An old friend is willing to help

by Ryan Fay

If Union ends up facing North Dakota in the NCAA tournament, they can count on help from an old friend.

Cain (Manitoba)

But that old friend, former Union player Luke Cain, doesn't expect to be getting a call.

Cain, back playing college hockey for the University of Manitoba, played an exhibition against North Dakota on October 6th. North Dakota won, 5-3.

"I don't expect Rick Bennett to call me for a scouting report if they do end up playing North Dakota," Cain said. "The video analysis that the Union staff does would be far superior to the scouting report that I would be able to give them. However, if Rick does reach out to me, I would be more than willing to help him in any way that I could."

Cain admits North Dakota may be a different team than they were in October, but has vivid recollections of what he saw from the Fighting Sioux earlier this season.

"They were a fast team with a tremendous amount of skill," he recalled. "The place that I found them vulnerable was their arrogance on the ice. Some of their players seemed unwilling to make the simple or easy play and would instead try something fancy.

"This led to turnovers and scoring chances. They are a good team, with extremely fast, dynamic, players who have the ability to score if you give them the chances. A smart, structured, strong defensive game is needed to beat them."

In 24 games for Manitoba, Cain has five goals and three assists.

I'll have much more from Cain in the near future.

Q&A with Brown associate head coach Mark White

by Ryan Fay

Fresh off a 1-0 shutout of #9/10 Yale, surging Brown (9-9-5, 5-6-5) comes in for a pivotal stretch run game Saturday night at Messa Rink. The Bears enter the weekend just one point behind Union (13-10-5, 6-6-4) in the league standings and both teams are fighting for a first-round bye.

In advance of the game, I chatted with Brown associate head coach Mark White. He discussed what he saw from Yale last night, breakout players like Matt Lorito and Anthony Borelli, his impressions of Union, and more.

UNION HOCKEY NEWS (UHN): Yale comes here on Friday. What were your impressions of them last night?

MARK WHITE (MW): They transition really well. They're going to be poised for a playoff run. It's a typical Yale team. They have a couple elite level players and they're a fast team. Yale has a defense that can move the puck. There were some questions about their goaltending with Jeff Malcolm out but I thought Nick Maricic (31 saves) looked pretty solid.

UHN: What can you say about the way Anthony Borelli has been playing in goal for you? His numbers (1.42 goals against average, .951 save percentage) rank him as one of the best in the country since he took over for Marco DeFilippo in early December.

Borelli (Brown)

MW: Anthony has taken the opportunity he was given and ran with it. He's been fantastic and very competitive in net for us. You look for a senior or two every year to step up and he's been that guy for us. You're usually only as good as your senior class. We've had a couple guys step up and he's been one of them. We had Mike Clemente getting the bulk of the starts the past couple years, but Anthony has proven he can play at a very high level.

UHN: Matt Lorito is breaking out in his sophomore season. His 14 goals leads the team and rank second among ECAC players. What's spurring his improvement?

MW: Matt missed the first seven or eight games with a wrist injury last year. To miss those games as a freshman made it tough to get off to a good start. He's a dynamic skater, has a knack for scoring, and he uses his speed to get into scoring situations. He played with senior Jack McClellan (15 goals) last year and that may have taken the load off him a bit. This year he's taken it more on himself to do some of that scoring. We're not a team that scores a lot, but he's doing the bulk of our scoring.

UHN: Your club is 3-0-1 over the past four games. What's clicking?

MW: Our goaltending is very strong. We play a strong defensive game and we don't give up a lot of "grade A" chances and second chances off rebounds. Beyond that, there's a belief in the locker room that we can win hockey games any way, any how. We're blocking a lot of shots and doing the little things that lead to wins. Guys are playing with a lot of grit right now. It's a small little stretch of wins, but we need to keep that going. It's crazy how tight the standings are.

UHN: Brown is riding a three game unbeaten streak against Union (2-0-1). Most other league teams haven't been as successful against them lately. Why do your guys match up so well against them?

MW: We've gotten good goaltending against them be it this year or last year. Union is usually ranked pretty high when we play them and the guys get up to play a nationally ranked opponent. Union has proven that they're an elite level program the past couple years. It's no different than any other ranked team that we play. We want to play everyone hard.

UHN: What were your impressions of Union when your guys skated to a 3-3 tie with them in December?

MW: They're a good team. Union has what you need in the special teams department. That's something that hurt us earlier in the year, but we have corrected that a bit. 33% of the game is played on special teams and Union excels in that area. They're not a team that beats themselves a whole lot. They have an identity, they stick with that identity, and they're disciplined in how they play.

UHN: Other than special teams, what are a couple other keys to the game from your end?

MW: We need to find a way to get traffic and pucks to the net. We pride ourselves on eliminating as many odd man rushes as possible and that tends to eliminate a lot of "grade A" chances for our opponent. If we work through the middle of the ice, we'll have a good chance to compete.

ECAC Hockey Power Rankings (2/11/13)

by Ryan Fay

Parity is the name of the game in the ECAC this year. Only six points separate second place Yale from the two teams tied for 10th place (Colgate, Brown).

Lets see how the teams stack up with only three more regular season weekends to go:

1. QUINNIPIAC (21-3-4 overall, 13-3-2 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1
The Bobcats went on the road and beat Cornell, 4-1, on Friday before outlasting Colgate, 3-2, on Saturday. The wins were no surprise as Quinnipiac has yet to lose a true road game all season long (10-0-2). It's a good thing the team was on the road with reports of 40 inches of snow in their home city of Hamden, CT.

2. YALE (13-6-3, 9-5-1) LW: 2
Yale only had one game on the weekend docket (at Brown), but it was postponed to tomorrow due to the powerful winter storm that rocked New England. With Yale potentially without goaltender Jeff Malcolm, and the way Anthony Borelli has been playing in net for Brown, it could be a very intriguing matchup.

3. RPI (12-11-5, 7-6-3) LW: 5
The Engineers were in the North Country to battle a couple surging teams in St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Saints entered the weekend 4-0-2 in their last six and Clarkson was 2-1-2 in their last five. That didn't phase RPI, which won a 4-3 overtime thriller in Canton on Friday before 6-2 thrashing of Clarkson the next night. Five of RPI's top six scorers are either freshmen or sophomores and breakout goaltender Jason Kasforf is another freshman. This is a team with a lot of upside the next couple years.

4. ST. LAWRENCE (13-11-4, 6-6-4) LW: 4
The Saints may have lost a nail biter to RPI on Friday, but they made up for it the next night. St. Lawrence came out firing and knocked Union out of the game with three first period goals. Union head coach Rick Bennett told me that St. Lawrence's Greg Carey, who had a goal and an assist on Saturday, has one of the quickest releases he's seen in college hockey in a long time. And defenseman Gunnar Hughes, who Bennett thought was "really underrated," must have been looking to shed that tag when his first period goal ended up being the eventual game-winner.

5. BROWN (8-9-5, 4-6-5) LW: 6
Brown's lone game (vs Yale) was pushed back to tomorrow due to inclement weather. Brown lost to Yale, 4-3, back on Dec. 1 but bring a three game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) into tomorrow's pivotal contest.

6. UNION (13-10-5, 6-4-4) LW: 3
Since Nov. 30, the two-time defending league champions are just 5-8-4. Thoughts of a third straight Cleary Cup are long dead, but now a first round bye is in jeopardy after laying an egg in the North Country. A 2-1 loss at Clarkson preceded a 4-2 setback at St. Lawrence and the Dutchmen never lead in either game. Union's goals per game have gone down each month this season: 4.00 (Oct), 3.57 (Nov), 2.80 (Dec), 2.25 (Jan), 1.67 (Feb). Even the penalty kill has failed the Dutchmen lately, as the PK is just 6-for-13 in the past three outings.

7. PRINCETON (9-10-4, 7-6-3) LW: 9
Princeton entered the weekend with just one road win all season long. So what did the Tigers do? They traveled to Colgate and Cornell and picked up more road wins in two days than they had in the previous four-plus months. That's ECAC hockey for you.

8. COLGATE (13-11-4, 5-8-3) LW: 7
Colgate is limping to the finish line. The Raiders are on a four game winless streak (0-2-2) and only have two wins in their last eight contests (2-4-2). The team entered the weekend 10-3 at home, but dropped back to back home contests to Princeton and Quinnipiac. The good news is the next three teams on the schedule (Harvard, Dartmouth, Union) aren't exactly lighting it up either. The Colgate power play, usually one of the best in the league, went 0-for-9 over the weekend.

9. DARTMOUTH (11-8-4, 7-6-3) LW: 8
Dartmouth picked up the dubious distinction of being the first ECAC team not to beat Harvard since Cornell did so nearly three months ago. The Big Green, which have all of one win in their past six games, skated to a 1-1 draw at Harvard on Sunday. Dartmouth has scored more than two goals just once in that span (5 vs Clarkson).

10. CLARKSON (7-14-7, 6-7-3) LW: 10
Allan McPherson scored two of Clarkson's four goals this weekend and was assisted by Ben Sexton and Will Frederick on both of them. The Golden Knights go back on the road and battle Princeton and Quinnipiac next weekend. Clarkson's single game high in goals this season (7) came in a 7-2 romp of Princeton on Nov. 17.

11. HARVARD (5-15-2, 3-12-1) LW: 12
The Crimson finally notched their first league point since November, but the best news coming out of the program over the weekend was former standout Alex Killorn ('12) getting promoted to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Killorn, who had 109 points in four seasons in Cambridge, collected 39 points in 43 games for Syracuse (AHL) prior to the bump.

12. CORNELL (8-13-2, 4-10-2) LW: 11
Saturday's 1-0 loss to Princeton was a microcosm of Cornell's prolonged dry spell. The Big Red outshot Princeton 39-12, including 9-0 in the third period, but still lost. Cornell is 1-10 over their past 11 games with the only win coming via a 3-2 triumph at Messa Rink on January 18th.

Friday night in Union Hockey (with video)

by Ryan Fay

It wasn't a banner night for the Union hockey programs. Neither the Dutchmen or Dutchwomen pulled out a win Friday night.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY

The Dutchwomen remain in search of their first league win of the year following a 3-1 setback to St. Lawrence (16-11-2, 11-5-1) Friday night at Messa Rink.

The game was scoreless into the second period when St. Lawrence's Jacqueline Wand opened the scoring at the 4:47 mark with an assist from Ellie Williams.

But the lead didn't last long. Forty one seconds later, a tripping penalty on Abbey McRae gave the Dutchwomen a power play opportunity. Rihanna Kurio cashed in a mere 18 seconds into the man advantage to tie the game at one.

There was some drama when the goal was briefly reviewed, but Union head coach Claudia Asano Barcomb said after the game the review was due to the goal judge neglecting to turn the light on.

It remained a 1-1 game until 8:01 of the third period when Rylee Smith put St. Lawrence up for good with an unassisted goal. A little more than four minutes later, Dayle Wilkinson made it a 3-1 game when she tacked on an insurance goal with assists from Amanda Boulier and Kayla Raniwsky.

The Dutchwomen (7-19-3, 0-14-3) were outshot 30-26 and return home at 4 pm today to host 6th-ranked Clarkson (22-7-0, 14-3-0). The Golden Knights beat RPI, 3-1, on Friday night.

This afternoon's game marks the sixth annual Pink at the Rink game and admission is free with a donation at the door to Kristin's Kause.

After the game, I caught up with Barcomb. She discussed tonight's loss and looked ahead to tomorrow's Pink at the Rink game against Clarkson.



Box Score

MEN'S HOCKEY

Clarkson (7-13-7, 6-6-3) snapped a nine game losing streak against the Dutchmen and held on for a 2-1 victory Friday night in Potsdam.

The Golden Knights scored one goal in each of the first two periods. Sam Labrecque led off the scoring at 7:46 of the opening period and Allen McPherson increased Clarkson's lead to 2-0 with a power play goal at 6:38 of the second period.

The Union offense was shutout until the 13:37 mark of the final period when Josh Jooris lit the lamp with an assist from Charlie Vasaturo. It was Jooris' first goal since a two goal game at Brown on December 7th and Vasaturo's first point since a goal at Harvard on November 9th.

After allowing two goals on seven shots, Troy Grosenick was pulled in the second period in favor of Colin Stevens. The sophomore, seeing his first action since January 5th at Lake Superior State, proceeded to stop all 11 shots that came his way.

Greg Lewis stopped 27 of 28 shots for Clarkson, which was outshot 28-18.

Union (13-9-5, 6-5-4) will look to rebound tonight at St. Lawrence, which dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to RPI on Friday.

Box Score

Q&A with Dartmouth associate head coach Dave Peters

by Ryan Fay

#18 Union (6-4-3, 13-8-4) returns to action tomorrow night at 7:30 pm when #16 Dartmouth (7-5-1, 11-7-2) comes to Messa Rink for a nationally televised game on the NBC Sports Network.

The two teams enter tomorrow's game tied for third place in the ECAC with 15 points apiece. Union will be looking for their fourth in a row and both teams are aiming to solidify a spot in the top four with eyes on a first round bye in the league playoffs.

To get the other side of the story, I interviewed Dave Peters, the associate men's hockey head coach at Dartmouth. A college hockey veteran with over two decades of coaching experience, he's currently in his 14th season on the Big Green staff.

Peters offers thoughts on the game, what he saw from Union in November, and some of his players who could be factors.

UNION HOCKEY NEWS (UHN): If someone is seeing Dartmouth for the first time tomorrow, what type of team will they see?

DAVE PETERS (DP): We're a big team, we play hard, and try to keep the game simple. We try to get pucks deep, we try to get pucks to the net, and we try to get our forecheck going. We try to play really good tough defense and try to keep the puck out of our zone. We like to transition and get pucks behind the opposition's defense and work it low.

UHN: What were your impressions of Union when you beat them, 3-2, at your place on November 10th?

DP: We were very impressed with their team and have been the past few years. Union has a lot of talent, they're very well coached, and they have an excellent powerplay. Their whole defensive core is good, but the thing that impresses me the most is they have three defensemen who remind me of the "big three" on the Montreal Canadiens from way back (Larry Robinson, Guy LaPointe, Serge Savard). To have a defenseman on the ice at probably all times that can get you out of a jam, move the puck, control the play, and add to the offense is what sets Union apart.

Even though they lost Jeremy Welsh and Kelly Zajac, who were really good players, Union has a good group of forwards. Wayne Simpson, Kyle Bodie, and Daniel Carr have put up great numbers this year. They have a Hobey Baker caliber goaltender in Troy Grosenick. It's talent and depth at all positions and that's what is really impressive.

UHN: Your leading scorer, Tyler Sikura, was good as a freshman last year (25 pts, 33 games) but looks to be even better this year (25 pts, 20 games). What makes him dangerous?

Sikura (Dartmouth)

DP: He's a player you can play in all situations. He's killing penalties, he's on the powerplay, and he plays a regular shift. He's a very good offensive player and has an excellent hockey sense. Sometimes you have a playmaker who isn't a goal scorer, but he can also score. He has a tremendous release on his shot and his skating and strength have both improved over last year. That's given him a little more confidence.

UHN: How important is it to have a healthy Dustin Walsh (7 g, 6 a) back in the lineup?

Walsh, a senior, was a sixth round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2009 and has battled injuries throughout his Dartmouth career. He recently missed three games, but he returned last weekend and had two goals an assist.

DP: It's really important for us because he's such a talented player. What it does is give us another forward who can score goals and make plays. It takes pressure off Sikura, Matt Lindblad (9 g, 14 a), and Eric Robinson (team-leading 10 goals), who have led our team all year. To add Walsh to that group is another player who can help us offensively.

UHN: After losing a couple senior goaltenders last year (James Melo, Jody O'Neill), junior Cab Morris has stepped up and has a 1.99 goals against average and a .922 save percentage in 12 games. What can you say about his play?

DP: Morris has been very good and consistent. He has given us a chance to win almost every night out and has a tremendous work ethic. He's very prepared on and off the ice and he practices hard.

UHN: Freshman Charles Grant has also seen a healthy amount of time in goal (8 games) and has quickly posted solid numbers (2.61 GAA, .908 save %). How much of a luxury is it when you have two goaltenders  you feel comfortable starting?

DP: It's been good. With Melo and O'Neill playing so much throughout their careers, goaltending was a bit of an unknown for us going into the year. Grant has also done a very good job and has given us a chance to win when he has played. We feel like we have confidence in both goaltenders. We have a third goaltender, James Kruger, who hasn't had an opportunity to play. But we're high on him and feel like he's right there as well.

UHN: Are all your guys healthy going into the game?

DP: We lost Brandon McNally (6 g, 5 a) in the Brown game (January 18th). He's not going to be available for us this weekend.

UHN: How would you say your club has been playing leading up to tomorrow's game?

DP: We've been a little inconsistent. But we like our team and feel we've been playing solid hockey.

UHN: Your squad is the least penalized team in the ECAC, so how important is that considering Union's powerplay is best in the country?

DP: It's really important. You have to stay out of the box, play with discipline, and limit the powerplay opportunities. We've done a good job of that this year and hope to continue that.

UHN: What are a couple other keys to the game from your end?

DP: We have to play with confidence. We're playing in an opposing building, so we have to keep the game simple, play our system, and be good defensively. We have to get pucks behind their defense and play the game in their end. We need to get pucks and traffic to the net. That's what we call playing the right way, and if we do that, we should have a chance.

Can't make it to the game? Find your local NBC Sports Network channel.

ECAC Power Rankings - 1/28/13

by Ryan Fay

1. QUINNIPIAC (11-0-1 ECAC, 18-3-3 overall) - Tuesday's 2-1 win over Connecticut may have been closer than some expected, but the Bobcats show no signs of slowing down. On tap is a road trip to Brown and #7/8 Yale, the only ECAC teams yet to face off against #2/2 Quinnipiac this season.

2. YALE (8-4-1, 12-5-3) - A 4-1 setback at Colgate on Saturday was Yale's first loss in nearly a month (December 30th to Holy Cross). Yale returns home, where they have a 5-2-1 record this season, to face Princeton and Quinnipiac this weekend. It will be their first meetings against both teams this year.

3. UNION (6-4-3, 13-8-4) - Concern has died down after three straight wins over Colgate, Harvard, and a non-leaguer over RPI. One sign of hope is highly touted freshman Matt Wilkins scoring his first three collegiate goals in January (including Saturday's game winner). Next on the docket is a rematch with #16 Dartmouth, which beat #18 Union, 3-2, at Thompson Arena in early November.

4. COLGATE (5-6-1, 13-9-2) - The Raiders have won five of their past seven games with the only blemishes being a weekend sweep in the Capital District on January 19th & 20th. Most impressive was Saturday's win over Yale. One concern going forward - six of their last 10 games are on the road, where the team is just 2-6-2 on the season (compared to 10-3 at home). Next up is a trip to the North Country, whose teams (Clarkson, St. Lawrence) split with Colgate a couple months ago.

5. DARTMOUTH (7-5-1, 11-7-2) - After starting 4-0 in ECAC play, the Big Green have gone just 3-5-1 since. The team split the weekend against the North Country teams, losing 4-2 to St. Lawrence before beating Clarkson 5-1.

6. PRINCETON (5-4-3, 7-8-4) - Since the calendar flipped to 2013, the Tigers have won four of five games with the lone hiccup being a 3-2 home loss to Union on January 11th. Revenge will be the theme this weekend when Princeton travels to Yale and Brown. Yale and Brown beat Princeton earlier this year, 3-2 and 2-1, respectively.

7. ST. LAWRENCE (4-5-3, 11-10-3) - The Saints have won or tied their past four games (3-0-1) including a 4-2 win at Dartmouth on Friday. It marked only Dartmouth's second home loss of the year (9-2).

8. RPI (3-6-3, 8-11-5) - Saturday's 3-2 non-league loss to Union aside, the Engineers have been playing better hockey of late. They handed Quinnipiac its only non-win in league play this season with a 1-1 tie on January 11th. The next weekend, they had their first home sweep of Cornell and Colgate since the 1990s. RPI hosts Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend.

9. BROWN (3-6-4, 7-9-4) - Brown has been up and down since league play resumed, going 3-3 in their past six league contests. The Bears split the weekend, losing 2-1 to Colgate ahead of a 3-0 win over Cornell.

10. CORNELL (4-6-2, 8-9-2) - Cornell has fallen on hard times. The Big Red have dropped six of their past seven games with the lone win being a 3-2 come from behind win at Union on January 18th. Making matters worse was losing World Junior Championship gold medalist Cole Bardreau for the rest of the season with a fractured neck. Cornell will look to rebound this weekend against Clarkson and St. Lawrence, who they swept earlier this year.

11. CLARKSON (4-6-2, 5-13-6) - Clarkson has one win in their past eight games, a 5-1 thrashing of hapless Harvard on Friday. The Golden Knights begin a four game homestand this weekend but don't expect much home cooking as the team is only 1-8 at home this season.

12. HARVARD (3-11, 5-13-1) - Decimated by an academic cheating scandal that resulted in the loss of four players a couple months ago, the Crimson have gone 1-11-1 in their past 13 games.

Where Union is in the polls - 1/28/13

by Ryan Fay

It's Monday, which means its poll day.

How did the Dutchmen fare this week? Lets find out.

USCHO

After picking up a couple wins over Harvard (4-1, Tuesday) and RPI (3-2, Saturday), the Dutchmen (13-8-4) rose one spot to 18th in the latest USCHO top 20 poll.

ECAC-leading Quinnipiac (18-3-3) picked up 22 first place votes, but fell eight points shy of the top spot. WCHA powerhouse Minnesota (18-4-4) retained its place atop the rankings.

Other ECAC teams in the poll were Yale (8th, 12-5-3) and Dartmouth (16th, 11-7-2). Dartmouth comes to Messa Rink on Friday night for a nationally televised game on the NBC Sports Network.

Colgate (19 votes, 13-9-2) and Cornell (5 votes, 8-9-2) were in consideration but didn't make the cut.

USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine

The Dutchmen remain unranked in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine top 15 poll. Union did receive six votes, which is actually one less than last week despite picking up two wins.

Quinnipiac was slotted second with 11 first place votes but Minnesota again proved too much to topple for the highest spot. Yale was the lone other ECAC representative in the top 15, as they were ranked 7th.

On the outside looking in were Dartmouth (45 votes) and the aforementioned Dutchmen (6 votes).

PAIRWISE

Union has moved up slightly in the pairwise as they currently sit 18th.

Rk	Team	PCWs	W-L-T	Win %	Rk	RPI	Rk
1	Quinnipiac	28	18-3-3	.812	1	.5870	1
2	Minnesota	27	18-4-4	.769	2	.5724	2
3	New Hampshire	25	15-6-2	.696	4	.5672	3
4	Miami	25	15-6-5	.673	7	.5546	4
5	Yale	24	12-5-3	.675	6	.5538	5
6	Boston College	24	14-7-2	.652	8t	.5521	6
7	Western Michigan	22	16-6-4	.692	5	.5457	7
8	Mass.-Lowell	21	14-7-2	.652	8t	.5456	8
9	St. Cloud State	19	15-10-1	.596	16t	.5433	9
10	North Dakota	18	13-8-5	.596	16t	.5415	10
11	Boston University	17	13-9-1	.587	18	.5404	11
12	Alaska-Fairbanks	17	12-8-4	.583	19t	.5331	18
13	Denver	16	13-8-4	.600	13t	.5396	12
14	Notre Dame	15	16-10-0	.615	11t	.5384	13
15	Dartmouth	15	11-7-2	.600	13t	.5365	14
16	Minnesota State	13	16-9-3	.625	10	.5350	15
17	Niagara	12	15-4-5	.729	3	.5346	16
18	Union	10	13-8-4	.600	13t	.5259	19
19	Colgate	10	13-9-2	.583	19t	.5221	20
20	Northern Michigan	10	11-12-4	.481	32	.5123	23
21	Nebraska-Omaha	8	15-9-2	.615	11t	.5334	17
22	Ferris State	8	13-10-3	.558	24	.5183	22
23	Wisconsin	7	11-8-5	.562	23	.5210	21
24	Ohio State	4	10-11-5	.481	33	.5087	24
25	Providence	4	10-10-4	.500	28t	.5072	25
26	Robert Morris	4	12-9-2	.565	22	.5046	26
27	Cornell	2	8-9-2	.474	36t	.5044	27
28	Merrimack	1	10-10-5	.500	28t	.5022	28
29	Holy Cross	0	13-9-2	.583	19t	.5021	29

Pairwise information via collegehockeynews.com.

Dutchwomen fall to RPI, 2-1 (with video)

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY -- The Dutchwomen dropped a 2-1 decision to RPI Friday night at Messa Rink.

The game was tied at one going into the third period, but Taylor Horton's second goal of the night at 5:24 proved to be the game winner for RPI (7-15-3, 5-7-1). Horton also opened the scoring with a powerplay tally at 15:35 of the first period.

"We had a breakdown and I think it hit off a kid," Union head coach Claudia Asano Barcomb said of the game winning goal. "We didn't have [someone] on the back door. We usually don't have those kind of breakdowns, but that shouldn't be the game-winner. We should have answered back and put another one in."

The Dutchwomen (7-15-3, 0-10-3) nearly did when they strung together a few good chances at the end of the game.

"I wish we had a couple more minutes because I thought we really put pressure on them at the end," Barcomb said.

The comeback attempt was hampered when the team was forced to kill a tripping penalty on Nicole Bartlett with 24 seconds left in regulation.

"It was tough," Barcomb said of the penalty. "She was trying and making all the efforts to try to help us put the puck in the net. You can't blame a kid for trying."

Kelly McGrath notched Union's lone goal with a game-tying powerplay tally at 14:09 of the second period. Aside from the powerplay goal, Union's special teams killed four of five RPI powerplays, including back to back chances in the second period.

The Dutchwomen, who were outshot 30-24, picked up 28 saves from Shenae Lundberg.

The two schools meet for the third time this season at RPI at 3:00 pm. The winner will take the season series as Union won the first game, 3-2, on October 20th. That game was a non-league affair.

For more from Barcomb, watch my postgame interview with her. If you can't see the embedded player below, click here to watch.

Union uses late surge to beat Harvard, 4-1

For postgame videos, scroll down or click here. There's four: Harvard coach Ted Donato, Union coach Rick Bennett, Union player Wayne Simpson, and Union players Mat Bodie and Matt Wilkins.

==========

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY -- Forget about collapsing in the third period.

On Tuesday night, Union saved its best for last.

The Dutchmen scored three goals in the final period to roll to a 4-1 win over Harvard at Messa Rink. Union, which won its second game in a row, had gone six games without even one third period goal.

Before Union broke out in the third, their powerplay opened the scoring late in the second. Harvard's Luke McGregor was called for holding at 16:19 and Max Novak cashed in at 17:27 to make a 1-0 game.

"Novak was real patient and made a great play with that spinaround shot," said Union defenseman Mat Bodie, who picked up his first of three assists on the goal. "It was Matt Wilkins in front and I don't think their goalie saw it."

The Union powerplay, which ranks first in the country at 26.4%, hit paydirt again on Union's first goal of the third. Union had a 5-on-3 opportunity at 7:36 when Luke Greiner was whistled for high sticking on a delayed hooking penalty on Mitchell Everson.

Wayne Simpson capitalized and made the Crimson pay, putting Union ahead, 2-0, at the 8:12 mark. It was his team-leading twelfth goal of the season and eventually proved to be the game winner.

"Not many players can make the play Mat Bodie did to get it to me," Simpson said of his teammate. "He drew some of the guys out, so it was pretty much me. I was looking for the pass initially, but I found a spot to put in, and luckily it just snuck in the corner."

Jimmy Vesey, Harvard's star freshman, made it a 2-1 game with just over nine minutes left in regulation.

"There was a little life on the bench when we scored," Harvard head coach Ted Donato said.

But Union's lead quickly grew back to two, 3-1, when Wilkins provided some breathing room with his second goal of the month at the 13:35 mark.

"Like my first goal, it was kind of weight off the shoulder," the freshman said after the game. "It's not as if I've been lacking opportunities, but they haven't been going in. Hopefully this one will get me going."

Said Bodie of the goal, "it was huge for us. I think that was the one where we felt 'alright, I think we have this one under control.'"

Bodie, who is four points from setting the school record for points by a defenseman, drew praise from Union head coach Rick Bennett.

"He's been doing the little things that the coaching staff has been showing and that tells what type of leader he is," Bennett said. "His defensive play the past two games has been dynamite. And his offense tonight was the benefit of that."

What wasn't praiseworthy was Union drawing a penalty for too many men on the ice for the third straight game.

"One of our guys had a foot over," Bennett said. "He was coming back hard, but our guy jumped forward. It's going to be a tough skate on Thursday -- for the coaching staff as well. It's a team penalty and the coaching staff is going to be held accountable just as much as the players are."

Daniel Carr's empty net goal with 19 seconds left in the game made it a 4-1 lead for Union, which outshot Harvard, 38-23, on the night. Troy Grosenick added 22 saves in the winning effort.

The Dutchmen resume play on Saturday night in a non-league contest against rival RPI at the Times Union Center.

JOORIS UPDATE

Don't expect injured forward Josh Jooris to play in Saturday's game.

"It doesn't look great," Bennett said after the game.

Jooris was banged up in the third period of Saturday's win over Colgate and missed his first game of the year on Tuesday.

"It's upper-middle body. Could be lower-body for all I know. It's somewhere in the body. That's all I know at this time," Bennett coyly added.


Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
Harvard vs #19 Union (Jan 22, 2013 at Schenectady, NY)

Harvard (5-11-1 (3-9-0 ECACH)) vs. Union (12-8-4 (6-4-3 ECACH)) Date: Jan 22, 2013 Location: Schenectady, NY Arena: Messa Rink Attendance:1624 Start time:7:00 pm End time:9:04 pm Total time:2:04  Goals by Period 1st 2nd 3rd Total Harvard 0 0 1 1 Union 0 1 3 4 Scoring Summary # Prd Time Team Type Scored by Assists Visitor on ice Home on ice 1. 2nd 17:37 UNION PP Novak, Max/4 Bodie, Mat/10 63,38,9,5 18,22,24,9,19 Gingras, Sebastien/3 2. 3rd 08:12 UNION PP Simpson, Wayne/12 Bodie, Mat/11 63,5,9 21,22,14,12,9 Gostisbehere, Shayne/11 3. 3rd 10:54 HARV EVEN Vesey, Jimmy/7 Blackwell, Colin/4 9,63,19,39,5 16,15,14,20,10 4. 3rd 13:35 UNION EVEN Wilkins, Matt/2 Bodie, Mat/12 7,5,20,38,13 19,22,9,10,3 Carr, Daniel/10 5. 3rd 19:41 UNION EN Carr, Daniel/9 Bodie, Kyle/19 39,5,63,9,26,19 9,21,14,20,12 Simpson, Wayne/14

POSTGAME VIDEOS

Welsh returns to NHL action

by Ryan Fay

Former Union standout Jeremy Welsh will reportedly play in his second NHL game tonight.

Welsh (Union Athletics)

According to Carolina Hurricanes beat writer Chip Alexander, Welsh will be on the fourth line tonight when the Hurricanes play the Tampa Bay Lightning. Another former ECAC player, Kevin Westgarth (Princeton), will also be on Welsh's line.

Welsh, who lead Union with 27 goals last season, was spending the lockout plagued year with Carolina's AHL affiliate in Charlotte. He had six goals and seven assists in 37 games.

Hours after Union's loss to Ferris State in the 2012 Frozen Four, Welsh gave up his final year of eligibility and signed with the Hurricanes.

Two days later, on April 7th, he made his NHL debut against Florida. He didn't factor in the scoring that night.

Gameday links - 1/22/13

Info and links for tonight's 7 pm faceoff at Messa Rink between Harvard and the 19th-ranked Dutchmen.

UNION LINEUP
RADIO: 1160 AM / 1240 AM (Capital District)
ONLINE: Free live radio stream | Live video stream ($7.95)
GAME NOTES: Harvard game notes | Union game notes
IN GAME UPDATES: Live stats | Twitter

Come back here a few hours after the game for all the postgame coverage.

Union Hockey Notebook - 1/21/13

by Ryan Fay

The 19th-ranked Dutchmen return to action tomorrow night when Harvard comes to Messa Rink for a 7 pm faceoff. It will be the third home game in five days -- Union lost to Cornell, 3-2, on Friday and beat Colgate, 2-1, on Saturday.

All this following 48 day stretch with no home games.

DUTCHMEN VS HARVARD: THE BIG GAME THAT ISN'T

Before the season, tomorrow's game looked like a much bigger game. Union was fresh off an appearance in the Frozen Four while Harvard looked like a team on the precipice of bigger things following a 3-1 loss to Union in the ECAC Championship game. Both were picked to finish in the top three in preseason league polls - Union first, Harvard third.

This year hasn't gone quite as well for either school. What looked like a potential key late midseason league game between two schools figuring to be chasing a Cleary Cup has instead turned into a tilt between two teams looking to regain momentum.

After a strong start to the season, which included a 6-2 win at Harvard on November 9th, Union has struggled in the past two months. The Dutchmen are 3-6-3 since November 30th and had a stretch in that period with one win in eight games. In six games since the calendar flipped to 2013, Union has scored more than two goals in a game just once (3 vs Princeton). Despite the slump, the Dutchmen remain well in contention for a first-round bye in the ECAC playoffs, but thoughts of a third straight Cleary Cup are a thing of the past.

Harvard, which was ranked as high as #13 in the USCHO poll earlier this season, has suffered a similar fate. After picking up wins in four of their first six games, the Crimson have only one win since mid-November, a 6-5 overtime win in non-conference play against Boston University on January 9th. The Crimson have dropped six straight league games and currently sit in the ECAC basement with six points.

Playing shorthanded hasn't helped Harvard. Three defenseman (Max Everson, Patrick McNally, and Mark Luzar) were removed from the roster in early December. Harvard never provided a reason for their removal, but it's widely believed it was in connection with an academic cheating scandal that rocked the campus.

The loss of the three defenseman (two of whom are NHL draft picks) has left Harvard with just six defenseman on the roster. McNally, a fourth round selection by Vancouver in 2010, had 28 points in 34 games last year and three in seven contests this season. Everson, who played in Harvard's first seven games this year, was selected in the seventh round by Toronto in 2011. Luzar had yet to play this year.

(ecachockey.com)

Playing shorthanded on defense has showed. Harvard has allowed at least five goals in five of its last eight games going back to early December. In that eight game stretch, the fewest goals allowed in a game was three.

A fourth player, backup goaltender Steve Michalek, left the program in November but later admitted his departure was due to the cheating scandal. A sixth round draft choice of Minnesota in 2011, Michalek had yet to see ice time this season prior to his exit.

Even short-term losses have hurt the Crimson. Star freshman Jimmy Vesey missed three games (all losses) while he was playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championships earlier this month. The forward, who leads Harvard with six goals, went 66th overall to Nashville in last year's draft. Union can sympathize, as they lost a standout of their own to the WJC. Shayne Gostisbehere missed four games and the Dutchmen lost three of them.

Union enters tomorrow's tilt as the favorite. With Harvard's recent penchant for allowing goals, it's a game you'd like to see Union get the offense going and get four or five goals on the board. That's possible, and I'm going to say Union comes away with a 4-1 win. What's your prediction?

DUTCHWOMEN ALMOST DID IT

The Dutchwomen nearly made headlines on Saturday, but came up just short.

Playing at #2/3 Harvard, the Dutchwomen lost, but it was only a 1-0 game. Had they won, it would have easily been the biggest win program history as well as Harvard's first loss in league play this year.

Despite the loss, there was plenty to be optimistic about. It was a significantly better showing than the 9-0 thrashing Harvard delivered at Messa Rink earlier this month. The one goal Harvard had on Saturday tied their lowest single game goal output this season. The Crimson rank fifth in Division I women's hockey at 4.06 goals a game, so a lot of credit is due to the Dutchwomen defense and goaltender Shenae Lundberg (34 saves).

The Dutchwomen remain in search of their first league win this season, but they have seven wins in non-league play, their best single season win total at the Division I level. And with near upsets like the one this weekend, it's a program slowly moving in the right direction.

The biggest improvement going forward has to come on offense. The team generated just seven shots in the loss to Harvard and rank last in Division I women's hockey at 1.33 goals a game.

The team resumes play Friday night at Messa Rink against RPI, a team they beat in a non-league game (3-2) back in October. Gametime is 7 pm.

POLLS RELEASED

After splitting the weekend, Union fell two spots to #19 in this week's USCHO poll. Other ECAC teams in the poll were Quinnipiac (2nd with two first place votes), Yale (8th), Dartmouth (12th) and Cornell (18th). Colgate fell out of top 20 but received six votes.

Union remains unranked in the latest USA Today / USA Hockey magazine poll. The team received 7 votes, but that wasn't nearly enough to crack the top 15. Quinnipiac (second with three first place votes), Yale (7th) and Dartmouth (13th) were the ECAC teams ranked. Cornell was in consideration with 14 votes.

AUDIO: Colgate men's hockey head coach Don Vaughan

by Ryan Fay

Vaughan (Colgate Athletics)

It will be a matchup of ranked teams on Saturday night when #17
Union (10-7-4, 4-3-3 ECAC) hosts #20 Colgate (11-7-2, 3-4-1).

In advance of the game, I chatted with Colgate head coach Don Vaughan.

Now in his 20th season on the Colgate bench, Vaughan discusses
what kind of team he has this year, the Dutchmen, and more.

To listen, click here or listen via the player below. The interview runs about eight minutes.

Hosted by Kiwi6 file hosting. Download mp3 - Free Music Hosting.

Follow Your Favorite Dutchmen on Twitter

We figured this would be a good time to tell you all that the founder of UHB, Dan Greene, has begun his new blogging project. His new blog is called "1989 & Still Waiting," and covers all of ECAC men's hockey. The URL for the blog is www.ecachockeyblog.blogspot.com, and you can follow it on Twitter at @ECACHockeyBlog.

The blog is only a week old, but he's already done some good stuff, including making a list of ECAC Hockey players on Twitter.

Here's the list he compiled of Dutchmen you can follow on Twitter:

Daniel Ciampini - @dchamp26
Charlie Vasaturo - @cvasaturo6
Trevor Mingoia - @tmingo12
Kelly Zajac - @Kzajac19
Kevin Sullivan - @KevinSullivan27
Mat Bodie - @MBodes22
Josh Jooris - @JJooris19
Mike Ingoldsby - @mikeingoldsby
Tyson Fulton - @tysonfulton
Sam Coatta - @samcoatta
Max Novak - @NaxMovak8
Troy Grosenick - @goaler27
Mark Bennett - @markbennett91


Here's a few "shared" Twitter accounts some Dutchmen have:


Matt Hatch/Kevin Sullivan - @Da222cru
Brian Yanovitch/Cole Ikkala - @GreenMachin2618


And here's some other "shared" accounts, but they're a little tricky. Can you figure them out:


Ryle Simpgaard - @136park_2nd
Gregemy Stuburn - @136park_1st


You can also follow Keith Kinkaid at @k1nkaid and Corey Milan at @U_Tendy31


To follow other current ECAC players, check out Dan's list on his new blog: http://ecachockeyblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/ecac-hockey-players-on-twitter.html

Dutchmen Win 5 of 7 ECAC Awards

Tonight in Atlantic City the ECAC announced their regular season awards. Of the seven awards handed out, five were given to individuals from Union.

Here were the results:

Most Outstanding Player: Chase Polacek, RPI
Ken Dryden Award: Keith Kinkaid, Union
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Calof, Princeton
Best Defensive Forward: Adam Presizniuk, Union
Best Defensive Defenseman: Brock Matheson, Union
Student-Athlete of the Year: Stephane Boileau, Union
Coach of the Year: Nate Leaman, Union

For more on each recipient check out:
ECAC Hockey
Union Athletics
Ken Schott's Blog

Congrats to Keith, Prezie, Brock, Stephane, and Coach on these tremendous honors! Also, congrats to Polacek and Calof on great seasons. It's a little weird that none of these guys will be in Atlantic City this weekend.

You can't really disagree with the selections too much. Personally, I would have give the Rookie of the Year to Greg Carey from St. Lawrence.

Union Loses Mariucci Classic Championship Game

Matt Read scored twice for the Beavers

After Friday night's big win against Minnesota, the Dutchmen followed it up with a disappointing 3-1 loss against the Bemidji State Beavers in the tournament championship game. This is a pretty disappointing way to end the out of conference schedule and head into the winter term.

Here is what Union has done in OOC games this season:
vs. Sacred Heart - W, 9-0
vs. Sacred Heart - W, 7-3
at. Alaska-Fairbanks - L, 1-2 (Brice Alaska Goal Rush)
at Alaska-Anchorage - W, 4-3 (Brice Alaska Goal Rush)
vs. Niagara - W, 6-1
vs. RIT - W, 7-2
vs. UConn - T, 3-3
vs. RPI - T, 3-3 (Lake Placid - Halloween Faceoff)
vs. AIC - W, 8-1
vs. Army - W, 6-2
at Western Michigan - L, 1-2
at Western Michigan - L, 1-3
at Minnesota - W, 3-2 (OT) (Mariucci Classic)
at Bemidji - L, 1-3 (Mariucci Classic)

So Union went 8-4-2 in non-ECAC play, which looks pretty good but when you analyze it they really didn't do so great. Against Atlantic Hockey opponents (some of the weakest teams in NCAA Division I hockey) the Dutchmen went 6-0-1, outscoring their opponents 46-12. This means they went 2-4-1 against stronger OOC opponents where they were outscored 11-15 (I am not counting the RPI game since they are in the ECAC). So, this shows that Union has trouble competing against some of the tougher teams in college hockey, while they beat up on weaker opponents. One should also realize that these "tougher" OOC opponents are not ranked higher than the Dutchmen in the USCHO national rankings. Besides the win over Minnesota, Union has not proven that they are a legitimate contender for a national tournament berth.

Presizniuk is just one point away from breaking Union's
all-time points record. He currently tied with Jason Walters
at 115 points.

The problem behind this struggle against these tougher teams is the lack of offense. In the seven games against these "tough" teams the Dutchmen averaged just 1.57 goals per game. That is not a formula for success. Maybe the absence of Adam Presizniuk is a reason to why this has happened. The defense on the other hand has done their part as they have only allowed 2.14 goals per game in these seven games.

To be brutally honest, I really think that at this moment Union is very overrated. They have not proven to be the #12 team in the country. Beating up on the cellar dwellers is nice, but if you can't pull out wins against tough opponents on the road you will not be making the national tournament. Hopefully, they can step their game up in ECAC play, climb the standings, and make a run in the league playoffs. There are plenty of big games against good opponents in the ECAC to play (Yale, Clarkson, Princeton, Dartmouth), so Union still has the chance to prove that they are a legitimate Top 16 team. As of this moment Union is tied for 14th in the PWR, which is good for a NCAA tournament berth.

I will be back on campus tomorrow as classes start up for the winter term on Monday.

Here are some links about the game against Bemidji:
Union Athletics.com
USCHO
CHN
BSU Beavers.com