance that after tonight there will no longer be a three way tie for first place.

For more on last night's game check out Union Athletics.com, Dartmouth Sports.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, and Ken Schott's Blog.

Union falls from top of ECAC standings

It sounds like the Dutchmen didn't really show up to play and that the score is not a reflection of the game. But, it's great to see Luke Cain playing well and giving his team a boost. Also, congratulations to senior forward Jon Lareau on his first collegiate goal. From the box score it looks like Coach Leaman has separated the Simpson twins. Both of these guys need to get going so I'm all for the separation. These guys really need to step their game up if they want to maintain in the top four spots of the league. The top of the standings is bunched up with many teams who can take a top four position. If Leaman and the Dutchmen can't figure out something soon they might be on the outside looking in. Also note, that Jason Walters' 15 game point streak was snapped.

You can read game recaps from USCHO.com, Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, Ken Schott's blog, and Times Union.com. Also, check out video of Ken Schott's post-game interviews.

The Dutchmen take on the Brown Bears tonight at 7pm. Check out game notes on the Extra Frame Blog.

Union tops RPI 3-1 to take Capital Skates Trophy

Wayne Simpson had the game-winner early in the third, and Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves for the win. Youcan read my summary of the game on USCHO.com.

What a great game of hockey! There was great two-way hockey and solid goaltending. I personally would have started Corey Milan over Keith Kinkaid considering Keith's numbers against RPI this year but I definitely can't complain with the way he played. The Dutchmen started off slow, which was probably due to some nerves and trying to impress too much. But, after KK's stop on Chase Polacek's breakaway and Adam Presizniuk's goal the team turned their game up a notch, as they owned the third period offensively and defensively. A team that wins the third period of games is a team that is going to go far in the playofs. For many years I had a coach who always stressed the importance of winning the final period, and if he didn't he would skate us all next practice... even if we won. He always said "win the third, win the game."

The best aspect of the game was definitely the atmosphere. The student section was practically filled by 6:20 and were extremely loud when the team's came on the ice for pre-game warmups. The rink was electric and everyone was on their feet for most of the game. Props to Union's #1 Will Friedman for keeping the student section loud.

In the post-game press conference RPI Head Coach Seth Appert emphasized how Union was not better than his team. As a reporter I sat there and didn't say anything, but as a fan I wanted to defend my team and argue with him. Good thing I didn't because I probably would have lost my job. But, having him say that makes me want to face them in the playoffs so we can just beat them another two times.

It was also great to see Prez, Lil' Simpson, and Cain score. Prez hasn't been as great as he was last season statistically. Hopefully his goal will spark a hot streak for him because Union will need him to play well down the stretch to be successful. Even though Wayne's goal was a "garbage goal," it's still a goal. This was his first goal since October 30th when Union lost to RPI 5-4. Someone else besides Mario and Wally need to score for the Dutchmen to go deep into the playoffs. Cain's goal took extreme effort, and just shows how hard he is working. For the second game in a row he scored a huge goal for his team, and is making a case for a more permanent role.

So, we're still on top of the ECAC standings but more importantly we are now tied for 7th in the PairWise Rankings. If the Dutchmen can stay in the Top 10 of the PWR there is a very, very good chance that they will make the national tournament.

It was a great night for Union Hockey all around as not only did Union beat RPI, but the Union Women's Hockey team won their first ECAC game in 119 games with a 3-0 win at Brown and the Union Club Hockey team won their first game of the season with a win over Mohawk Valley CC.

Read articles on the game on Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, and Troy Record.com. You can also see videos and pictures from the Gazette.

Cain's first goal of the season lifts Union over Quinnipiac in overtime and into first place

THE UNION COLLEGE DUTCHMEN ARE IN FIRST PLACE IN THE ECAC!

Luke Cain's wrap-around in overtime was the difference. Also in the game Corey Milan made 23 saves and Jason Walters tallied his 100th career point when he assisted on Mario Valery-Trabucco's goal. You can read the game summary on Union Athletics .com , Quinnipiac Bobcats.com, USCHO.com, Times Union.com, and on Ken Schott's Blog and post-game video.

Well as I posted earlier this week I would have been happy with two points from this weekend and anything more would be icing on the cake... well we have that icing on the cake and it tastes wonderful! After winning games at Princeton and Quinnipiac this weekend the Dutchmen now sit on top of the ECAC standings by themselves. All Dutchmen fans should be extremely excited and show their support of the team next week when RPI comes to town on Saturday. I expect the student section to be packed.

Even though this is a great feeling and accomplishment, we should all put this into perspective considering the Dutchmen haven't even played half of the league schedule yet (13 more games). They also have to travel to Cornell, Colgate, and Yale along with playing Quinnipiac one more time. Also, they have yet to play Harvard and Dartmouth. The team and their fans should celebrate this week but once Saturday comes around it should be back to business. We should not be too cocky and from what Coach Nate Leaman has been saying they are not taking the standings too seriously and are just taking it one game at a time.

Even though the Dutchmen should not pay too much attention to the ECAC standings or the National Rankings (which come out tomorrow) they should still keep and eye on the PairWise Rankings. Your positioning in the PairWise Rankings is a major indicator if you are able to obtain an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Currently Union is sitting at #13 and if they stay around there they have a realistic shot of making the tournament. 16 teams make the tournament and if you win your conference tournament you receive and automatic bid. For an explanation of how the PairWise Rankings work click here.

Congratulations to Jason Walters on his 100th career point as a Dutchmen. He has been on fire of late and if he keeps up the pace he could break the all-time Union Division I scoring record (Jordan Webb '05, 114). Also congrats to Luke Cain on his goal last night. It's been a long road for Cain since he had his devastating and pretty gruesome injury (from what I remember) two seasons ago. It's nice to see him still working hard and making the most of his opportunities since he doesn't play every game.

It was also great to see Corey Milan have another strong outing. He is definitely making a case for getting more playing time in between the pipes. It is funny how everyone has been raving about Keith Kinkaid lately even though Milan has better statistics in almost every category while playing more minutes. In 630 minutes Kinkaid has posted a 6-2-2 record with a 2.76 GAA and a .904 save percentage, while Milan as posted a 6-2-3 record with a 2.07 GAA(seventh in the nation) and a .916 save percentage in 665 minutes.

It will be exciting to see where the Dutchmen end up in the National Rankings tomorrow. I predict that they will move up in the rankings and crack the top-15 at #15 and that Quinnipiac will drop out of the top-15 and land at #16. If they keep up their play against RPI next weekend and for the rest of the season it would definitely not be out of the question to say that the Dutchmen have a good shot of making the ECAC Final Four or winning it for that matter.

Union first ECAC team to beat US U-18 Team

Behind a strong third period the Dutchmen were able to top the US U-18 team and become the first ECAC team to beat them... and that's basically it. This was an exhibition game, so anything that comes out of this doesn't really matter too much. But, I guess a win is better than a loss and it's nice to keep the ball rolling. It sounds like Mario was dominant again as he sniped another goal, but of course it doesn't count to his season totals. It was nice to see the Dutchmen play a strong third period, and to see Corey Milan get a start and make some saves. Personally, I would have like to seen Rich 'Pudge' Sillery play because I'm not sure if he will get a start this season, which is his final season. He has put in his time over the past four years and he deserves a chance to make his final stand. On the other hand it's great to see Jean-Sebastian Bergeron on the ice for the first time as a Dutchman. He finished +1 on the game. Justin Pallos, Nolan Julseth-White, and Luke Cain (1 goal, 1 assist) also saw some time tonight.

The team will now finally be able to enjoy their well deserved winter break and will not have another game for over two weeks. Their next game is on December 29th when they take on #15 UMass at the UConn Tournament. It's too bad that the break is coming at a time when the team is playing so well. Hopefully when they come back they can keep up the level of play that they're playing now. For a summary on tonight's game click here.

In other ECAC news, UMass-Lowell topped Princeton 4-1 and RPI came back in the third period to defeat defending national champion Boston University 5-3 in Boston . I guess all of their talk about not being affected by their loss to Union was true. It looks like it was an interesting game as RPI took a 2-1 lead after the first period while being out shot 16-5. Also, RPI did not allow any five-on-five goals as BU scored one power-play goal and two shorthanded goals. BU is definitely not as good as they were last year but they are the national champions until someone takes their title. You can read the RPI-BU game summary here.

Union takes on U.S. Under-18 team on Friday in charity exhibition game

This game is an exhibition game meaning it will not count towards the standings and will have no effect on the team's unbeaten streak or on Coach Leaman's 100th win. It should be a friendly match for a good cause (Toys for Tots). For more information on the even click here.

According to the team roster there is only one player committed to a ECAC school. This is Andy Iles a goaltender from Ithaca, New York who is committed to his home town team, Cornell. He is listed as 5' 8" so I'm guessing he relies on his quickness. All of the other players on the roster are committed to nine different schools: Cornell, Michigan, Boston University, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Boston College, and Denver. This should be a great showcase for future NCAA stars. For more info on the US U-18 Team check out their website here.

Hopefully Coach Leaman will play some guys who haven't played much or at all this season, and I expect that he will. We have still yet to see freshmen defenseman Jean-Sebastian Bergeron and redshirt freshman defenseman Carl Ekstrom in Dutchmen uniforms. I have still heard no word if Ekstrom has overcome his hip injury. It should be interesting to see what this Swede is made of. We also haven't seen sophomore defenseman Taylor Reid this season after he played four games last season.

I assume Keith Kinkaid will sit while junior Corey Milan and senior Rich Sillery will get some time in net. Sillery hasn't seen any playing time this season and only played twice (one start) last season. This should also give Leaman a chance to rest his stars before the UConn Tournament and feature players that haven't seen much ice this year like forwards Justin Pallos, Luke Cain, Jason Shaffer, and defenseman Nolan Julseth-White. These are all very effective players and I expect them to be impressive against the U-18 team. Personally, I am a huge fan of Jason Shaffer as he is one of the fastest guys on the team and flies all over the ice when he plays. All in all, this should be a fun game for a good cause.

No games this weekend, Finals Week

For those of you who don't know today (Thursday) is the beginning of Finals Week at Union, which is the reason (I assume) that the Dutch will not have any games this weekend. The Fall 09 finals last from Thursday to next Tuesday.

Last season 11 current Dutchmen (14 if you include Potts, Caffaro, and Cook) made the ECAC All- Academic Team: Stephane Boileau, Andrew Buote, Luke Cain, Jeff Christansen, Nolan Julseth-White, Jon Lareau, Brock Matheson, Justin Pallos, Taylor Reid, Jason Shaffer, and John Simpson.

Good Luck to all the players and the rest of the student body!