The Class of 2010 Getting Scrappy In The Pros!

I came across these videos of Union Hockey alumni getting into some fights in their first year in the pros.

The first two videos are of former captain Mike Wakita '10, who currently plays for he Missouri Mavericks in the Central Hockey League. In 46 games this season the big defenseman has one goal, nine assists, and 86 penalty minutes. For more on Wakita click here.

The third video is of goaltender Rich "Pudge" Sillery '10 in a rare goalie fight. Sillery plays for the 1000 Islands Privateers in the Federal Hockey League where he posted a 4.06 GAA, .879 save percentage, and 10-8-3 record in 22 games last season. For more on Sillery click here.

Enjoy your weekend off Union fans!

(Sillery is in the red uniform)

16 Dutchmen named to ECAC All-Academic Team

The ECAC announced today that 181 student-athletes have been named to the ECAC All-Academic team. 16 of the 181 players are from Union. These Dutchmen are: freshman Jean Sebastian Bergeron, junior Stephane Boileau, junior Andrew Buote, sophomore (technically a junior since he red-shirted) Luke Cain, senior Jeff Christiansen, sophomore Nolan Julseth-White, senior Jon Lareau, junior captain Brock Matheson, junior Justin Pallos, sophomore Taylor Reid, senior Jason Shaffer, junior John Simpson, freshman Wayne Simpson, freshman Shawn Stuart, senior captain Mike Wakita, and freshman Jeremy Welsh.

Over half of these guys are Economics majors, which is pretty impressive to me. I took Economics 101 freshman year... and let's just say it wasn't my best class.

To be eligible for the All-Academic team one must obtain a 3.0 GPA.

Congratulations to the 16 Dutchmen and the other 165 ECAC players. The ECAC is by far the most challenging league academically in college hockey. Each team in the ECAC had at least 13 All-Academic selections, except for Clarkson who only had four (weird?).

For more check out ECAC Hockey.com and Union Athletics.com.

Schreiber, Wakita, and Sillery also sign pro contracts

According to Union Athletics.com, senior captain Mike Wakita, senior goaltender Rich Sillery, and senior assistant captain Mike Schreiber have signed pro contracts. Wakita has will be staying in the states while playing for Missouri in the Central Hockey League, while Schreiber will be heading out to Hannover, Germany in the 2nd Bundesliga League. Both players were intregal parts to the Dutchmen defensive corps over their four seasons. While Schreiber was the quarterback of Union's offense, Wakita was a bone-crushing defensive defenseman. Sillery has signed a contract with 1,000 Islands of the Federal Hockey League after playing a limited role in his four years in Schenectady. The trio joins Jason Walters as Dutchmen to sign pro contracts this week.

Awards handed out at Annual Banquet

This past evening, the Union men's hockey team celebrated the best season in their history at Glens Sanders Mansion. At the banquet the annual awards were given out. Here is who won each award:

MVP: Mario Valery-Trabucco

Rookie of the Year: Keith Kinkaid

Unsung Hero: Andrew Buote

Most Improved: Luke Cain

Coaches' Award: Mike Schreiber

7th Player Award: Mario Valery-Trabucco

Charles N. Morrison Award: Mike Wakita

Thomas VanArden Dukehart Award: Stephane Boileau

No surprises here for the most part. I thought Brock Matheson would get an award over Buote because Buote has won awards in the past, but there are no complaints here on any decisions.

For more on the awards and the banquet go to Union Athletics.com

Union's Lineup Changes Tonight; ECACHWBA Awards

According to Ken Schott, freshman Keith Kinkaid will be starting in net tonight for the Dutchmen. Kinkaid has started in both games against the Saints this year. Also, senior captain Mike Wakita will be out of the lineup because of a lower body injury he suffered last Sunday against Quinnipiac. Freshman Ryan Forgaard will take his place, meaning Union will have three freshman defensemen in tonight's starting lineup. The Dutchmen will definitely miss Wakita's presence and hard hits on the ice tonight. Hopefully someone like Nolan Julseth-White can step up and take that role.

Also, the inaugural ECAC Hockey Writers and Broadcasters Association awards were announced today. They are unofficial awards and I was even lucky enough to have a vote in the awards. And the winners are...

Player of the Year: Chase Polacek, RPI
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Pirri, RPI
Goalie of the Year: Ben Scrivens, Cornell
Coach of the Year: Nate Leaman, Union
Defensive Forward of the Year: Travis Vermeulen, SLU
Defensive Defenseman of the Year: Justin Krueger, Cornell

First Team: Polacek, Mario Valery-Trabucco (Union), Broc Little (Yale), Mike Schreiber (Union), Tom Dignard (Yale), Scrivens
Second Team: Sean Backman (Yale), Austin Smith (Colgate), Blake Gallagher (Cornell), Krueger, Brendon Nash (Cornell), Allen York (RPI)
All-Rookie Team: Pirri, Jerry D'Amigo (RPI), Louis Leblanc (Harvard), Nick D'Agostino (Cornell), George Hughes (SLU), Keith Kinkaid (Union)

Rest of ECAC Awards handed out

• RPI's Chase Polacek was named Player of the Year


• Cornell's Justin Krueger named best Defensive Defenseman


• RPI's Jerry D'Amigo named Rookie of the Year


• St. Lawrence's Travis Vermeulen named Defensive Forward of the Year

Also, according to Ken Schott, captain Mike Wakita is questionable for Friday's game against SLU. He left the bench sometime in the third period with a lower body injury, but I'm pretty sure he returned later in the period. There has also been no announcement on who will be starting in goal for the Dutchmen tomorrow. SLU Head Coach Joe Marsh has announced that Kain Tisi will start for the Saints.

Seniors key on Senior Night in 7-3 win over QU

No one could have scripted last night's game any better. It had the perfect storyline and the perfect ending. You knew this was going to be a memorable night from the moment when five seniors were announced in the starting lineup to having the senior class honored at the end of the game. There were so many moments in the game that would get the sports fan choked up:

• Senior Jeff Christiansen, who hadn't played a game in about 13 months got to dress and play on the checking line. But, not only did he play he scored a big goal and assisted on another. Christo deserves a lot of credit for sticking with the team for four years, and for working hard throughout his time with the Dutchmen. As soon as he scored Union's third goal I instantly thought of Rudy. What a way for the senior to go out.


• Christo's linemate Jason Shaffer also had a big night as he netted the game-winning goal and also had an assist. Shaffer has been used sparingly this season, so it was nice to see his name get announced in the starting lineup and score his first goal of the season with his mother in attendance, who I assume traveled all the way from Alaska.


• Six out of the seven senior skaters registered at least one point. Captain Mike Wakita was the only one not to tally a point, but he did plenty of things on the ice that you don't see on the scoresheet, including his bone crushing hits. Also, five of them recorded two points.


• While QU's Eric Lampe was making a fool out of himself by trying to fight Jason Walters, 'Super' Mario shoved it in Lampe's face by sniping a goal.


• Senior netminder Rich Sillery got to play the final two minutes of the game in front of his family. Sillery is in the same boat as Christiansen as he has not played much throughout his career. It was awesome how the fans reacted when he was put into the game. It must have been a special moment for him to have his name chanted and everything. But, next time Pudge remember to have a chin strap on your helmet haha.


• Senior Jon Lareau picked up two assists on the night. He along with the combination of Christo and Shaffer was probably the best Union line of the night.


• The post-game ceremonies were very nice. The funniest part was when Mike Schreiber sprinted towards his mother who was jumping up and down on the carpet laid down on the ice. It was also great that Schreiber and Wakita thanked basically everyone that has to do with Union Hockey. The ceremony was all wrapped up when Union Hockey's #1 fan Will Friedman (aka Union Hockey Maniac for those of you on the USCHO.com forums), who is also a senior, started a "Let's Go Seniors" chant. I personally feel Will should have been honored in some way as he has been the most dedicated Dutchmen fan by far throughout his four years. He has traveled to almost every rink in the ECAC and has helped promote the home games and sell the 7th Player t-shirts. When I ran into Will at the end of the game I asked him why he wasn't at his fraternity's formal. He responded by saying something like, "some things are just more important" (or something like that).


• By far the cutest moment of the night was while the seniors were taking a group photo together, Mario left the picture and went into the penalty box/ scorers box. I have no idea how he knew this, but a little girl was waiting for him there with a hand drawn picture of him. Mario gladly signed the picture along with other autographs and took pictures with some young fans. This will be a moment this little girl will never forget. I know this because I still have autographs and pictures in my room from my days watching Army Hockey as a young kid. I also still wear the number (#15 ironically) of my first favorite Army Hockey player, Ian Winer.

Well, I'm done with the cute stuff and on to some meaner stuff because I thoroughly dislike the Quinnipiac Bobcats. I have always held a grudge against them since my freshman year because my girlfriend goes there. But, after watching the Bobcats for the past three seasons I have come to hate their brand of hockey. I hate them even more after Eric Lampe's actions last night. Seriously, what a moron. Once Lampe challenged the Union bench I just wanted to see Wakita jump off the bench and knock him out cold. I feel that the Bobcats are a gutless, self-centered team. It seems that all they want to do out there is dangle and make the big hit. Basically, it seems that they're just having a tryout for the minors. I don't understand how a team with seniors as talented as Brandon Wong, Greg Holt, Mike Atkinson, Lampe, and Jean-Marc Beaudoin can just settle for mediocrity. The Bobcats should have a Top 5 offense with this group. It wouldn't surprise me to see this team drop out of the Top 8 in the ECAC next weekend and get swept in the first round of the playoffs.

Now back to some hockey stuff. With last night's win the Dutchmen can't finish any worse than third in the ECAC. They are now tied with Cornell for second place after their surprising loss to Dartmouth last night, which makes Friday's game that more important. The Dutchmen still only trail Yale by two points for top spot in the ECAC as well. As everyone predicted, next weekends games will be the most important of the season. Also, look out for some more records to be broken next weekend.

Also, the Union Club Hockey team had their own Senior Night on Saturday afternoon at Messa Rink at 2pm. The Club Dutchmen beat rival RPI 3-2 to close out their season. Seniors Anthony Savaglio (captain) and Greg Karamian (club president) assisted on senior Alex Kenyon's game-winning goal with about eight minutes remaining in regulation.

For more on Senior Night check out Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, USCHO.com, Ken Schott's Blog, and Ken Schott's video.

Well, that's all from me. I can't wait to be back at Messa Rink in three weekends for the playoffs!

Milan blanks UConn in Leaman's 100th win

As expected the Dutchmen spanked the Huskies 7-0. It was an all around effort with six different players scoring goals and 13 of the 18 skaters registering a point. It's nice to see Adam Presizniuk tally two goals, and hopefully this could be the game to get him out of his long scoring slump. It's also great to see Corey Milan get the shutout even though he was relatively untested. Also note that Union went 3-for-7 on the power-play, and captain Mike Wakita scored his first goal of the season. And a special congratulations to Coach Nate Leaman on his 100th career win. He has done a great job with this program with the small amount of resources he has and deserves a ton of credit. You can read summaries about the game on USCHO.com, UnionAthletics.com, and UConnHuskies.com.

The Dutchmen now turn their calenders to 2010 as they closed out 2009 with a 9-4-5 record and an undefeated record in ECAC play. Their first test of 2010 will be on Saturday against Army at West Point. I will be there sitting in Section 11, Row A just like I've been doing since I was five years old, but this time I'll be rooting for the visiting team.

In other ECAC news Princeton topped Cornell 3-2 in the consolation game of the Flordia College Classic, and RPI was demolished by Michigan State 6-1 in the championship game of the Great Lakes Invitational.

I hope everybody has a happy and a healthy New Year! Be sure to watch the NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day!

Wakita named captain, 5 others to rotate as assistants

Today at the team's Media Day Coach Nate Leaman announced that senior defenseman Mike Wakita has been elected captain by his teammates and will be wearing the "C" this season. He also announced that there will be a rotation of five players as alternate captains this season. These five are senior forward Jason Walters, senior defenseman Mike Schreiber, junior forward Andrew Buote, junior defenseman Brock Matheson, and junior forward Adam Presizniuk.

I feel that Wakita is a great choice for captain. He brings so much heart and determination on and off the ice. Even though his presence isn't felt on the score sheet (eight points over three years), he is definitely noticed through out the game with his great defensive presence and bone crushing hits. He is definitely a fan favorite, and now it is obvious that he is a locker room favorite as well.

Schreiber and Walters are also great choices. Both are four-year letter-winners and they have made huge impacts on the offensive side of the puck. Walters has helped pace the Union offense over his years having scored 26 goals and posting 49 assists in 105 games, while Schreiber has helped the offense from the blueline having posted nine goals and 40 assists in 108 games. Both are also major presences on the power play.

Presizniuk is a pretty obvious choice in my eyes. He is one of the greatest forwards this program has seen and last year's stats prove that. He set the school for points in a season with 38, and has been the leading scorer on the team for the past two years. Usually just out of respect the best player is given at least an "A."

The opposite is to be said about Buote and Matheson as they are not big time point getters. Buote has five goals and two assists in 69 games, while Matheson one goal and six assists in 62 games. These guys are barely recognized for their actions on the ice, but they both play crucial roles for the Dutchmen. Buote is an excellent penalty killer and has a knack for scoring big goals, while Matheson is a great stay-at-home defenseman who has bailed out the defense numerous amount of times. Now with "A"'s on their chests they will be noticed more and appreciated for their dirty work.

See Ken Schott's video discussing the new captains with Coach Leaman, Wakita, and Presizniuk:
http://www.dailygazette.com/videos/2009/oct/05/267/

Fan Poll: Who do you think should be the captains this season?

As of right now the captains have not been announced, but they should be within a few days. There are many to choose from as there are eight seniors and seven juniors.
This is going to be a really hard decision for the team, but if I had to pick I think I would go with some combination of Wakita, Schreiber, Mario, Boileau, and Presizniuk.

2009-2010 Men's Hockey Poster

Here's a picture of this year's poster: http://twitpic.com/izgdu . Obvious fan favorite Mike Wakita joins fellow seniors Jason Walters, Mario Valery-Trabucco, and Mike Schreiber.