AUDIO: Rick Bennett speaks to the media

by Ryan Fay

Union men's hockey head coach Rick Bennett spoke with the media via teleconference on Tuesday.

To hear his session, click here or listen below.

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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.

ECAC Media Pick The Playoffs

by Ryan Fay

With the ECAC men's hockey playoffs getting underway tonight, I polled several ECAC media members and asked how they see the playoffs unfolding. Their full playoff picks are below.

Some important notes:

• No. 1 Quinnipiac, No. 2 Rensselaer, No. 3 Yale, and No. 4 Union have first round byes.
• In the quarterfinals, Quinnipiac faces the lowest remaining seed, Rensselaer the second lowest remaining, Yale the third lowest remaining, and Union the fourth lowest remaining.
• In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds left and second highest and second lowest left seeds play a single game.

_______________________________________________

SEAN MARTIN - Albany Times Union

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Dartmouth in 2
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- Colgate in 3
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown in 3
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell in 2

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)
Colgate at No. 1 Quinnipiac ---  Quinnipiac in 2
Cornell at No. 2 Rensselaer --- Rensselaer in 3
Brown at No. 3 Yale --- Yale in 2
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union --- Dartmouth in 3

SEMIFINALS

Quinnipiac vs Dartmouth --- Quinnipiac
Yale vs Rensselaer --- Yale

CHAMPIONSHIP
Yale vs Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac
_______________________________________________

KEN SCHOTT - Daily Gazette

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Dartmouth in 3
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- St. Lawrence in 2
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown in 2
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Princeton in 3

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)
Princeton at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac in 2
Brown at No. 2 RPI --- RPI in 3
St. Lawrence at No. 3 Yale --- Yale in 3
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union --- Union in 2

SEMIFINALS
Union vs. Quinnipiac --- Union
Yale vs. RPI --- RPI

CHAMPIONSHIP
RPI vs. Union --- RPI
_______________________________________________

MARK DIVVER - Providence Journal

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)

No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Dartmouth in 3
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- St. Lawrence in 2
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown in 3
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell in 3

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)

Cornell at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac
Brown at No. 2 RPI --- Brown
St. Lawrence at No. 3 Yale --- St. Lawrence
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union --- Union

SEMIFINALS
Quinnipiac vs Brown --- Quinnipiac
Union vs St. Lawrence --- Union

CHAMPIONSHIP
Quinnipiac vs Union --- Quinnipiac
_______________________________________________

JOSH SEGUIN - College Hockey News

FIRST ROUND (best of 3)

No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Harvard in 3
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- St. Lawrence in 3
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown in 2
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell in 3

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)

Harvard at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac in 2
Cornell at No. 2 RPI --- RPI in 3
Brown at No. 3 Yale --- Yale in 3
St. Lawrence at No. 4 Union --- Union in 2

SEMIFINALS
Union vs Quinnipiac --- Union
RPI vs Yale --- Rensselaer

CHAMPIONSHIP
RPI vs Union -- RPI
_______________________________________________

NATE OWEN - USCHO

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Dartmouth
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- St. Lawrence
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)
Cornell at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac
Brown at No. 2 RPI --- RPI
St. Lawrence at No. 3 Yale --- Yale
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union --- Union

SEMIFINALS
Union vs Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac
Yale vs. RPI --- RPI

CHAMPIONSHIP
RPI vs. Quinnipiac --- RPI
_______________________________________________

ADAM WODON - College Hockey News

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Dartmouth in 3
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- St. Lawrence in 2
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Clarkson in 3
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell in 2

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)
Clarkson at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac in 2
Cornell at No. 2 RPI --- RPI in 3
St. Lawrence at No. 3 Yale --- St. Lawrence in 3
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union --- Dartmouth in 3

SEMIFINALS
St. Lawrence vs Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac
Dartmouth vs. RPI ---RPI

CHAMPIONSHIP
Quinnipiac vs RPI --- Quinnipiac
_______________________________________________

ANONYMOUS ECAC BROADCASTER

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Dartmouth
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- Colgate
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)
Colgate at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac
Cornell at No. 2 Rensselaer --- Cornell
Brown at No. 3 Yale --- Yale
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union --- Union

SEMIFINALS
Cornell vs Quinnipiac -- Quinnipiac
Union vs Yale --- Union

CHAMPIONSHIP
Union vs Quinnipiac ---  Quinnipiac
_______________________________________________

Me - Union Hockey Blog

FIRST-ROUND (best of 3)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth --- Harvard in 3
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence --- St. Lawrence in 2
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown --- Brown in 2
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton --- Cornell in 3

QUARTERFINALS (best of 3)
Harvard at No. 1 Quinnipiac --- Quinnipiac in 2
Cornell at No. 2 RPI --- RPI in 3
Brown at No. 3 Yale --- Yale in 3
St. Lawrence at No. 4 Union --- Union in 2

SEMIFINALS
Union vs Quinnipiac --- Union
Yale vs. RPI --- RPI

CHAMPIONSHIP
RPI vs. Union --- Union

ECAC Hockey Power Rankings (and playoff schedule)

by Ryan Fay

Before we get to the power rankings, here is a look at the ECAC playoff schedule:

FIRST-ROUND (Friday, Mar. 8 - Sunday, Mar. 10 - Best-of-three games - campus sites)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton

Quinnipiac, Rensselaer, Yale, and Union have first round byes.

QUARTERFINALS (Friday, Mar. 15 - Sunday, Mar. 17 - Best-of-three games - campus sites)
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Quinnipiac
Second lowest remaining seed at No. 2 Rensselaer
Third lowest remaining seed at No. 3 Yale
Fourth lowest remaining seed at No. 4 Union

SEMIFINALS (Friday, Mar. 22 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Semifinal No. 1 - 4 p.m

Semifinal No. 2 - 7:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP/THIRD PLACE (Saturday, Mar. 23 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Third-Place Game - 4 p.m.
Championship Game - 7 p.m.

Onto the power rankings -

1. QUINNIPIAC (24-5-5 overall, 17-2-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1
The Bobcats had a tremendous regular season, winning the Cleary Cup, finishing 10 points ahead of second place RPI, and racking up the most points in the regular season (37) since Cornell had 38 in 2004-2005. But don't assume Quinnipiac will go uncontested in the league playoffs. The Bobcats are only 3-2-1 over the last six games and have proven to be human after all.

2. RENSSELAER (17-12-5, 12-7-3) LW: 2
If anyone is going to knock off Quinnipiac, RPI isn't a bad choice. The Engineers went 9-1 over their final 10 league contests while outscoring opponents 35-14. Senior defenseman Nick Bailen closed his final collegiate regular season on a high note with two goals and five assists in the last three contests.

3. YALE (16-10-3, 12-9-1) LW: 5
After a five game skid, Yale ended the season strong, winning its final three games. Saturday's 2-1 win over Cornell was the most impressive of the three as Cornell came into the game riding a five game unbeaten streak. Senior forward Andrew Miller has been especially good lately with two goals and three assists over the final three regular season contests.

4. UNION (17-12-5, 10-8-4) LW: 9
Protecting its home ice is one reason why the Dutchmen ended up getting a first round bye. Union went 6-0-1 over its past seven home games, including beating the St. Lawrence and Clarkson by a combined 9-1 score at crunch time over the weekend. The arrow is pointing back up again.

5. BROWN (11-12-6, 7-9-6) LW: 4
The Bears split over the weekend, losing 4-1 to Cornell on Friday ahead of a 5-1 win over Colgate the next night. The split was good enough to give Brown home ice in the first round, something that hasn't happened since 2005. The Bears are 3-1-1 over their past five games at Meehan Auditorium.

6. ST. LAWRENCE (16-14-4, 9-9-4) LW: 3
St. Lawrence entered the weekend in the mix for a first round bye, but those prospects went out the door with a 5-1 loss at Union and a 4-1 setback at RPI. It marked the first time all season that St. Lawrence lost back-to-back road games. Getting Kyle Flanagan (appendectomy) back for this weekend's series with Colgate would only help, but they should advance anyway.

7. CORNELL (12-14-3, 8-11-3) LW: 6
The Big Red closed out the regular season with a 4-1 triumph over Brown and a 2-1 loss at Yale, the latter being their first defeat in three weeks. Sophomore Joel Lowry, who was drafted by Los Angeles in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL draft, is playing some of his best hockey of the year with three goals and three assists in the final six regular season games. Goalie Andy Illes has come on strong as well, not allowing more than two goals in any of his last seven starts.

8. HARVARD (9-17-3, 6-14-2) LW: 10
Harvard became the second ECAC team to beat Quinnipiac this year after the Crimson held on for a 2-1 victory on Friday. Despite playing much better hockey of late (two losses in past six league games), Harvard couldn't escape the league basement and enter the tournament as the 12th seed. The Crimson will take on fifth-seeded Dartmouth and I'll go out on a limb and say Harvard wins in three.

9. DARTMOUTH (13-11-5, 9-9-4) LW: 8
In order to win in the playoffs, you need to string wins together. But the last time Dartmouth won back to back games was way back in mid January. A lot is made of Dartmouth's home dominance (10-4-1 on the year) but the Big Green are just 2-3-1 in their past six games at Thompson Arena.

10. PRINCETON (10-14-5, 8-10-4) LW: 12
Getting home ice in the first round may not be the best thing for the Tigers. Princeton is 0-4 in its past four home contests, but hold a 3-0-1 mark its last four road games. Speaking of road games, Princeton went into overtime in both weekend road games, tying Dartmouth, 2-2, and prevailing, 2-1, over Harvard. In the latter game, Princeton pulled goaltender Mike Condon late in overtime, but Andrew Calouf netted an extra skater goal with 37 seconds left on the clock to win it.

11. CLARKSON (9-18-7, 8-11-3) LW: 7
If Clarkson has any chance to beat Brown, they're going to need to score some goals. It sounds simple enough, right? However, scoring goals has been far from simple for the Golden Knights lately. Clarkson enters the league playoffs with scoreless drought of 141:29, the second longest in program history (167:45, set in 2002). You can thank the Clarkson Hockey Blog for that stat.

12. COLGATE (14-16-4, 6-13-3) LW: 11
The Raiders are the definition of limping into the playoffs. Colgate has all of one victory in the past 10 games and they don't appear all that likely to be playing in two weeks. The Raiders drew St. Lawrence in the first round and will be going on the road, where they have two wins all season. The last time Colgate won a league game on the road was Dec. 1 at Clarkson.

AUDIO: Former Union goalie Kris Mayotte

by Ryan Fay

Mayotte in his Union days

In advance of Friday's game against St. Lawrence, I chatted with Saints assistant coach Kris Mayotte, a goaltender at Union from 2002-2006.

In his four years between the pipes for Union, Mayotte won 46 games, a number still unsurpassed in the program's Division I era. Prior to joining St. Lawrence's staff this season, he spent a year as a volunteer assistant coach at Cornell.

Mayotte discusses his budding coaching career, his time at Union, St. Lawrence star Greg Carey, Friday's tilt, and more.

Listen/download via the player below or click here if you can't see the player.

The interview, which was conducted yesterday afternoon, runs just under 12 minutes.

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ECAC hockey power rankings (2/25/13)

by Ryan Fay

It all comes down to this. The upcoming weekend marks the end of the regular season, but much is yet to be decided. Remarkably, the only lock is Quinnipiac finishing first. Just about everything else is up for grabs with many teams having a wide range of possible finishes.

Lets take a look at how the teams stack up as the regular season is set to close:

1. QUINNIPIAC (23-4-5 overall, 16-1-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1
Saturday's 3-3 tie against Brown will keep the #1/1 Bobcats from being the first ECAC team with 40 points since Harvard finished with 40 during the 1988-1989 campaign. Even with two wins to close out the regular season, Quinnipiac would max out at 39 points, which would rank as the highest single year point total in the league since Cornell racked up 39 in 2002-2003.

2. RPI (15-12-5, 10-7-3) LW: 2
RPI's eight game winning streak in league play came to an end with Friday's 4-1 loss at Cornell and the four goals allowed were the most given up by RPI in a single game since surrendering four at Princeton on Jan. 12. The weekend was salvaged when Matt Neal scored with ten seconds left in overtime to propel the Engineers to a 3-2 win at Colgate on Saturday. The second place Engineers remain in possession of a first round bye.

3. ST. LAWRENCE (16-12-4, 9-7-4) LW: 3
The Saints have a first round bye to lose and going on the road to conclude the regular season isn't the worst thing. With nine road wins, the Saints have the second most victories away from home in the league (Quinnipiac has 10). Additionally, St. Lawrence is the only team in the league with more road wins (9) than home wins (7).

4. BROWN (10-11-6, 6-8-6) LW: 6
Is there a peskier team in the league than the Bears? According to Dartmouth men's hockey SID Patrick Salvas, Brown has not lost a game to the eventual regular season champ last season (Union) or this season (Qunnipiac). The Bears went 2-0 against Union a year ago and are 0-0-2 versus Quinnipiac this season. On Saturday, the Bears used two late third period goals to tie the Bobcats, 3-3.

5. YALE (14-10-3, 10-9-1) LW: 5
The best news for #13/14 Yale over the weekend was the return of netminder Jeff Malcolm, who stopped 17-of-20 shots in Saturday's 4-3 triumph against Princeton. His return couldn't have come soon enough as the team lost all five games he missed. Another encouraging sign was scoring four goals on Saturday, which was as many as Yale had in the previous four games combined.

6. CORNELL (11-13-3, 7-10-3) LW: 11

That horrific stretch from late December through early February looks like a thing of the past. The Big Red are unbeaten in their past four games (3-0-1) and look like they could be peaking at the right time. Cornell handed RPI its first league loss in six weeks on Friday and used three early goals to take Union out of Saturday's game only 10 minutes into play. Greg Miller, who leads Cornell with 14 goals, has been particularly hot lately with six tallies in the past four contests.

7. CLARKSON (9-16-7, 8-9-3) LW: 7
Which team is tied with St. Lawrence for the second highest goals per game (GPG) average in league play? Quinnipiac? Nah, they comfortably top the list at 3.40 GPG. RPI? Nope, the Engineers are seventh at 2.60. It's Clarkson at 2.90 GPG. The Golden Knights wouldn't have been my first guess, either. According to USCHO.com ECAC columnist Brian Sullivan, Clarkson can finish as high as third and as low as 11th after next weekend. The Knights travel to RPI and Union to wrap up the regular season.

8. DARTMOUTH (13-10-4, 9-8-3) LW: 8
#19/RV Dartmouth is tied with Yale for the final first round bye and return home for a chance to solidify their positioning. The good news? The Big Green protect their home as well as anyone in the league, as evidenced by a 10-3 mark in games played at Thompson Arena this season. The bad news? The clubs coming in, Princeton and Quinnipiac, are 2-0 against Dartmouth this year.

9. UNION (15-12-5, 8-8-4) LW: 4
After two home wins last weekend, there was a feeling the team had righted the ship and looked poised for a strong finish. But this past weekend erased those thoughts. On Friday, the Dutchmen lost, 4-1, to a Colgate team which entered the game on a six game winless streak. The next night, Union essentially lost the game in the first ten minutes after falling behind 3-0 at Cornell. There were some strong spurts later in the contest, but it was an inconsistent effort that left a desire for a full sixty minute effort. I don't think there are many people who know what to expect from #20 Union going forward.

10. HARVARD (8-16-3, 5-13-2) LW: 10
You want your best players to step up late in the season and that's happening for Harvard. Top scorer Alex Fallstrom has a point in six straight contests, his longest streak of the season, and Marshall Everson has scored seven of his 11 goals in the same six game run. In that span, the Crimson are 5-1.

11. COLGATE (14-14-4, 6-11-3) LW: 12
If Colgate has a run in them, it will come from their underclassmen. Five of the team's top seven point getters are either freshmen or sophomores. The top three goal scorers, Kyle Baun, Tylor Spink, and Darcy Murphy are all freshmen. Even if the rest of the season fails to yield desirable results, a nice foundation is in place in Hamilton.

12. PRINCETON (9-14-4, 7-10-3) LW: 9
The Tigers haven't had much roar lately. Princeton has lost its past four contests, and worse yet, all four losses have been at home. Before the slide, Princeton was beaten at home just two times in the first four-plus months of the season. Their regular season ends with trips to Dartmouth and Harvard.

Union Hockey Soundbytes (2/21/13)

by Ryan Fay

Men's hockey head coach Rick Bennett and forward Kyle Bodie addressed the media this afternoon.

Hear what they said via the players below:





Can't see the embedded players?

To listen to Kyle Bodie, click here.

To hear Rick Bennett, click here.

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

ECAC Media Make Their Top 4 Picks

by Ryan Fay

While Quinnipiac has run away with first place, the other three first round byes remain just about anyone's to take. With only six points separating the team in second place (Yale) from the team in tenth place (Colgate), it's shaping up to be a wild final three weekends in the regular season.

I polled several ECAC media members and asked how they see the top four finishing up. I threw my two cents in for good measure.

For the consensus finishes, I added up each predicted finish. A first place prediction meant four points, a second place prediction meant three, a third place prediction meant two, a fourth place meant one point, and unranked meant no points.

The consensus top four is: Quinnipiac (1st, 36 points), Yale (2nd, 21 points), RPI (3rd, 14 points) and Dartmouth (4th, 11 points). Princeton and St. Lawrence, and Union finished with two points.

Individual ballots are below.

WHAT THEY SAID

USCHO.com ECAC correspondent Brian Sullivan on Quinnipiac: "The Bobcats need two points in their remaining six games to clinch the Cleary Cup. I'm almost positive my beer-league team could accomplish that. But only if we get to wear those yellow sweaters."

Sullivan on Yale: "I'm not putting any money on the Bulldogs to hold onto No. 2. In my eyes, that bet went sour with Yale's 1-0 loss at Brown on Tuesday. Goalie Jeff Malcolm is still out - not sure when or if he'll return this season - and the rest of Yale's game has gone all pear-shaped as well."

Anonymous ECAC broadcaster on RPI: "Surging at the right time and they have the right guy between the pipes. They should have gone to Jason Kasdorf much earlier.

USCHO.com ECAC correspondent Nate Owen on Dartmouth: "The Big Green have dealt with some injuries and inconsistency, but I think they'll have enough to hang on."

Anonymous ECAC broadcaster on craziness of league: "Pretty interesting to note that there's a decent chance that three of the top four from last year (Union, Cornell, Harvard, Colgate) could end up in the bottom four this year. And it's possible ALL four, but since Cornell/Colgate play Union, it would be pretty difficult for all three to end up 9 through 11."

KEN SCHOTT	SEAN MARTIN	MARK DIVVER	JASON KLUMP
1. Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac
2. Yale	Yale	Yale	RPI
3. Dartmouth	Dartmouth	Dartmouth	Yale
4. RPI	Princeton	RPI	Union

JOSH SEGUIN	BROADCASTER	NATE OWEN	BRIAN SULLIVAN	ME
1. Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac
2. RPI	Yale	Yale	Dartmouth	RPI
3. Yale	RPI	Dartmouth	Yale	Yale
4. Union	St. Lawrence	RPI	Princeton	St. Lawrence

AFFILIATIONS

Ken Schott - Daily Gazette
Sean Martin - Times Union
Mark Divver - Providence Journal
Jason Klump - ex College Hockey News / recent RPI radio fill-in
Josh Seguin  - College Hockey News
Anonymous Broadcaster - One of the ECAC teams
Nate Owen - USCHO
Brian Sullivan - USCHO
Me - Union Hockey News

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

ECAC Hockey Picks - weekend of 2/8

by Ryan Fay

Here are my ECAC hockey picks for the weekend. Last week I went 6-3-3, a little better than I expected going into the weekend. For the season, I'm 103-61-28. 

There's a few tough calls this week, such as RPI at St. Lawrence, Union at St. Lawrence, and surprisingly Yale at Brown. I wrestled with that one the most, but think Brown can sneak a win with Yale likely to be without star goalie Jeff Malcolm and the way Anthony Borelli is playing between the pipes for Brown. The Bears are coming off a strong weekend, handing league-leading Quinnipiac just their second non-win in league play and beating Princeton, 5-1.

TONIGHT

No. 18 Union at Clarkson — UNION
RPI at St. Lawrence — ST. LAWRENCE
Princeton at Colgate — COLGATE
No. 2 Quinnipiac at Cornell — QUINNIPIAC

SATURDAY

Union at St. Lawrence — UNION
RPI at Clarkson — RPI
Princeton at Cornell — CORNELL
Quinnipiac at Colgate — QUINNIPIAC
No. 17 Dartmouth at Harvard — DARTMOUTH

SUNDAY

No. 10 Yale at Brown — BROWN

MONDAY

Harvard vs. No. 13 Boston U. (Beanpot third-place game) — BOSTON U

AUDIO: Bennett previews weekend

by Ryan Fay

Before Thursday's practice, I chatted with head coach Rick Bennett about this weekend's games at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

You can listen via the embedded player below. If you can't see it, click here.



IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

Q&A with Clarkson broadcaster Bob Ahlfeld (Wednesday)
Union defenseman Mat Bodie nears school record (Thursday)

ECAC Hockey Power Rankings - 2/4/13

by Ryan Fay

1. QUINNIPIAC (12-0-2 ECAC, 19-3-4 overall) - Last week (LW): 1
#2/2 Quinnipiac was brought to the brink by a pesky Brown team on Friday night, but the Bobcats kept their league unbeaten streak alive with a 1-1 tie. They re-asserted their dominance the next night by whipping Yale, 6-2.

2. YALE (9-5-1, 13-6-3) - LW: 2
#9/10 Yale lost more than the game against Quinnipiac. Star goaltender Jeff Malcolm left the game in the first period and never returned. His absence would be a big loss as Malcolm has a 2.15 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in league play.

3. UNION (6-4-5, 13-8-5) - LW: 3
The 18th-ranked Dutchmen were a little more than five minutes away from beating Dartmouth, but an ill-advised tripping penalty on Daniel Ciampini led to the game-tying goal and it ended a 2-2 draw.

4. ST. LAWRENCE (5-5-4, 12-10-4) - LW: 7
St. Lawrence is one of the hottest teams in the league with a six game unbeaten streak (4-0-2). Greg Carey (37 points) and Kyle Flanagan (35 points) have been in a league of their own offensively this season. No other ECAC player has even 30 points.

5. RPI (5-6-3, 10-11-5) - LW: 8
After a one-game hiccup to Union, the Engineers picked up where they left off. Star freshman Jason Kasdorf picked up his first collegiate shutouts via consecutive 3-0 decisions, against Harvard on Friday and a nationally ranked Dartmouth team the next night. According to the RPI blog Without A Peer, it was the first time since March 2000 that RPI had back-to-back shutouts in an ECAC league weekend. One wonders where RPI would be if they had used Kasdorf from the start.

6. BROWN (4-6-5, 8-9-5) - LW: 9
He doesn't seem to get as much publicity as some other top ECAC goaltenders, but Anthony Borelli has been a brick wall since taking over in early December. The junior has a 1.39 GAA, second only in ECAC play to the 1.33 mark posted by Quinnipiac's Eric Hartzell. Borelli's .952 save percentage ranks first in league play.

7. COLGATE (13-9-4, 5-6-3) - LW: 4
Colgate was fit to be tied over the weekend, leaving the North Country with a 4-4 tie against Clarkson and a 3-3 tie versus St. Lawrence. The Raiders, playing without sophomore defenseman Spiro Goulakos (Hodgkin's Lymphoma), rallied from a two goal deficit to force Saturday's tie.

8. DARTMOUTH (7-6-2, 11-8-3) - LW: 5
#17 Dartmouth's 4-0 start in ECAC play seems like more and more of a distant memory. However, with Harvard on tap next weekend, the Big Green have an excellent chance to get back in the win column.

9. PRINCETON (5-6-3, 7-10-4) - LW: 6
After winning four of five at home, Princeton's road woes continued in two losses over the weekend at Yale and Brown. Princeton has only one win on the road this season (1-6-3) and travel to Colgate and Cornell this weekend.

10. CLARKSON (5-6-3, 6-13-7) - LW: 10
Considering Clarkson entered the weekend 1-8-2 at home, the Golden Knights had to be pleased with a three point home weekend against Colgate and Cornell. Next up are home dates with Union and RPI, the only teams Clarkson has yet to play this year.

11. CORNELL (4-8-2, 8-11-2) - LW: 11
The freefall continues. After two more losses -- 4-2 to St. Lawrence on Friday and 6-3 to Clarkson on Saturday -- Cornell falls to 1-8 in their last 9 games. Having to face Quinnipiac on Friday isn't going to make life any easier. Cornell's struggles rank as one of the more surprising stories in the league this season.

12. HARVARD (3-12, 5-14-1) - LW: 12
In its only action of the weekend, Harvard was blanked, 3-0, at the hands of RPI. The Crimson haven't won a league game since November 16th (4-1 at Cornell).

ECAC Picks - weekend of 2/1

by Ryan Fay

(ECAC Hockey)

Below are my ECAC picks for the weekend. The St. Lawrence games are probably the toughest choices of the week, but I have them getting three points out of the weekend. We'll see.

LAST WEEK'S RECORD: 7-3
SEASON RECORD: 97-58-25

TONIGHT
No. 16 Dartmouth at No. 18 Union (NBC SN) — UNION
Harvard at RPI — RPI
Colgate at Clarkson — COLGATE
Cornell at St. Lawrence — ST. LAWRENCE
Princeton at No. 8 Yale — YALE
No. 2 Quinnipiac at Brown — QUINNIPIAC

SATURDAY
Dartmouth at RPI (Big Red Freakout) — DARTMOUTH
Cornell at Clarkson — CORNELL
Colgate at St. Lawrence — TIE
Princeton at Brown — PRINCETON
Quinnipiac at Yale — QUINNIPIAC

MONDAY
Harvard vs. No. 5 Boston College (Beanpot semifinal) — BOSTON COLLEGE

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.