Dutchmen Ex-Files - 12/23/13

by Ryan Fay

The latest look at what various former Dutchmen have been doing on the ice over the past week:

Ex-Union Player of the Week
F Wayne Simpson (South Carolina, ECHL)

Simpson

Simpson keeps on rolling for the Stingrays.

He recorded his first multi-goal game at the professional level with a pair of tallies against former Clarkson netminder Paul Karpowich in a 4-2 win at Gwinnett on Friday.

The 24-year-old then scored his first game-winning goal as a pro with a second period tally in Saturday's 3-2 victory over the same team.

He has 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in his last 10 games. At that rate, it's only a matter of time before he's up in the AHL.

On the season, Simpson has an 8-6--14 line in 20 games.

In other news:

F Kyle Bodie (South Carolina, ECHL)
Bodie picked up an assist in Friday's win at Gwinnett, giving him four points (one goal, three assists) in five games since being acquired from San Francisco earlier this month. Between stops in South Carolina, San Francisco, and Cincinnati, Bodie has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 21 games.

F T.J Fox (Denver, CHL)
Fox collected two assists in a 6-5 loss to Rapid City on Saturday, raising his season point total to 13 (four goals, nine assists) in 26 games.

G Troy Grosenick (Worcester, AHL)
Grosenick is adjusting to the AHL just fine. He took over the league-lead in goals against average after stopping 29-of-31 shots in a 3-2 win at Hershey on Saturday. The Brookfield, Wisconsin native has a 2.01 GAA in 10 games this season to go with a 6-3-0 record and a .924 save percentage.

F Josh Jooris (Abbotsford, AHL)
Jooris assisted on the game-tying goal at 4:47 of the third period before Abbotsford topped Hamilton, 3-2, in a shootout on Sunday. Jooris has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 26 games.

G Keith Kinkaid (Albany, AHL)
Kinkaid isn't far behind Grosenick on the league GAA leaderboard. He's tied for second at 2.09. Kinkaid most recently played on Saturday, brushing aside 26-of-29 shots in a 3-2 overtime setback at Binghamton. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Kinkaid, who fell to 11-4-1 on the year.

F Trevor Mingoia (Providence, Hockey East)
Mingoia has made a quick impact at Providence for former Union head coach Nate Leaman. Mingoia, who left Union in October 2012, has a point in each of his first four games with the fifth-ranked Friars. His first goal with Providence came in Friday's 4-1 win over Army.

F Kelly Zajac (Albany, AHL)
Zajac chipped in a helper in Saturday's loss at Binghamton, pushing his season line to 2-12--14 in 22 contests.

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Union Hockey ex-files - 12/1/13

by Ryan Fay

A round-up of a busy Saturday in Union men's hockey alumni news...

F Kyle Bodie (San Francisco, ECHL) scored a power play goal in San Francisco's 5-2 loss at Utah. It was his first goal since being acquired from Cincinnati on November 13. Between the two stops, he has two goals and an assist in 16 games.

F T.J Fox (Denver, CHL) had a goal and an assist in Denver's 6-2 loss at Rapid City. Fox has two goals and seven assists in 19 games.

F Josh Jooris (Abbotsford, AHL) registered a goal, but Abbotsford fell to Utica, 4-3, in overtime. He led Abbotsford with seven shots on goal. Jooris, who hadn't scored a goal since the season-opener, has two goals and five assists in 22 games.
Video: Jooris postgame (11/30)

F Trevor Mingoia (Providence, Hockey East) added an assist in Providence's 3-2 win over Brown. He assisted on a Drew Brown goal; Brown originally committed to Union before following Nate Leaman to Providence in 2011. Mingoia has assists in both games since gaining eligibility for the Friars.

F Wayne Simpson (South Carolina, ECHL) chipped in an assist in South Carolina's 3-2 shootout win at Kalamazoo. Simpson has two goals and two assists in his last three games. Overall, he has three goals and four assists in 13 games.

F Kelly Zajac (Albany, AHL) picked up two assists in Albany's 8-6 loss to Bridgeport. Zajac has a goal and six assists in his last five contests. Overall, he has two goals and seven assists in 15 games.

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Ex-Union F Bodie traded

by Ryan Fay

Former Union forward Kyle Bodie is heading west.

Bodie was traded Wednesday by the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones to the San Francisco Bulls for future considerations.

Bodie, who graduated from Union this past spring, signed with Cincinnati in August. He appeared in seven games with the Cyclones, scoring a goal and an assist.

The Bulls are affiliated with the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. Former Union goaltender Troy Grosenick currently plays for Worcester.

In 122 career games with Union, Bodie piled up 85 points (28 goals, 57 assists).

Follow @UnionHockeyBlog

Kyle Bodie signs with Cyclones

by Ryan Fay

The East Coast Hockey League's Cincinnati Cyclones announced Tuesday that they have signed former Union center Kyle Bodie.

Bodie (cred: Union)

Bodie accumulated 85 points (28 goals, 57 assists) in 122 career games with the Dutchmen. He was second on the team last season with 33 points (9 goals, 24 assists) in 40 games.

“Kyle is a great addition, having just wrapped up a tremendous college career,” Cyclones head coach Ben Simon said in a release. “He is a smart guy who can make plays at high speeds. We’re looking forward to watching him make the transition to the pro game.”

Bodie, 25, is the sixth member of last year's team to sign professionally this offseason. The other five are defenseman Greg Coburn (Ilves of the Finnish Elite League), goaltender Troy Grosenick (San Jose Sharks), center Josh Jooris (Calgary Flames), and defensemen Shawn Stuart and Ryan Forgaard (both with Drakkars of the French Elite League).

Grosenick and Jooris signed after their junior seasons; the other four graduated this spring.

The Cyclones are an affiliate of the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators.

Follow @unionhockeynews

Simpson among award winners

by Ryan Fay

Senior forward Wayne Simpson, who led the Dutchmen with 36 points and seven game winning goals, was named the team MVP at the annual Union hockey awards banquet Sunday night.

Other award winners include:

Sophomore Daniel Ciampini walked away with the most improved player award. The forward scored 21 points this past season, 15 more than he did in his freshman campaign. His goal total jumped from three to 11 and his assist tally increased from three to 10.

Freshman Matt Wilkins, who led all Union freshmen with 16 points, was named the rookie of the year. The forward was especially good after the first of the year, as 12 of his 16 points came after the calendar flipped to 2013.

The coaches award went to the three captains, seniors Kyle Bodie and Greg Coburn, and junior Mat Bodie.

Sophomore defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere picked up the 7th player award, chosen annually by the fans. It is awarded to the player who fans feel, with extra effort and skill, consistently creates excitement and aggressive play, resulting in a team advantage. Gostisbehere finished second among Union defensemen with 26 points, trailing only the 28 posted by Greg Coburn.

Junior forward Cole Ikkala picked up two awards, the Charlie Morrison award for community involvement and the Scott Richardson Unsung Hero award.

Theo DiPauli, a freshman forward, was awarded the VanArden Dukehart award for team's highest GPA.

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

BOX SCORE

by Ryan Fay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THREE STARS

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

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

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

POSTGAME VIDEOS

VIDEO: Postseason media day press conference

by Ryan Fay

Members of the Union men's hockey team met with the media during Tuesday's postseason media day.

From left to right in the video below: head coach Rick Bennett, goaltender Troy Grosenick, defenseman Greg Coburn, defenseman Mat Bodie, and forward Kyle Bodie.

Union hosts Dartmouth in best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal series beginning Friday at 7 pm.

Reviewing the men's hockey class of 2013

by Ryan Fay

Tonight's game versus Clarkson marks the final regular season home game for five Union players. Kyle Bodie, Greg Coburn, Ryan Forgaard, Wayne Simpson, and Shawn Stuart are set to graduate this spring.

The seniors have propelled Union to 89 victories in the past four seasons and would become the winningest class with three more wins. Additionally, the seniors have contributed to two Cleary Cups (2011, 2012), a Whitelaw Cup (2012), and a Frozen Four appearance (2012).

Below are former head coach Nate Leaman's assessments of the seniors from when the recruiting class was announced by Union in May 2009. I've included some short career summaries to see how those assessments have panned out. There's also looks at three additional members of the class who left the program early.


F KYLE BODIE

LEAMAN: "Kyle has very good vision with a great stick. In junior hockey he was a very good power-play player at the top of the point. We graduated two guys, leaving holes that we needed to fill. We look for him to step in and have an impact on the team."

It may have taken two seasons, but Bodie has undoubtedly had an impact on the team. After a combined 22 points in his freshman and sophomore years, Bodie has 60 points in his junior and senior seasons. He is currently tied with Simpson for the team lead in points with 30.

D GREG COBURN

LEAMAN: "Greg led his team in scoring as a defenseman. He is another mobile defenseman with great stick skills and has an offensive upside."

Coburn has saved his best for last as the senior is enjoying his best offensive season to date. His eight goals, 15 assists, and 23 points are all career highs. He has been the Dutchmen's best offensive defenseman this year and has dressed in 146 career games. Of the five seniors, only Simpson has played more games (152).

D RYAN FORGAARD

LEAMAN: "Ryan has a great skill set with good mobility. He competed in probably the best league last year and he has great pedigree coming from the USHL."

Forgaard hasn't provided much impact on the stat sheet (0 goals, 9 assists in four years) but has served as solid depth on the blueline for a defensive unit that has ranked in the top 15 nationally in each of the past four years. The Minnesota native has over 100 games in a Union sweater to his credit.

F WAYNE SIMPSON 

LEAMAN: "Wayne is another forward we think can make an impact. He led prep school in scoring and he plays more of a power game. He has a good stick, good vision and has all the attributes to be a very good player."

Simpson has turned into at least a "very good" player. Earlier this year, he became the ninth player to join Union's Division I era 100 points club and has three 30+ point seasons under his belt.

D SHAWN STUART

LEAMAN: "Shawn has a very good stick with good size on the blue line. He has mobility and we look for him to play for us."

Stuart has certainly played for Union. Until injuries derailed the second part of his senior season, Stuart played in 100 straight games. While never a guy you'd notice looking at a statsheet (25 points in 140 career games) Stuart has nevertheless been a rock on defense for Union. He earned the program's Scott Richardson "unsung hero" award last season.

OTHERS

There are three members of the 2009 recruiting class who won't be partaking in senior night tonight.

JEREMY WELSH left the program after pacing the team in goals (27) and points (44) last year. Welsh decided to forgo in his senior year to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes organization and has spent time in the AHL and NHL since. The Bayfield, Ontario native ended his Union career with exactly 100 points, ninth most in the program's Division I era.

"We don't have a player like Jeremy," Leaman said in 2009. "He has good size and we don't know if he is going to play center or on the wing - he does both exceptionally well. We are going to be a real impact player with how versatile he is on offense and defense."

With a 1.99 goals against average, KEITH KINKAID backstopped the Dutchmen to their first Cleary Cup in his sophomore campaign.

"Keith has won almost every award in junior hockey," Leaman said in 2009. "He's really developing nicely. He has good size and good athletic ability."

The goalie developed nicely enough that the Devils wooed him to go pro after two years in Schenectady. In the time since, Kinkaid has performed solidly in extensive action at the AHL level for Albany.

JEAN SEBASTIAN BERGERON is the least known name of the bunch. The defenseman left Union after two seasons.

"Jean Sebastian is a mobile defenseman," Leaman said in 2009. "I like his competitive level; he competes very well."

But he never competed for Union. Bergeron saw no game action in his two seasons. He would go on to play 11 games of Canadian college hockey in 2011-2012 for Concordia.

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.

VIDEO: Mayor's Cup Ceremony at City Hall

by Ryan Fay

A ceremony was held at Schenectady City Hall earlier today in honor of Union winning the inaugural Mayor's Cup.

Union beat RPI, 3-2, on Jan. 26 to capture the cup.

Members of the Union community presented the cup to Schenectady mayor Gary McCarthy. Men's hockey players Kyle Bodie, Greg Coburn, and Mat Bodie were in attendance. Additionally, head coach Rick Bennett and Union College president Stephen Ainlay were also present.

Saturday in Union Hockey

(Unfortunately, I wasn't at the game, so no postgame videos tonight).

by Ryan Fay

DUTCHMEN 2, BROWN 0

Brown's three game unbeaten streak against Union came to an end following a 2-0 loss Saturday night at Messa Rink.

The game was scoreless until 9:30 of the second period when Max Novak's even strength goal gave the Dutchmen a 1-0 lead. It was the sophomore's second goal in as many nights.

Kyle Bodie's empty net tally at 19:41 of the third period made it a 2-0 lead.

The Dutchmen set a season high in shots with 48, two more than the previous high set on Nov. 25 vs Penn State. Saturday's win marked the first 2-0 weekend for Union since the Penn State weekend Nov. 24-25.

After coughing up five goals and getting yanked in a 5-1 loss to RPI on Friday, Brown's Anthony Borelli rebounded and set a career high with 46 saves.

One night after taking eight penalties against Yale, Union's lone penalty was a holding the stick call against freshman David Roy at 2:56 of the second period.

Troy Grosenick stopped all 23 shots that came his way for his first shutout of the season.

With the win, and Yale's 4-1 loss at RPI, Union moves into a tie for third place with St. Lawrence. The Saints clipped Princeton, 3-2.

The Dutchmen (15-10-5, 8-6-4) travel to Colgate and Cornell next Fri-Sat. Both games start at 7 pm.

DUTCHWOMEN 1, YALE 1

Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the Dutchwomen still have some fight in them.

Rhianna Kurio's goal with 16 seconds left in the third period forced an eventual 1-1 tie at Yale (4-19-3, 3-13-3).

Yale's only goal came from Kate Martini at 5:33 of the third period.

Drawing her first collegiate start, Maddie Dahl collected 21 saves prior to being relieved by Shenae Lundberg late in regulation.

The Dutchwomen (7-21-4, 0-16-4) outshot Yale, 32-27, and return to Messa Rink to close out the season against Cornell and Colgate next Fri-Sat.

Defenseman Bodie nears school record

by Ryan Fay

This weekend's road trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence could be a record-breaking one for Mat Bodie.

With 77 career points, including 16 this season, the junior defenseman is three points away from ousting Lane Caffaro as the highest scoring defenseman in the program's Division I era.

"That's not something I've put a lot of thought into," Bodie recently admitted. "The way I get my points with a lot of assists is a tribute to the talent I've played with. It's guys like Jeremy Welsh, Wayne Simpson, Adam Presizniuk, just to name a few. They've been really good goal scorers here, so I have to credit a lot to them."

Mat Bodie (Times Union)

Second-year head coach Rick Bennett isn't surprised that Bodie is nearing the record.

"Some people have the ability to put up points and him and his brother [Kyle] have that ability," Bennett said. "It's a God given talent because not a lot of people can say that. It's basically his hard work and pride in the game that has given him a chance to break the record."

Bennett was an assistant coach under Nate Leaman when the younger Bodie was being recruited and the process is still fresh on his mind.

"Mat stuck out on a visit and our staff really liked him. It was a slam dunk in that all three coaches -- Leaman, Ben Barr, and myself -- liked him," Bennett said. "It was a matter of trying to get him away from the North Dakota's of the world. But with his brother here, that helped out a lot. Mat's a pretty independent thinker and he kept us at bay for awhile. It was a touch and go process, but we won out."

While some players need time to adjust to the rigors of college hockey, that wasn't the case with Bodie. The native of East St. Paul, Manitoba played in all 40 games during his freshman season and his 32 points broke Mike Schreiber's single season school record for points by a defenseman. Those totals placed him second among all ECAC defenseman and earned him a spot on the league's all-rookie team.

"Part of it was having my brother here," Bodie said of his quick transition to the college game. "He helped me get adjusted to living in the dorms and living away from home."

"I also have to thank Brock Matheson quite a bit," he added. "He was the captain of the team at the time and my partner on defense. I had a couple tough games, but he really showed me the ropes. Third would be the coaching staff. They knew I was a freshman and I would make mistakes. But they created confidence in me and it started off from that."

The 18th-ranked Dutchmen (13-8-5, 6-4-4) face off at Clarkson (6-13-7, 5-6-3) tomorrow at 7 pm ahead of a matchup with St. Lawrence (12-10-4, 5-5-4) the next night.

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

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

=========

by Ryan Fay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTGAME VIDEOS





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

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

Dutchmen players weigh in ahead of Mayor's Cup game vs RPI

by Ryan Fay

The much-hyped inagural Mayor's Cup game between RPI and Union will be played tonight at 7:30 pm at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany. 

Though it's a non-league game, and thus doesn't count in the league standings, there is plenty at stake. Union will look for its eighth win a row against their Route 7 rivals while RPI will be looking for their first win over the Dutchmen since November 2010.

Over the past couple days, I've collected various thoughts from a few Union players ahead of the game.

Daniel Ciampini played some of his best hockey this season against RPI. In the previous two meetings this year, the sophomore had three goals and four points. He offered some thoughts on what kind of game it will be tonight:

"It's going to be a good game -- good old fashioned, hard hockey. We're both hard-nosed teams and we both like to grind it out. RPI is riding a high and we're coming off a pretty decent weekend. Both teams are in a groove and will be ready for it."

What are the keys to a Union victory? Kyle Bodie, second on the team with 25 points, weighed in:

"Sticking to our game plan and being disciplined. In these games, you're right on that line, so you have to be careful not to cross it because both teams have good specialty teams."

Barring a postseason matchup, tonight's game will be the last Union-RPI game for the seniors. I asked a couple of them about their memories of playing RPI over the years.

Said Greg Coburn: "A lot of the games stand out. But going back to freshman year, that first time I played them, I think it was at our barn... the fans were electric and it was a lot of fun to feel that experience."

Said Bodie: "My first goal was against RPI in my freshman year, so that's a good memory. So was beating them in their own tournament (same year). Last year was probably the best one when we swept them in the playoffs. Every game we play against RPI, both sides get up, and they're probably the best games of the year." 

One wildcard in tonight's game is the probable RPI goaltender, freshman Jason Kasdorf. Union only saw him in the third period in their second game against RPI in November. But Kasdorf, who has a 1.60 goals against average, is one of the biggest reasons for RPI's turnaround in the past couple months. I asked Bodie and Coburn, Union's top scoring defenseman, about facing a goaltender against whom Union has limited experience.

Said Bodie: "If he's starting as a freshman, he must be doing something right. We have to get a lot of pucks and bodies to the net. We know that if we want to get pucks by him we have to put a lot of rubber on net. That's something we've been focusing on and something we'll try to get done [tonight]."

Said Coburn: "We just have to feel him out and get a lot of shots on him. We have guys who can put the puck in the back of the net and we have to rely on that."

On most weekends, Union plays two different schools. But not so this weekend, having only tonight's Mayor's Cup game. I asked Bodie about the differences in preparation when there's one school on the weekend schedule.

Said Bodie: "As you prepare during the week, even if you're going against two teams, sometimes you're only looking at the Friday night game. But we received the scouting report a little earlier this week and guys know we only have one game this weekend. We don't have to hold anything back."

END NOTES

Kelly Zajac (Albany-AHL) scored his second goal in the AHL this year in Friday's 4-1 win over Adirondack. The former Union star has two goals and an assist in five games with Albany. He graduated last spring following a four year career that put him in second place on the program's Division I career points list (128).....  If you missed it previously, I did a Q&A with RPI head coach Seth Appert ahead of the game. You can find that here. Appert talked about the improvement of his team, Union's success against RPI, and some of his players who could be factors tonight.

Union Blows Two Goal Lead And Ties Quinnipiac

The Dutchmen just didn't have their 'A' game tonight. I don't know why, but they just weren't able to click tonight. Coach Leaman tried mixing up the lines in the third period to try and get a spark, but nothing happened.

I really wasn't a fan of the refereeing tonight. The Bobcats received six power-plays while Union only had two. Union scored on their first chance, and had their second opportunity with 1:45 left in overtime but were unable to score. I just thought the calls were a little unbalanced, but hey I'm a Union fan. In the post-game press conference I could sense that Coach Leaman also wasn't too happy with the refs.

The Union penalty killing was great tonight. I also want to point out that Kyle Bodie's goal was an absolute snipe.

Luckily, the Dutchmen got some help from Colgate who tied Yale in New Haven. It was the only game Yale has played this season that went into overtime, and is the only time the Bulldogs haven't won at Ingalls this season. So, Union still controls their own destiny. If they win tonight against Princeton they will win the Cleary Cup.

The game will be one of the biggest in the history of the program, and the most important of the season so far.

For more on the game vs. Quinnipiac check out:
USCHO
Union Athletics
Ken Schott's Blog
Times Union
Quinnipiac Athletics

Other scores in the ECAC from last night:
Colgate 1 - Yale 1
Princeton 4 - RPI 3
Cornell 2 - Brown 3 (OT)
Clarkson 1 - Harvard 3
St. Lawrence 2 - Dartmouth 4

Tonight's Lineups vs. Dartmouth

#16 Kevin Sullivan

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

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

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

#24 Evan Stephens

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

Stephens - Stejskal
Keenan - Goggin
Gaudet - Boldt

Mello
O'Neill
Morris


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

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

Union Travels to Two Tough Buildings This Weekend

Prior to the beginning of the season I thought that the trip to Colgate and Cornell would be one of the most difficult one's of the year. I thought both of these teams would be competing for an ECAC championship (and so did the Coaches and Media). But, both the Raiders and Big Red have struggled to begin the ECAC season as both are in the bottom half of the standings with Colgate being in dead last. While I am more confident about Union's chances this weekend there are still reasons to worry. I do think Union will pick up two wins this weekend, but I would not be shocked if they lost one or both of these games for these two reasons:

Starr Rink

1. The Starr Curse: The Dutchmen have played 22 games at Colgate's Starr rink and they've only picked up ONE WIN going 1-20-1. The last time Union won a game at Colgate was in 1998 when Trevor Koening was in net (Check out Ken Schott's article about the win here). No player on Union's current roster has ever won a game at Starr. There is really no rhyme or reason to this trend, but the Dutchmen will have to find a way to break the curse... and this would be the perfect time to do so considering the Raiders have only won one game in their past 16 (1-14-1), including a seven game losing streak (three loses in OT).

Lynah Rink

2. Lynah Rink's atmosphere: Maybe a reason why Union has had so much trouble at Colgate is because they are looking ahead to playing at Cornell the next night, which is a pretty daunting task. Cornell's Lynah rink is the toughest building to play in the ECAC and one of the toughest in the country. The Big Red fans always pack the place and are extremely loud. They have some of the best fans in the country as they have a great pep band and entertaining chants. If you come out without alive without a loss at Cornell, you've done a good job. Cornell might be down as of this moment, but they are extremely dangerous. They just beat Quinnipiac and Princeton on the road.

Here are some players to look out for this weekend:

Colgate:
Austin Smith (forward): leads team with 12 assists and 17 points. He was named All-ECAC this preseason.
Francois Brisebois (forward): second on the team with 16 points.
Brian Day (forward): leads the team in goals (8), power-play goals (4), and penalty minutes (28). I picked him as All-ECAC this preseason and predicted that he would have a huge year.

Cornell:
Nick D'Agostino (defense): leads the team with six goals, tied for second with five assists, and is second with 11 points... AS A DEFENSEMAN! This actually comes as no surprise to me since I picked him to my Preseason All-ECAC team.
Greg Miller (forward): leads team with 10 assists and 12 points.
Joe & Mike Devin (forward & defense): the two senior brothers are big powerful players. Joe is tied for second on the team with five goals and is thrid with 10 points, wile Mike leads the team with 24 penalty minutes. Their younger sister Molly-Kate is a sophomore on Union's Women's Hockey team.

Union:
Kyle Bodie (forward): played very well last weekend as he picked up four points and was named the ECAC Player of the Week. Let's see if he can follow it up with another good performance and solidify his spot in the lineup.
Andrew Buote (forward): was a healty scratch for the first time in a long time last Saturday against Clarkson. Leaman says he's "challenging the seniors," so let's see how he responds.
Adam Presizniuk (forward): he finally broke the all-time points record last weekend, which was probably nice to just get out of the way. This weekend is his third weekend back since returning from his thumb injury. Now with the record out of the way and his thumb feeling better let's see if Prezie goes on a tear.

For more on the games check out:
Union Athletics.com
Go Colgate Raiders.com
The Unofficial Colgate Hockey Blog
Ken Schott's Blog --> He has tonight's starting lineups
Cornell Big Red.com

Also, Union Assistant SID Jeff Weinstein will be live chatting tonight from Starr Rink. To access the Live Chat click here.

Union Destroys Clarkson 8-1

Kyle Bodie scored twice

Once again, the Golden Knights come into Messa Rink and lose. The last time Clarkson came to Schenectady and won was January 2001. Last year the Dutchmen skated all over them and won 11-2. Obviously, things weren't different this time around.

Kyle Bodie had a big game with two goals, and Kevin Sullivan scored his first career goal. Also, Mike Ingoldsby picked up his first career point. Keith Kinkaid played another good game as well. It was great to see the team have a big offensive outburst in an ECAC game.

Senior forwards Andrew Buote and Stephane Boileau were out of the lineup last night (the second night in a row for Boileau). Coach Leaman hasn't been too happy with the seniors lately, saying that he is "challenging" them.

After a very good first period Clarkson goaltender Paul Karpowich fell apart once again at Messa Rink. He was the starting goaltender in Union's 11-2 shellacking last year, and was pulled once again this time around in the third period. Maybe Karpowich will refuse to start at Union next season (haha).

The only thing Clarkson had going for them was their pep band/cheering section. They were loud and supportive throughout the entire game. Union fans and the administration should start taking notes on how a pep band/student section work.

Also, I hear some Union students have been kicked out of the rink for doing "classic Union chants" by the campus police officers. I never hear any profanities chanted, so I don't know what this is all about.

For more on the game go to:
Union Athletics.com
USCHO
Ken Schott's Blog

Learn How To Speak French With Professor Boileau (10/26/10)

This week Professor Boileau teaches us about certain penalties in hockey. He specifically teaches us how to say slashing, cross-checking and hitting from behind in French. He also tells us how to say the numbers two (minor penalty), five (major penalty) and ten (game misconduct) in his native language.

NOTE: Kyle Bodie was not harmed during the filming of this segment.

Videos from Media Day

It took me a while, but I finally figured out how to upload these videos from Media Day. Enjoy! If you can't see the videos you can see them on You Tube.

Oh, and be sure to register for the upcoming games this weekend on Facebook.

Head Coach Nate Leaman



Freshman Forward Matt Hatch



Senior captain Brock Matheson



Freshman Mat Bodie and sophomore Kyle Bodie



Leaman talks about the upcoming matchup with Sacred Heart