Dutchmen to host Michigan in 2015

by Ryan Fay

The Dutchmen will host the University of Michigan, winners of a Division I men's hockey record nine national championships, in the fall of 2015.

The contest, set to be held on Oct. 23 of that year, will mark Michigan's first game at Messa Rink. It was also announced that Union will make a trip to Michigan during the 2016-2017 season.

The games are part of a three-year deal between Union, Michigan, and RPI. The Engineers will play at Michigan in 2014-2015 and host them Oct. 24, 2015.

Union and Michigan have one prior meeting, a 6-3 Dutchmen win at Yost Arena on Nov. 27, 2011.

The Wolverines are currently coached by the legendary Red Berenson, who is entering his 30th season on the Michigan bench. The 73-year-old owns a 770-371-80 career record and has won two NCAA championships (1996, 1998).

After competing in the now-disbanded Central Collegiate Hockey Association for over three decades, the Wolverines begin play in the Big 10 Conference this season.

The 2015-2016 season will mark the 25th season of Division I men's hockey at Union.

Dutchwomen release 2013-2014 schedule

by Ryan Fay

The Dutchwomen released their 2013-2014 schedule on Friday.

The 34 game schedule includes contests against eight non-league opponents and the other 11 members of ECAC Hockey.

Union will get underway when the Ottawa Junior Senators come to Messa Rink for an exhibition on Sep. 21. That is the earliest the Dutchwomen have played in at least ten seasons.

The regular season opens a week later with a trip to Connecticut. The Huskies opened last season at Messa Rink and lost, 3-2.

“We beat them last year but it was a close, hard-fought game,” Dutchwomen head coach Claudia Barcomb said. “I think it will be another close game this year. It will be nice to get our kids on the road early on in the season to get an idea of what we’re all about.”

The regular season home opener is Oct. 4 when Providence comes to Messa Rink for the first of two games. 

Union will be home again the following weekend for single games against Northeastern and Boston University. Both games start at 3:30 as the Dutchmen will have home games against Bowling Green each night.

“BU was in the finals of the national championship game last year, and they’ll be really good again this year,” Barcomb said.

Non-conference action continues through October with trips to Penn State (Oct. 18-19) and to Syracuse on Oct. 26.

League play begins when Dartmouth and Harvard come to Schenectady on Nov. 1-2. Those will be the first of eight straight league games for the Dutchwomen.

“I think we’ll play a good variety of teams before we start league play,” Barcomb said. “With eight games in a row to start league play, it will be a very important stretch for us in the overall picture of our league.”

Other league games in that stretch include dates at Colgate (Nov. 8), at Cornell (Nov. 9), vs Brown (Nov. 15), vs Yale (Nov. 16), at Quinnipiac (Dec. 6), and at Princeton (Dec. 7).

The Dutchwomen will close out 2013 and start 2014 in non-league action. Maine comes to Messa Rink on Dec. 14-15 and RIT pays a visit on Jan. 3-4.

“We play RIT for the first time since I’ve been here and they’re a competitive team in their second year at the Division I level,” Barcomb said. “Scott (McDonald) has put together a pretty good team and it will be a good matchup for us.”

After the two game set against RIT, it's nothing but league play as the final 14 games are against league opponents. Princeton and Quinnipiac make visits to Messa Rink on Jan. 11-12 while the home-and-home against Capital Region rival RPI is Jan. 17-18.

Barcomb, a Harvard graduate, will return to her roots when the Dutchwomen travel to Harvard on Jan. 24, a day before a trip to Dartmouth. The North Country teams, Clarkson and St. Lawrence, travel to Schenectady on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.

Union will hit the road and travel to Brown and Yale on Feb. 7-8. Cornell, this past year's ECAC regular season and tournament champion, comes to Messa Rink on Feb. 14 and Colgate follows suit the next day. 

The regular season ends with a trip to the North Country with dates at St. Lawrence on Feb. 21 and Clarkson on Feb. 22.

“I like the way our schedule is, it’s pretty balanced the whole way through,” Barcomb said. “Our focus has to be to not have any let ups. We’ve told our players to be consistent in their workouts this spring, and hopefully that will continue into the fall.”

Union Women’s Ice Hockey

2013-2014 Schedule

September

21 Ottawa Jr. Senators (EXH.) 4:00 PM

28 @ UCONN 2:00 PM

October

4 Providence 7:00 PM

5 Providence 4:00 PM

11 Northeastern 3:30 PM

12 Boston University 3:30 PM

18 @ Penn State 7:00 PM

19 @ Penn State 4:00 PM

26 @ Syracuse 2:00 PM

November

1 Dartmouth 7:00 PM

2 Harvard 4:00 PM

8 @ Colgate 7:00 PM

9 @ Cornell 4:00 PM

15 Brown 3:30 PM

16 Yale 4:00 PM

December

6 @ Quinnipiac 7:00 PM

7 @ Princeton 4:00 PM

13 Maine 7:00 PM

14 Maine 2:00 PM

January

3 RIT 7:00 PM

4 RIT 4:00 PM

10 Princeton 7:00 PM

11 Quinnipiac 4:00 PM

17 @ RPI 7:00 PM

18 RPI 4:00 PM

24 @ Harvard 7:00 PM

25 @ Dartmouth 4:00 PM

31 Clarkson 7:00 PM

February

1 SLU 4:00 PM

7 @ Yale 7:00 PM

8 @ Brown 4:00 PM

14 Cornell 7:00 PM

15 Colgate 4:00 PM

21 @ SLU 7:00 PM

22 @ Clarkson 4:00 PM

Dutchmen release 2013-2014 schedule

Men's hockey 2013-2014 schedule

by Ryan Fay

Union released its 2013-2014 men's hockey schedule on Friday.

The release isn't particularly big news for readers here, as the bulk of the schedule had already been pieced together throughout the past several weeks. The lone revelations were the dates of the two long-rumored games at Penn State. Union will play there on Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

The schedule features 34 games against six non-league opponents and the 11 other members of ECAC Hockey. Two-time defending Whitelaw Cup champion Union will host 15 home contests, up one from the past two seasons, and will take on at least one team from every conference.

The Dutchmen will play six games against participants in this past season's Frozen Four with two against Quinnipiac, two against Yale, and two against St. Cloud State.

Some schedule highlights:

Union will have four home games in October, opening the season with two against Bowling Green on Oct. 11-12 and two against Lake Superior State on Oct. 18-19. The last time the Dutchmen had four home games in October was the 2010-2011 season.

“I know it’s been talked about in years past that we’ve started with a lot of games on the road, but this year we’re playing at home for the first four games against two excellent opponents,” Union head coach Rick Bennett said. “It’s a nice way for us to start the season.”

League play gets underway in November. Union will travel to Dartmouth and Harvard on Nov. 1-2 before hosting Colgate and Cornell the following weekend. The home-and-home with RPI is a week after that.

“I think our league has been an absolute war in the past few seasons and I don’t see that changing at all,” Bennett said. “I think that we will have a big target on our back similar to what this past year’s team had with a lot of expectations.”

One particularly tough stretch occurs in December. After a rare Wednesday night game vs Dartmouth on Dec. 11, the Dutchmen will board a plane and travel to St. Cloud State for two games on Dec. 13-14. The 1,000-plus mile trip to St. Cloud State is the farthest trip Union will make during the regular season.

“We have a tough grind in December with three games within four days,” Bennett said. It’s similar to what happened to us in the NCAA Tournament in the fact of facing a little adversity in scheduling. I think we have that here, playing Dartmouth at home and then jumping on the plane the next day and heading out to St. Cloud State for two games against a Frozen Four opponent.”

As grueling as that trip may be, the Dutchmen will have plenty of time to rest. They will be off for four weeks prior to resuming play on Jan. 10 at Quinnipiac, the defending ECAC regular season champions.

The rest of the schedule will be almost exclusively league play. The lone exceptions are two unusually late out of conference games at New Hampshire on Jan. 17-18 and the non-league Mayor's Cup against RPI at the Times Union Center on Jan. 25.

Six of the seven games in January are away from Messa Rink with the lone home contest being Harvard on Jan. 24.

February and March will see more balance in the schedule with four home games and five road games. The Dutchmen close out the regular season on Mar. 1 at Brown.

Dutchwomen to travel to PSU

by Ryan Fay

The 2013-2014 Dutchwomen schedule continues to come together.

Penn State released its women's hockey schedule on Tuesday and Union will play two games there, Oct. 18-19. The Nittany Lions are set to open the state of the art Pegula Ice Arena in time for the upcoming season.

Union hosted Penn State for two games this past January and won both. A 1-0 win on Jan. 11 was followed by a 2-1 triumph the next day.

Other known Dutchwomen dates include two home games vs Providence (Oct. 4-5) and a trip to Syracuse (Oct. 26).

5/30 update: The Dutchwomen will travel to Cornell on Nov. 9 and host the Big Red on Feb. 14.

Dutchwomen to host Providence, travel to 'Cuse

by Ryan Fay

Providence released its 2013-2014 women's hockey schedule on Friday and a trip to Messa Rink is on the docket.

Union will host the Friars for two games, Oct. 4-5. The Dutchwomen are winless in three previous games against Providence with the most recent meeting being a 4-0 setback at Providence on Nov. 25, 2012.

In other Dutchwomen schedule rumblings, they will play one game at Syracuse on Oct. 26. The Dutchwomen and the Orange split a two game series at Messa Rink last November, but the Orange hold the lifetime series lead, 6-2-0.

Report: Dutchmen to travel to UConn

by Ryan Fay

Goalmouth Radio reports the University of Connecticut is expected to host the Dutchmen for one game on Friday, Oct. 25.

The report warns the game isn't set in stone, but what is listed is expected to become the final UConn schedule. Goalmouth Radio is run by UConn hockey broadcaster Will Moran.

Union has played UConn on ten previous occasions, holding a 7-0-3 mark. The most recent meeting was Oct. 27 2012 at UConn, a 2-2 tie.

OTHER MEN'S HOCKEY SCHEDULE RUMBLINGS

It's believed that Union will travel for two games at Penn State, which is opening up a new facility later this year. Dates are not yet known.

WHAT IS KNOWN
Here is what is known about next year's men's hockey schedule, with a couple blanks still to be filled in:

10/11 vs Bowling Green

10/12 vs Bowling Green

10/18 vs Lake Superior State
10/19 vs Lake Superior State

10/25 at UConn (expected)
11/1 at Dartmouth
11/2 at Harvard
11/8 vs Colgate
11/9 vs Cornell
11/15 vs RPI
11/16 at RPI
12/6 vs Princeton
12/7 vs Quinnipiac
12/13 at St. Cloud State
12/14 at St. Cloud State
12/20 RPI (TU Center - non-league - Mayor's Cup)
1/10 at Quinnipiac
1/11 at Princeton
1/17 at New Hampshire
1/18 at New Hampshire
1/24 vs Harvard
1/25 vs Dartmouth
1/31 at St. Lawrence
2/1 at Clarkson
2/7 vs Brown
2/8 vs Yale
2/14 at Cornell
2/15 at Colgate
2/21 vs Clarkson
2/22 vs St. Lawrence
2/28 at Yale
3/1 at Brown

Men's Hockey: BGSU coming to Messa for two

by Ryan Fay

Bowling Green State University is scheduled to come to Messa Rink for a two game set, Oct. 11 and 12.

Both contests are scheduled for 7 PM.

The Dutchmen traveled to Bowling Green for two games last October, walking away with 5-3 and 4-1 victories.

OTHER RUMBLINGS

It's believed that UConn will come to Messa Rink for one game, but that has not been confirmed. It's also speculated that Union will travel for two games at Penn State, which is opening up a new facility later this year

WHAT'S KNOWN
Here is what is known about next year's schedule, with a couple blanks still to be filled in:

10/11 vs Bowling Green

10/12 vs Bowling Green

10/18 vs Lake Superior State
10/19 vs Lake Superior State
11/1 at Dartmouth
11/2 at Harvard
11/8 vs Colgate
11/9 vs Cornell
11/15 vs RPI
11/16 at RPI
12/6 vs Princeton
12/7 vs Quinnipiac
12/13 at St. Cloud State
12/14 at St. Cloud State
12/20 RPI (TU Center - non-league - Mayor's Cup)
1/10 at Quinnipiac
1/11 at Princeton
1/17 at New Hampshire
1/18 at New Hampshire
1/24 vs Harvard
1/25 vs Dartmouth
1/31 at St. Lawrence
2/1 at Clarkson
2/7 vs Brown
2/8 vs Yale
2/14 at Cornell
2/15 at Colgate
2/21 vs Clarkson
2/22 vs St. Lawrence
2/28 at Yale
3/1 at Brown

St. Cloud State on 2013-2014 schedule

by Ryan Fay

The men's hockey team will be traveling to St. Cloud State for two games in December.

The two game set is scheduled to be held at the National Hockey and Event Center Friday Dec. 13 (7:37 PM CT) and Saturday Dec. 14 (7:07 PM CT).

If anyone plans on making the 19 hour drive from Schenectady, tickets go on sale online beginning Aug. 26 at midnight CT. 

The Huskies presently compete in the WCHA, but will move to the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference starting in the fall.

Currently No. 8 in the USCHO poll, the Huskies finished the WCHA regular season as co-champions with Minnesota and figure to return a strong team next season with only three seniors on the roster.

The Dutchmen are winless in three previous meetings with the Huskies. Union fell to St. Cloud State, 4-2, in the 2006 Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vermont. Most recently, the Dutchmen played a two-game set at St. Cloud State on Oct. 16-17 2009. The first game was a 3-3 draw, but the Huskies prevailed, 3-1, in the second.

OTHER OUT OF CONFERENCE RUMBLINGS

Although not confirmed, it's believed Lake Superior State and Bowling Green will do two games apiece at Messa Rink next season. Union traveled to both schools for a pair of games this year.

If the two game sets do occur, it would push Union's regular season home schedule to at least 15 games next season. The Dutchmen have hosted 14 regular season home contests in each of the last two years.

It's also speculated that Union will play two games at Penn State's new Pegula Ice Arena sometime next season. The Nitany Lions came to Schenectady for two games in November.

WHAT'S KNOWN

Here's what is known about next year's schedule, with several blanks still to be filled in, particularly in October:

11/1 at Dartmouth
11/2 at Harvard
11/8 vs Colgate
11/9 vs Cornell
11/15 vs RPI
11/16 at RPI
12/6 vs Princeton
12/7 vs Quinnipiac
12/13 at St. Cloud State
12/14 at St. Cloud State
12/20 RPI (TU Center non-league)
1/10 at Quinnipiac
1/11 at Princeton
1/24 vs Harvard
1/25 vs Dartmouth
1/31 at St. Lawrence
2/1 at Clarkson
2/7 vs Brown
2/8 vs Yale
2/14 at Cornell
2/15 at Colgate
2/21 vs Clarkson
2/22 vs St. Lawrence
2/28 at Yale
3/1 at Brown

Union Announces 2011-2012 Regular Season Schedule

Hi folks,

Hope everyone enjoyed the Stanley Cup Finals this past week. What a win for the Bruins, huh? First Cup in 39 years. I dont think many people expected them to get passed Vancouver. I was in downtown Boston last night to celebrate with fans, and I will most certainly be there on Saturday for the parade.

But in other news, Union College just recently announced their schedule for next season. On paper, this looks like a very challenging schedule, but I think the Dutchmen will definitely rise to the occasion. I am very excited to see them matchup against University of Michigan, University of New Hampshire, Merrimack, Denver, and Colorado College - all of which made the NCAA tournament this past spring.

I am also excited to see a Tuesday night game in Troy against RPI. Wouldn't that be a hoot to bus students from Union over to RPI to see the game? What else is there to do on a Tuesday night in October?

Below is the 2011-2012 schedule:

10/8 @ Army

10/14 vs. Western Michigan
10/15 vs. Western Michigan

10/21 @ Niagara
10/22 @ R.I.T.

10/28 @ University of New Hampshire
10/29 vs. A.I.C

11/4 @ St. Lawrence
11/5 @ Clarkson


11/11 vs. Brown
11/12 vs. Yale

11/15 @ RPI

11/27 @ University of Michigan

12/2 @ Quinnipiac
12/3 @ Princeton

12/10 vs. RPI (in Lake Placid)

12/17 @ Merrimack

12/30 @ University of Denver
12/31 @ Colorado College

1/6 vs. Harvard
1/7 vs. Dartmouth

1/13 @ Harvard
1/14 vs. RPI

1/20 @ Yale
1/21 @ Brown

1/27 vs. Clarkson
1/28 vs. St. Lawrence

2/3 vs. Colgate
2/4 vs. Cornell

2/10 @ Dartmouth

2/17 vs. Princeton
2/18 vs. Quinnipiac

2/24 @ Cornell
2/25 @ Colgate

So plan ahead, clear your weekend schedules, and come see the Dutchmen!

-JZ

Union's Tentative 2011-12 ECAC Schedule

So, RPI's season ticket brochures for next season have been released. It contains next season's schedule in it, and since Union is travel partners with RPI we now have an idea at what the bulk of Union's schedule will look like next year.

Here it is:



Messa Rink

 November
Fri. 4 - at St. Lawrence
Sat. 5 - at Clarkson
Fri. 11 - Yale
Sat. 12 - Brown

December
Fri. 2 - at Quinnipiac
Sat. 3 - at Princeton
Sat. 10 - at RPI

January
Fri. 6 - Harvard
Sat. 7 - Dartmouth
Sat. 14 - RPI
Fri. 20 - at Brown
Sat. 21 - at Yale
Fri. 28 - Clarkson
Sat. 29 - St. Lawrence

Februrary
Fri. 3 - Colgate
Sat. 4 - Cornell
Fri. 10 - at Dartmouth
Sat. 11 - at Harvard
Fri. 17 - Princeton
Sat. 18 - Quinnipiac
Fri. 24 - at Cornell
Sat. 25 - at Colgate

Also, RIT will be playing at RPI on November 25, so maybe the Tigers will be coming to Schenectady the following night.

My only complaint about this schedule is that Union will be playing at RPI when Union students are on break. It's so much better when the students travel, and the RPI game is really the only time students do so.

I'll see what I can do to find out about what non-league games Union will be playing in next season.

Union Loses Mariucci Classic Championship Game

Matt Read scored twice for the Beavers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Union In The Polls

Union did not play last week and are off this weekend as well:

- The Dutchmen move up one spot to #13 in the USCHO poll.

- The INCH Poll keeps Union at #10.

Here is Union's schedule for the Winter Break:

12/3 at Brown
12/5 at Yale (on ESPNU)
12/10 vs. AIC
12/11 vs. Army
12/18 at Western Michigan
12/19 at Western Michigan
12/31 vs. Minnesota (Dodge Holiday Classic, Minnesota)
1/1 vs. Bemidji (Dodge Holiday Classic, Minnesota)

Dutchmen officially release 2010-2011 schedule

Toady Coach Leaman and the Union College Dutchmen officially announced thier schedule for this upcoming season. If you have been following the blog lately there should be no surprises. As I reported earlier, Union will be playing in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, the Dodge Holiday Classic hosted by Minnesota, and at Lake Placid to take on RPI. Also, they will be playing out of conference games against Niagara, RIT, and Western Michigan.

What I did miss were other OOC games. Union will open the season at home with a weekend series against Sacred Heart, who came into Schenectady last season and shocked the Dutchmen with a 6-5 win in overtime in one of the most exciting games of the season. They will also welcome in Atlantic Hockey foes UConn, AIC, and Army.

I have mixed feelings on the schedule. When it comes to the tournaments, Leaman and the Dutchmen did a great job scheduling competitive tournaments. Last season Union played in the RPI tournament and UConn tournament where they played Lake Superior State, RPI, UMass, and UConn, which makes up a pretty weak group of opponents. This year things are different. In the BAGR and DHC the Dutchmen are scheduled to play Alaska-Fairbanks, Alaska-Anchorage, Minnesota, and Bemidji. Alaska-Fairbanks finished in the Top 20 last season, Minnesota is consistently a national contender, and Bemidji made the Frozen Four two years ago and are on the rise. These tournaments will be great tests for the Dutchmen.

But, when it comes to the non-tournament out of conference schedule Union's schedule looks weak. These opponents are SHU, RIT, UConn, AIC, and Army of Atlantic Hockey, and Niagara of College Hockey America. Besides RIT, who made the Frozen Four this past season, these are all pretty weak opponents. Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America are consistently the worst conferences in college hockey, and AIC and UConn are usually two of the worst teams in all of college hockey. Where are the Hockey East opponents? I guess they spent all the travel money on the tournaments to Alaska and Minnesota. RPI has games against Northeastern and Boston University. While the Terriers are playing RPI in Troy, the Dutchmen will be playing Army just down the road. Even though this part of the schedule is weak, it's always good to have some "easy" games on the schedule so some of the players that don't play much can play.

For more on the schedule check out Union Athletics.com.

More on the 10-11 Schedule

Last night I spoke with a person in the Union College Athletic Department. While he would not give me the schedule for next season he told me a few things:

1. Union will be playing in the Minnesota Holiday Tournament

2. They will also be playing in the Alaska Goal Rush Tourney (as reported earlier)

3. The RIT Tigers will be traveling to Schenectady

4. The Dutchmen will travel out to Western Michigan to take on the Broncos for a weekend series

5. Union and RPI will play each other three times this season. The non-conference matchup is going to be at a neutral site and is supposed to be some kind of "big surprise."

6. The official also said that the schedule should be released on Tuesday.

That should be all for the non-conference schedule. We will see what the rest of the schedule looks like soon.

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.

Union-Colgate game was "uninspiring"

In Ken Schott's post-game thoughts he harps on how dead the Union faithful were tonight and how it carried over to the ice. I can just picture Mr. Schott right now standing in the press box being absolutely livid when no one sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" with him.

Here's Ken Schott's feelings on the game from his blog: http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/schott/2009/dec/05/union-colgate-postgame-report/

Stephane Boileau blamed the lack of energy to overconfidence, but I know from experience that it is hard to get pumped up for a game in your own building when no one is there or excited. And the reason why there was no energy or excitement tonight was because of the Union students being on winter break. The students truly are the "7th Man" and get the Union players amped. I'm sure the only student dedicated enough to make the trek to Schenectady during their winter break was the team's #1 fan Will Friedman. So, this bring up the question of who and why schedule an ECAC home weekend during the school's winter break? I'm sure it wasn't Coach Leaman's doing because he has said in many conversations that I've had with him how much his team responds to the student section and how they have played their best hockey at home in front of a loud and energetic crowd. This is the first time in recent memory (or at least since I've been at Union) that there was an ECAC game at Messa Rink during the winter break.

I almost feel bad that I did not attend the game, but not that bad considering I went to Nets-Bobcats game where the Nets won their first game of the season. The crowd was really into it and the tickets that I bought were 75 cents (so can you really blame me?). But, I will be making the trek up to Troy on Wednesday to see the Dutchmen take on the Engineers for the third time this season.

This scheduling problem also brings up the question of why is the Union-RPI game at RPI that counts towards league standings on a Wednesday night? This makes no sense to me considering it's a rivalry game. What would be the problem with putting this game in the same weekend when RPI travels to Schenectady on Saturday, Janurary 16th? It's the only game the Dutchmen and the Engineers have that weekend. Someone in the ECAC scheduling office has some explaining to do.

2009-2010 Schedule

Here's a link to this season's schedule: http://www.unionathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey&

The first opportunity to see the Dutchmen on the ice is October 3rd in the Garnet & White game at Messa Rink. The official season starts October 9th with a weekend home series against the University of Maine, a member of the Hockey East conference. Union will play rival RPI three time this season, the first being on October 30th at Messa Rink for a non-conference battle. The ECAC schedule starts up the week after as they face off against Brown at home. Since the Governor's Cup no longer exists the Dutchmen will participate in two tournaments this year, the RPI Tournament (November 27-28), and the UConn Tournament (December 29-30).

Other notable games include January 16th's game against RPI at home and the last regular season ECAC home game against Quinnipiac University on February 20th.