Dutchmen fall 3-2 to RPI in rematch

Box Score

by Ryan Fay

RPI picked up a weekend sweep of Route 7 rival Union with a 3-2 ECAC Hockey win Saturday at the Houston Field House.

Union's Ryan Scarfo scored a goal in the Dutchmen's
3-2 loss to RPI Saturday at the Houston Field House.
(credit: Union College Athletics)

With the sweep, RPI (3-4-0 overall, 2-0-0 ECACH) secured the Capital Skates Trophy for the second straight season.

Much like during their 5-1 win Friday at Messa Rink, the Engineers came out firing in the first period. They outshot the Dutchmen 17-6 in the first 20 minutes, including the last 12 shots of the frame. 

But Union (2-3-3, 0-2-0) goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos kept the Dutchmen in the game by turning aside all 17, a stark contrast to Friday when he allowed three early goals and was yanked for Jake Kupsky.

The Engineers broke through in the second. A miscommunication between Sakellaropoulos and defenseman Noah Henry at the side of the net led to a turnover to RPI's Jake Wood. He sent the puck to Jared Wilson at the left-point, and Wilson beat Sakellaropoulos over the glove at 3:29.

Phil Hampton gave RPI a 2-0 lead three and a half minutes later after his bid from the right-point was knocked in by Union center Spencer Foo.

Union got on the board in the third. While on a power play, defenseman Sebastien Gingras cut RPI's advantage to 2-1 at 4:03 after his shot from the top of the right circle went off the crossbar and in.

The Engineers responded with a power play goal of their own midway through the third when Mark Miller knocked in a rebound of a Riley Bourbonnais shot.

Ryan Scarfo put Union within one at 3-2 with a tally at 12:46, but the Dutchmen couldn't find the equalizer.

Sakellaropoulos finished with 36 saves in the losing effort, while Jason Kasdorf racked up 27 for the Engineers.

Both team's power play units went 1-for-3.

After playing their first eight games of the season in the Capital District, Union will go on the road next weekend to face St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday.

This and that: Union co-captain Mike Vecchione missed his second straight game. After Friday's game, Bennett said Vecchione is on the physically unable to perform list...

... Bennett made several lineup changes on Saturday. Forwards Theo Di Pauli, Tyler Hynes and Sebastian Vidmar and defenseman Greg Campbell were put in. Forwards Brett Supinski, Nick Cruice and Ryan Walker and defenseman JC Brassard were taken out.

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RPI breezes past Union in league opener

Box Score

by Ryan Fay

Union head coach Rick Bennett has seen a lot of hockey in his 11 seasons with the Dutchmen.

Union head coach Rick Bennett addresses the media
after Union's 5-1 loss to RPI on Friday.

But he hadn't seen a loss as ugly as Friday's 5-1 setback to RPI at Messa Rink, the ECAC Hockey opener for both teams. He said the Dutchmen didn't play hungry and were outplayed.

"This is the worst loss in my time here, hands down," said Bennett, who joined Union as an assistant coach in Aug. 2005 before taking over as head coach after the 2010-11 season. "Not even close."

Early on, the game was even. But things went south for Union (2-2-3) after Travis Fulton gave RPI a 1-0 lead at 10:38 of the first period on a goal from the bottom of the right circle.

"I thought it was going fine," Bennett said. "Then we let in the first goal and it fell apart."

It sure did. Phil Hampton gave RPI a 2-0 lead at 15:22, just under a minute before Kenny Gillespie made it 3-0 and chased Dutchmen goalie Alex Sakellaropoulos.

Jake Kupsky relieved Sakellaropoulos, but it didn't help. Riley Bourbannis pushed RPI's cushion to 4-0 at 18:12. He was left wide open to tap in a rebound after a Union player missed a defensive assignment.

"We just wanted to keep plugging along, keep going and stick to the game plan," Bourbonnais said.

Milos Bubela further iced the win with a shorthanded goal at 2:06 of the third. With Union on a five minute power play, Spencer Foo sent a pass to Nick DeSimone at the point. But DeSimone let it get away, springing Bubela on a breakaway that resulted in a 5-0 lead for the Engineers.

Bubela's shorthanded goal was a microcosm for Union's power-play unit, which struggled all night. It finished 1-for-9 while mustering just 10 combined shots on the man advantage. The only one that went in Mark Dufour's blast from the top of the slot at 17:14 that cut the Engineers lead to 5-1.

RPI (2-4-0) picked up 22 saves from goalie Jason Kasdorf, who would have seen a lot more action had the Engineers not blocked 29 shots.

“Our will, as a group, to block shots, there’s nothing more that says you love your teammates than blocking shots,” RPI head coach Seth Appert said. “Riley Bourbonnais, he’s a goal scorer, and he scored again tonight for us. I mean, man, he’s blocking shots. But everybody is. And that just shows the guys care about each other.”

With such an unsatisfying result, it would be understandable if Bennett wanted to forget about it and just move on to tonight's rematch at the Houston Field House.

But Bennett wants to keep the game fresh in his team's memory.

“I don’t want to forget about this game, to be honest with you. Not one bit,” Bennett said. “I hope it hurts until they come for the 11 o’clock meeting [today], because they’re going to watch it. Hats off to RPI. That was an absolute, great game by RPI. Outcoached, definitely outplayed. That was like a Stanley Cup Game seven to them."

Union, which didn't make its players available after the game, skated without co-captain Mike Vecchione. Bennett said Vecchione was on the physically unable to perform list and offered no further update.

POSTGAME AUDIO

Union head coach Rick Bennett



RPI's head coach Seth Appert, plus players Riley Bourbonnais, Mike Prapavessis, and Travis Fulton



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Dutchmen to open 2017-18 at Ice Breaker

by Ryan Fay

Union will open the 2017-18 season by making its third appearance in the Ice Breaker tournament, it was announced Saturday.

Minnesota Duluth will host the 21st annual event at the 6,500-seat AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, MN. Minnesota and Michigan Tech will round out the four-team field.

The first round of the tournament, set for Oct. 6, will see Union take on Michigan Tech at 5 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth against Minnesota in the nightcap. The third place and championship games will take place the following day.

Depending on what happens between now and then, Union's game against Michigan Tech could be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Huskies are one of only seven Division I teams yet to play Union.

The Dutchmen didn't have much luck in their two previous Ice Breaker appearances, 1999 in Denver and 2005 in Colorado Springs. In the 1999 event, Union lost to Denver 4-1 and Notre Dame 4-0. In 2005, the Dutchmen fell to Colorado College 6-1 and Air Force 9-2.

Tournament details with ticket prices will be released at a later date.

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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 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.

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.

Colgate downs Dutchmen, 4-1

The following was provided by the Union College Sports Information Office:

==========

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HAMILTON, NY – Sophomore defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored a power play goal, but No. 20 men’s ice hockey (15-11-5, 8-7-3 ECAC Hockey) fell, 4-1, to Colgate (14-13-4, 6-10-3 ECAC Hockey) in front of 1,903 fans at Starr Rink.

Colgate’s Kurtis Bartliff scored on the Raiders’ first shot of the night, Spiro Goulakos and Taylor Spink scored power play goals in the second and third period, and Robbie Bourdon added an empty net goal for Colgate, which snapped a six game winless streak.

Colgate’s Eric Mihalik made 35 stops in net for the Raiders, who were outshot 36-32 for the night by the Dutchmen.

The Raiders finished the night 2-for-5 on the man advantage, while the Dutchmen went 1-for-4 on the power play.

Colgate got off to a fast start, scoring on its first shot of the night in the opening minutes. Thomas Larkin fed Bartliff in the slot, and Barliff beat junior goaltender Troy Grosenick (28 saves) from three feet out at 2:58 to put the Raiders up 1-0.

Union controlled play for much of the frame before and after Colgate’s opening goal, establishing their forecheck early on in the contest.

Minutes after Bartliff’s goal, Colgate’s Joe Wilson tripped up Mat Bodie in the Union zone, giving the Dutchmen their first power play opportunity of the night. Union would take advantage, as senior forward Kyle Bodie fed cross-ice to sophomore defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

Gostisbehere fired over the shoulder of Mihalik at 6:56 to tie the game at 1-1.

Union continued to carry the play, as senior defenseman Greg Coburn hit the post on a one-timer off a feed from junior forward Josh Jooris at the 9:00 mark, and later in the period, Mat Bodie fired into the chest of Mihalik as the trailer on a Union odd-man rush.

Early in the second period, Colgate regained the lead after Jooris was sent to the penalty box for charging in the opening minute. Colgate’s Spiro Goulakos fired a slapshot from straightaway past Grosenick in the final second of the man advantage at 2:37.

Union’s best chance to even the score came at the 9:13 mark after good sustained pressure by the fourth line. Sophomore forward Sam Coatta fired a low turnaround shot from the slot on net, and freshman forward David Roy had his rebound chance deflect high over an open goal.

Grosenick was at his best on another Colgate power play later in the period, with Jooris again in the penalty box. Grosenick kicked his right pad out to make a stop on Colgate’s Kyle Baum, then stopped a long drive by Goulakos after the Jooris penalty expired at 17:00.

Colgate went on an early power play in the third period, as Mat Bodie went to the box for interference at 3:24. Tylor Spink was at the goal mouth to put in a rebound of a Jeremy Price shot from the point at 4:30, giving Colgate a two goal lead.

Union’s best chance to cut into Colgate’s lead came with 5:57 to go, as junior forward Josh Jooris put a rebound of a Charlie Vasaturo shot into the pads of Mihalik.

Union will take on Cornell tomorrow night at Lynah Rink in a contest that starts at 7:00 p.m.

ECAC Hockey Power Rankings (2/18/13)

by Ryan Fay

There are only two more weekends of regular season action. But there's a lot more yet to be decided. Lets see how the teams stack up right now:

1. QUINNIPIAC (22-4-4 overall, 15-1-2 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1

It finally happened. #1/1 Quinnipiac suffered its first league loss of the season after St. Lawrence held on for a 2-1 victory on Friday. There were some close calls earlier this season (i.e 1-1 ties against RPI and Brown) but it was Saints who finished the job. While the loss ruined a chance at an undefeated league season, it wasn't all that damaging. After Union knocked off Yale, the Bobcats clinched the Cleary Cup on Friday anyway. Concerns about a letdown performance on Saturday versus Clarkson were quelled with a 2-1 win.

2. RPI (14-11-5, 9-6-3) LW: 3

With all due respect to Quinnipiac, RPI may well be the ECAC team one would least want to face right now. The boys from Troy have fired off eight league wins in a row and have looked dominant in the process. RPI has allowed three goals or less in every game during the run with two shutouts mixed in. During the streak, the Engineers have outscored their opponents 30-10. You'd hate to be Colgate and Cornell this weekend.

3. ST. LAWRENCE (15-11-4, 8-6-4) LW: 4

If the Saints had any chance to beat Quinnipiac, they were going to need their best players to come up big. And that's what happened. Greg Carey, who leads the nation with 23 goals, scored both St. Lawrence goals on Friday. The junior has at least one goal in nine straight contests dating back to Jan. 19 at Clarkson. Currently tied with Union for third place, the Saints have a chance to solidify a first round bye with Dartmouth, Harvard, and Union coming up on the calendar. St. Lawrence is 3-0 against them this year.

4. UNION (15-10-5, 8-6-4) LW: 6

After starting the month on a three game winless streak, and losing grip on a first round bye, there was some concern the season may be starting to slip away from the two-time defending league champions. But the Dutchmen earned four huge points after beating #9/10 Yale 4-2 on Friday and blanking Brown 2-0 the next night. A week after getting yanked in consecutive starts, Troy Grosenick rebounded and accumulated 61 saves over the weekend. Currently tied with St. Lawerence for third place, Union once again has a first round bye to lose.

5. YALE (13-9-3, 9-8-1) LW: 2

This isn't the kind of stretch run the Bulldogs wanted to have. Yale is 1-5 over their past six games, including four straight losses. The team misses starting goaltender Jeff Malcolm, who is out for an undetermined amount of time. Backup Nick Maricic was pulled after letting up a couple soft goals against Union on Friday and third-stringer Conor Wilson allowed three goals on 21 shots in Saturday's loss at RPI. The offense isn't helping, either. Yale has scored five goals in the current four game skid. 

6. BROWN (9-11-5, 5-8-5) LW: 5

Brown's three game week began on a high note with a 1-0 blanking of Yale on Tuesday, but the weekend was a different story. A 5-1 rout at RPI preceded a 2-0 defeat at Union on Saturday. In the latter, the Bears were outhot 48-23. One concern with Brown is a lack of scoring depth. With 26 points, Matt Lorito has twice as many as any other player on the roster (Garnet Hathaway - 13). Lorito's 14 goals are more than double the next highest figure on the squad (Nick Lappin's six).

7. CLARKSON (8-15-7, 7-8-3) LW: 10

Clarkson handed Princeton just its third home loss of the season with Friday's 3-2 triumph. The next night, they hung tough with league-leading Quinnipiac, but dropped a 2-1 decision. He's no Greg Carey, but Allen McPherson has been on quite the streak himself. Of his nine goals this season, five of them have come in the past six games.

8. DARTMOUTH (12-9-4, 8-7-3) LW: 9

If you want to talk about a bad loss, #17 Dartmouth's 4-2 setback to Cornell on Friday would qualify. Not only did Cornell enter the game 1-10 over its last 11 games, the game was played at Dartmouth, where the Big Green were 9-2 on the season going into the weekend. Dartmouth rebounded on Saturday with a 5-4 win over Colgate and stand tied with Yale for fourth place.

9. PRINCETON (9-12-4, 7-8-3) LW: 7

The Tigers are a tough nut to crack. Last weekend, they picked up two wins on the road after entering that weekend with one road win all year. This past weekend, Princeton brought a 6-2 home record into home games with Clarkson and St. Lawrence. They lost both.

10. HARVARD (7-15-3, 4-12-2) LW: 11

Don't look now, but Harvard is unbeaten in its last four contests (2-0-2). It's certainly a welcome sight after the Crimson had a stretch with one win in 16 games. Harvard put up seven goals on Tuesday in a 7-4 win over #/11/13 Boston University in the Beanpot consolation game. The strong effort was followed by a 4-1 win over Colgate on Friday and a 2-2 draw with Cornell on Saturday.

11. CORNELL (9-13-3, 5-10-3) LW: 12
With a win and a tie, Cornell had its first league weekend with more than two points since picking up four points against Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Nov. 30-Dec 1. Cornell closes out the regular season portion of its home schedule this weekend against RPI and Union.

12. COLGATE (13-13-4, 5-10-3) LW: 8

With four straight defeats, the Raiders are sputtering to the finish line. The recent struggles can at least partly be blamed on a power play unit that has gone belly up after spending most of the season as one of the best in the conference. Over the past four games, the Colgate power play is 1-for-19.

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

#9/10 Yale at Union pregame notes

by Ryan Fay

Union hosts #9/10 Yale tomorrow night at 7 pm at Messa Rink.

Yale (13-7-6, 9-6-1 ECAC) is looking to solidify its hold on second place while sixth-place Union (13-10-5, 6-6-4) is looking to get back in the top four with eyes on a first round bye.

In advance of the game, parties from both sides weighed in on a few story lines that could impact the game.

SCORING STRUGGLES

Union enters the game struggling on offense. The Dutchmen have scored more than three goals in a game just once since the calendar flipped to 2013 (four vs last place Harvard on Jan. 22). In that span, the Dutchmen are 4-6-1.

"Sometimes we just sit back too much," senior Wayne Simpson said when describing the offensive woes. "We're playing in our zone too much and it's hard to create chances doing that."

At least the forward had solutions.

Allain (Yale)

"We have to keep it simple so we can get pucks deep," he said. "Forcing turnovers from our forecheck is important as is getting pucks to the net. We've done it at times and we've seen how it works. But we have to do it more often."

Yale can sympathize with an offensive slump. The Bulldogs have lost three of its past four games and failed to score more than two goals in any of the three losses. The Bulldogs were shutout 1-0 on Tuesday despite firing 44 shots at Brown's Anthony Borelli.

"We have to score more goals," Yale head coach Keith Allain said via a phone interview. "We scored two goals in the previous game we lost and we scored zero goals on Tuesday. You can't win hockey games at any level when you're averaging one goal a game. We have to get our lines going and produce more offense."

GETTING KILLED BY THE KILL 

Union has spent most of the season as one of the toughest penalty killing teams in the country.

But the unit has become leaky of late, operating at a 6-for-13 clip in the past three games. St. Lawrence scored three power play goals against Union last Saturday, the most Union had given up in nearly a calendar year.

"It's just a matter of getting some bounces," said junior defenseman Mat Bodie. "A couple bounces against St. Lawrence last Saturday were generous for them.

"Other than that, it's a matter of bearing down. We've been letting a couple shots get through from the point. We haven't been tying up sticks in front. It's the little things that add up. We've been successful in the past and I'm sure we can get back on track."

Union's penalty kill went 8-for-8 during a 3-3 draw at Yale on Dec. 8th.

LAGANIERE ONE TO WATCH

When Union skated to that tie at Yale in early December, no Bulldog stood out more than senior Antoine Laganiere.

"He's very big, skates and controls the puck extremely well, and Union simply didn't have an answer for him," Union play by play man Matt DuBrey told me in a December interview.

The 6-foot-4 forward picked up an assist in the tie against Union and his 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) are tied with Andrew Miller for second most on the club.

"He's a young man who came in here with a little bit of offensive skill," Allain said of Laganiere. "It's gratifying to see a guy who has gotten better each and every year. He has gotten stronger, faster, and more confident. When he came here, he was 6-foot-4, 170-something pounds. Now he's 6-foot-4, 220-something pounds. He has added elements to his offensive game. He's a testament to what a kid can accomplish with dedication and hard work."

SAINT NICK

When starting lineups are announced, Yale's goaltender probably won't be Jeff Malcolm.

Allain said on Wednesday that there's "no" timetable for Malcolm's return. The senior, who has a 2.48 goals against average and a .918 save percentage, has not played since suffering an injury early in a 4-2 win against Princeton on Feb. 1.

Nick Maricic, another senior, has picked up the slack between the pipes.

"I think Nick has played well," Allain said. "I thought he played well when he came in relief against Princeton. I thought he struggled a bit against Quinnipiac. But he was solid on Tuesday against Brown."

ETC

With 79 career points, Bodie is one away from setting the program record for points by a defenseman.... the junior is tied with Lane Caffaro.... if you can't make it to the game, it will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports... the program is holding a "bookraiser" by Project: Cameron's Story at both games this weekend... for more information, click here.

Dutchmen Details: TV Coverage? Fuhgeddaboudit.

• Union moves up to #6 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today polls. 
• Union remains at #2 in the INCH rankings, sandwiched between #1 Boston College and #3 Minnesota. INCH has this to say about the Dutchmen:

After suffering a first-round upset as the top seed in the quarterfinal round last year, the Dutchmen left little doubt this time around. Union trailed for less than six minutes the entire weekend and swept RPI.

Senior Molly Kate Devin

• The Dutchwomen visited Van Corlaer Elementary school, where they answered questions from students about the rigors of being student-athletes before playing a game of floor hockey. What I'd like to know: can Union install intramural floor hockey? I hear Kate Gallagher has some garnet and white Mylec floor hockey pads just in case...
• In case you missed it, Andy Stinchfield (of club hockey notoriety) published a piece in the Concordiensis about the Dutchwomen. 
• With a dearth of deals at the NHL trade deadline, a college free agent could be a nice boost for a team looking to add a good player at the right time. Or to build for the future. NHL.com has a list of NCAA free agents who might have those in the pro ranks salivating. Kelly Zajac and Troy Grosenick make the list. Brian O'Neill of Yale is the only other ECACer on the list. Don't be surprised if Jeremy Welsh gets some serious looks, either. We'll touch more on this later in the week.
• As always, the Official Blog of Union Hockey has some pertinent information and interesting stats.
• Vote on the Times Union's poll on where Union will end up Atlantic City. Too bad "teach Sam Coatta to count cards" isn't an option.



This photo comes up when you search "Grosenick," for some reason. 

• Don't expect Coach Bennett's squad to coast into Atlantic City, especially given the volatile nature of the NCAA selection process. From USCHO's ECAC Blog:

...This is to say that there are scenarios out there (play with them yourself!) that have the Dutchmen and Big Red on the wrong side of the bubble, should either fail to win the Whitelaw Cup. That may seem remarkable given Union’s current status as D-I’s sixth-ranked team in the PWR, but such is the case. 

Not surprisingly, Harvard and Colgate – each ranking in the low 20′s – will probably need to win the title in order to gain entry to the national tourney.

• Troy Grosenick was named a finalist for the ECAC Goaltender of the Year Award, aptly named after Ken Dryden. Last year, Keith Kinkaid won the Ken Dryden award. Let's compare their stats:
• Kinkaid (2010-2011) 38 GP; 3 SO; 1.99 GAA; .920 SV%
• Grosenick (2011-2012) 29 GP; 2 SO; 1.66 GAA; .936 SV%
• The major discrepancy here is the games played--if Troy had not missed time due to a nagging lower body injury, those numbers would most likely be more even. Now, let's take a look at the other goalies nominated for this year's Dryden Award, Cornell's Andy Iles and Clarkson's Paul Karpowich:
• Iles: 31 GP; 2 SO; 2.08 GAA; .920 SV%
• Karpowich: 37 GP; 5 SO; 2.46 GAA; .921 SV%
• It turns out that the ECAC championships will not be covered on network TV--the only such league championship series that is being left off the air. At the very least, fans of the four teams can kvetch together. 
• But it looks like RPI's TV station will be there. You'll have to pay to watch, but you probably would have had to do that anyway. Kudos to those Rensselaer-ians for keeping everyone in the loop. Stay tuned (pun intended) for more news on this.

Around the NCAA

• We haven't mentioned it here yet, but best of luck to Joe Marsh, who recently retired from his post as St. Lawrence head coach. Marsh's 26 year stint as head coach is impressive enough, but he was one of the true gentleman of the game. Best of luck to him in retirement and to St. Lawrence in the future. It will be strange to see the Saints come to town without him behind the bench.
• Minnesota-Duluth, reigning champs, purveyors of bleach blond hair and victors over Union in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, get some press in the New York Times.
• If you haven't already, be sure to check out the work of Luke Devoe over at From The NIP to the Bank, the excellent Quinnipiac Blog. While you're at it, follow the equally excellent RPI blog, Without a Peer. While we're at it, keep the page hits coming for Dan's brilliant ECAC blog. 

Dartmouth and Union skate to 0-0 tie

Daniel Carr '14 vs. Darmouth

Sorry it took so long for me to post. It was a long day with the Devils and club hockey today.

This 0-0 tie brings back memories for me. The first year I had season tickets to Army hockey was in the 1994-95 season. Just a few games into the season the Black Knights welcomed in this team called Union and skated to a scoreless tie... I never saw one in any hockey game ever again. When I began looking at colleges during high school my Dad mentioned Union to me, and the first thing that came to my mind was that 0-0 tie in 1994.

As a Union fan you have to be pretty happy coming home with three points while only scoring two goals on the weekend. Harvard and Dartmouth are both tough team to play, especially on the road. Keith Kinkaid had another stellar weekend and is making a name for himself in the college hockey world. He currently leads all goaltenders with at least five starts in goals-against average with 1.67. Next weekend's home-and-home series with RPI and Allen York will be a battle for goaltending supremacy in the ECAC.

It looks like Coach Leaman is trying to find the right player to play on the top line with Adam Presizniuk and Kelly Zajac. Stephane Boileau, Cole Ikkala, and others have already played on the line, and this weekend Leaman tried Carr and Jooris. Neither produced much. So who should be the third guy? Jeremy Welsh? Wayne Simpson? Who knows what Leaman is thinking. I say give Welshie a try. That trio will definitely score a ton of goals, but could weaken the rest of the lineup.

Either way, it's a very good start to league play and hopefully they keep it rolling next weekend against RPI. Even though it's the weekend before finals I urge all Union students to attend both games. You will not be disappointed! You might also witness Prez make Union history! Also, the players have finals too!

For more on the Dartmouth game check out:
Union Athletics.com
Ken Schott's Blog

Union ties RPI at Lake Placid



Greg Coburn had a goal and assist against RPI

Another Union-RPI game, another wild game.

Once the game ended I was unsure on whether to be happy or disappointed in the tie. On one

hand the Dutchmen tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation thanks to Mat Bodie, but on the other hand they let up a two goal lead and allowed RPI to take the lead in the third period. I guess a tie is better than a loss.

Union's inability to play a full 60 minutes has become a problem. In three of their games this season the Dutchmen have relinquished a three goal lead, and yesterday they let up an early two goal lead. If this becomes a continuous theme this season Union will not have a successful season and will not go far in the playoffs. The great teams play their best in the latter parts of the game. As my old hockey coach used to say, "Win the third period, win the game."

Overall, I didn't think Union played a great game. Even when they were up 2-0 I felt they weren't on top of their game. Luckily, their power-play is still going strong. Ironically, I thought Mat Bodie had an awful two games, but he made up for it with his goal. Also, Keith Kinkaid had a good game in goal despite allowing three goals.

These two ties in two ties are not exactly the way the Dutchmen wanted to head into ECAC play, but it's not that bad. There is no shame in tying an RPI team that is very good and is the 20th ranked team in the nation.

For more on the game go to:

Union Athletics.com

Times Union.com