Union romps over RIT 7-2

Adam Presizniuk scored two goals last night

Last night the Dutchmen completely dominated the Tigers. They were opportunistic on the power-play and Keith Kinkaid came up big when his team needed him to. When I talked to RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson after the game he completely agreed. He wasn't happy with the refs, but gave Union a lot of credit and was really impressed with the depth of the forwards and Kinkaid. Anyone in Union's lineup is capable of scoring a goal, and they have plenty of "go to guys" like Prez, Zajac, Welsh, Wayne Simpson, Jooris, Carr, etc. This is why Union has the #1 scoring offense  in the country averaging 5.67 goals/game. On a negative note, Welsh's five game goal streak ended last night, along with Jooris' five game point streak.

Also thanks to Keith Kinkaid, Union has #3 defense in the nation averaging 1.83 goals allowed/game.

The Union power-play was so impressive last night as they looked unstoppable in the first period. They controlled the puck very well and dictated the play, causing the RIT penalty kill to run around. The great thing about the Union power-play is that they have 10 guys that can got out there and execute a perfect series. Each player they put out there is unselfish, but can bury the puck when they need to. Union's power-play is clicking at a 41.9% rate (13-of-31), which is tops in the nation.

It's also great that the Dutchmen have been dominant at home. In four games at home this season the Dutchmen have outscored their opponents 29-6. They are proving that it will be very difficult to come into Schenectady and come out with a 'W.'

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

While all of these stats are very impressive, we still have to remember that four of Union's six games (and all of their games at home) were against Atlantic Hockey teams. I'm not here to bash on the AHA, but let's be honest... the AHA is by far the weakest conference in college hockey. Sacred Heart and Niagara are not very good, and RIT is obviously not as good as last year considering they lost their goaltender Jared DeMichiel and top defenseman Dan Ringwald. While RIT is the best team in the AHA, they are just a good team. I expect the Dutchmen to skate all over UConn on Thursday, but we will truly see what this team is made of when ECAC play begins in a few weeks. So, be excited about this team (I am!), but we have to see how they do against the likes of Cornell and Yale before we start talking about being a Top 15 team.

One thing Union fans should be excited about is freshman Matt Hatch. Yes he's only played in two games, but I'm telling you this kid is legit. We saw this last night when he picked up his first two career goals and assist. The reason why I'm so confident in Hatch is because of his speed. I'm a huge believer in "speed kills." A fast player can wreak havoc on the ice causing opposing players to rush their decisions and commit turnovers. Expect Hatch to be in Union's lineup more and more as the season goes on. After the game last night I was able to catch up with Matt and talk about his great night:



Also, here are some highlights from the epic Union-RIT game in the 1984 NCAA semifinals (start video at 7:10 mark):

Pictures and Videos of warmups vs. RIT

Tonight's Lineups vs. RIT (10/23/10)

Tonight's game will start at 7:30pm. Also, it is Garnet Blades Appreciation Night. All members will receive a free gift at the game.

Union

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

Julseth-White - Stuart
Forgaard - Ingoldsby
M. Bodie - Matheson (C)

Kinkaid
Milan
Grosenick

Observations: Presizniuk will center the top line with Zajac playing left wing (it's usually the other way around)... Stephane "The Professor" Boileau will be playing on the top line tonight. Let's see if he's the right fit... Matt Hatch will make his first collegiate appearance in the Eastern time zone (his only game played was in Alaska)... Greg Coburn, who might be Union's top defenseman, is not in the lineup tonight

RIT

Lynch-Favot (C)- Brenner
Smith-Burt-Murphy (C)
Knowles-Hartley-Mitchell
McReynolds-Cornacchia-Colavecchia

Descoteaux-Haltigin(C)
Spivak-Eckenswiller
Noyes-Saracino

Madolora
Watson
Ropponen

Observations: Every line has at least one upperclassman on it... Madolora is making his fifth career start and second of the season... The top line has 10 points between them... There are 12 letters in Eckenswiller

Preview of Niagara and RIT

This weekend the Dutchmen return home from their trip to Alaska to take on two Atlantic Hockey opponents: the Niagara Purple Eagles and the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers. Friday's game against Niagara will start at 7pm, while Saturday's game will begin at 7:30pm.

So, let's take a look at the opposition:

Niagara

Union has the advantage in the all-time series, 4-0-1.

Last season the Purple Eagles went 12-20-4 in the recently disbanded College Hockey America conference. They made it to the league championship game, but lost to Alabama-Huntsville in overtime with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. They played 11 games against ECAC opponents and went 4-5-2. The Purple Eagles actually outscored their ECAC foes by two goals

.

So far this season Niagara is 0-0-2 as they tied Merrimack and UMass-Lowell, both of Hockey East. Both of their goaltenders, junior Chris Noonan and freshman Carsen Chubak, have started a game this season so I'm not sure who will start on Friday.

The major issue for the team is scoring considering all three of their top three scorers graduated last season: Chris Moran (42 points), Ryan Olidis (33 points), and defenseman Tyler Gotto (25 points). They have lost a lot of veteran leadership and are a young team. 17 of the 28 players on the roster are underclassmen.

Players To Watch:

Bryan Haczyk: is the top returning scorer. He scored nine goals and tallied 13 assists in 2009-10.

Paul Zanette: accumulated 11 goals and 10 assists last season. He is the only player on the team with more than one goal this season.

Marc Zanette: had 20 points last season as a freshman (seven goals, 13 assists).

Prediciton: Union, 5-1

RIT

All-time, RIT holds the advantage 12-3-4, but they have not beaten Union since 1991. The Tigers and the Dutchmen were rivals back in the 80's when they were both Division III programs. Arguably the most epic game in the history of Union College Hockey took place between these two teams in the 1984 NCAA Semifinals. The game took four overtimes for the Dutchmen to take home the win. Sadly, Union lost to Babson 8-0 in the championship game.

The Tigers were the surprise team of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. After winning the Atlantic Hockey tournament they faced #2 Denver in the East Regional semifinals and beat them. They then went up against New Hampshire and upset them 6-2. Their run ended in the Frozen Four where they lost to Wisconsin 8-1. It was a magical season for the Tigers and their fans. By the way, their fans (known as the Corner Crew) are awesome! I was so impressed by them at the Frozen Four. They were the talk of tournament, and I hope they travel to Schenectady.

So far in 2010-11, the Tigers are 0-2-1. They dropped games to St. Cloud and Nebraska-Omaha at the Maverick Stampede, and then tied UMass-Lowell. It's not a good start, but they have played some tough teams. Also, the Tigers will no longer be overlooked by the out-of-conference opposition.

The Tigers lost two major components to their Frozen Four run from last season in goaltender Jared DeMichiel and defenseman Dan Ringwald. Both were First Team all-Atlantic Hockey selections last season. DeMichiel went 27-10-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .921 save percentage last season. He was also named the NCAA East Regionals Most Outstanding Player. Ringwald was a staple in the Tigers defense on both sides of the puck. He scored 11 goals and tacked on 26 assists in his senior year, and was named Atlantic Hockey's Best Defenseman. Replacing both will be tough, but especially DeMichiel. So far each of RIT's three goaltenders have had a start, once again making the starter for the game against Union a surprise.

The Tigers strength will be their offense as they return six players who scored at least 10 goals last season, and nine players who had at least 17 points.

Players To Watch:
Tyler Brenner: leads the team with three goals this season. Was second on the team last season with 15 goals.

Andrew Favot: leads the team with three assists. Is second among returning scorers as he posted 13 goals and 33 asissts last season.

Cameron Burt: led the team in scoring last season as a sophomore. He netted 16 goals and picked up 31 helpers in 40 games. He also led the team with nine power-play goals, so look out for him there.

Prediction: Union, 4-3

Players To Watch For Union:

Jeremy Welsh: leads the team with four goals, and has scored a goal in each of the past four games.

 

Daniel Carr and Josh Jooris: can they keep it rolling? The line of Carr-Welsh-Jooris has been unstoppable to start the season

Corey Milan: I'm not sure if he'll get a chance to play this weekend since Keith Kinkaid has been so good in between the pipes so far this season, but if he does let's see how he responds after his poor outing to start the season.

College Hockey Video of the Week (10/18/10): RIT is coming to town!

This upcoming Saturday the Dutchmen will welcome the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers into Messa Rink. Last season, the Tigers had a Cinderella run to the Frozen Four upsetting #2 Denver and New Hampshire in the regionals. I was able to see RIT and their fans first hand at the 2010 Frozen Four in Detroit. Even though they got destroyed 8-1 by Wisconsin, their fans were really energized and entertaining. They were the talk of the tournament. The following videos shows how much passion RIT and their fans have. Union will definitely have their hands full this weekend.

RIT's Corner Crew


RIT brawl vs. Canisius (View One)



RIT brawl vs. Canisius (View Two)


RIT advances to the 2010 Frozen Four

Notes about Union's 2010-2011 schedule

After surfing the web and the message boards I have come across some games that should pop-up on Union's schedule once it is released (which should be pretty soon).

According to Gopher Puck Live.com the Dutchmen will be playing in the Dodge Holiday Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota. The teams taking part in the tournament along with Union will be the Gophers, Bemidji State, and Ferris State. This will be a great opportunity for the Dutchmen to prove themselves against national powerhouses that have contended for the national championship in the past decade (Minnesota and Bemidji). I'm not sure who Union is playing, but if I had to guess I'd say the Gophers since they are the host and Union is the only team not from Minnesota. The tournament will take place during New Years Eve and New Years Day.

Also, word on the RIT message boards (Post #106) is that the Tigers will be visiting Union along with RPI early in the season. This makes sense since RIT is on the rise as they made the Frozen Four this past season. There is also the possibility that RIT could move to the ECAC since they are by far the best team in Atlantic Hockey. Another sign of their moving to the ECAC is that they are moving to the Liberty League. The Liberty League is a Division III conference that has many ECAC Hockey teams in it (Union, RPI, St. Lawrence, Clarkson). RIT is similar to Union in that they cannot offer athletic scholarships.

This is basically all I got for now. I will post any other things I find. Hopefully the schedule comes out soon.