Game Notes (.pdf)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It has been three weeks since Union last played a conference game. After a week off and a pair of non-conference victories, the Dutchmen skate into Brown on Friday, Dec. 5 and then into Yale on Saturday, Dec. 6. Both games begin at 7 p.m. So far this season Union has only played four games away from Messa Rink and is 2-1-1 in those games. Union is tied for ninth in ECAC Hockey with one win (two points). Brown's two ties also place them in ninth, while Yale sits in sixth with three points.
Both contests can be followed with live stats on the respective home team's website. Matt Dubrey and Brian Unger will have the radio call for the Dutchmen on WRUC FM 89.7 and on
TEAMLINE.cc.
Last time out, The Dutchmen earned home victories against Army (5-4) on Nov. 28 and Providence (4-2) on Nov. 29. Freshman forward
Kelly Zajac scored the game-winning goal against the Black Knights as time expired. He took a last second shot from near the goal line in the right corner and somehow managed to get the puck over the line before the buzzer sounded. Junior forward
Mario Valery-Trabuccoregistered three assists in the game and followed with a goal against Providence. Senior forward
Matt Cook tallied the game-winner against the Friars and junior forward
Jason Walters picked up two assists.
The pair of assists extended Walters scoring streak to a team-best five games. The streak began with an assist against Harvard on Nov. 8 and since that game, he has led Union with six points, including four assists. For the season, Walters is third with eight points and tied for second with five helpers.
Defensively, Union is a perfect 6-0-0 when limiting opponents to less than 30 shots a game and 0-4-1 when allowing more than 30. In the game when Union's opponents have registered 29 shots or less, the Dutchmen have outscored the competition 25-16 and outshot them 202-151. Sophomore goaltender
Corey Milan has posted all six wins with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
Brown enters the weekend without a win and is coming off a pair of losses last week to Yale (4-2) and UConn (4-1). Senior forward Matt Vokes leads all Brown scorers with eight points, including six assists and a team-high tying eight goals. Junior forward Jordan Pietrus has also provided offensive support with six points, including five assists. Junior Dan Rosen has played in seven games so far in goal, posting a 0-5-2 record with a 3.22 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. This season Brown has been outscored 29-14 and outshot 181-295.
Friday's contest will be the 35th all-time meeting between the two schools and the 34th since Union went to Division I in 1991. Brown leads all-time 18-9-8 and 18-8-8 in DI play and Union is 4-8-5 all-time at Brown.
In the last five outings, the Dutchmen have posted a 2-2-1 record, but last season Brown held the advantage with a 0-1-1 record.
Yale has posted an impressive 3-1-0 ECAC Hockey record so far with two victories against Brown (3-0 and 4-3) and a win against Clarkson (3-2). Overall the team has won five of its last six games. The Bulldogs have only allowed 15 goals so far this season and senior Alec Richards has posted a 2.00 goals-against average with a .912 save percentage. In conference play his numbers are 1.67 and .921. On offense, junior forward Mark Arcobello leads the way with 10 points, including five goals and five assists. Junior forward Sean Backman is second with nine points with a conference-best eight goals.
In a series that dates back to Jan. 10, 1992, the Bulldogs own a 19-14-3 advantage over the Dutchmen.
After going winless in its first four tries, Union earned its first victory against Yale (5-4) on Jan. 21, 1994. In the last five outings, Union has posted a 3-1-1 record. Its only loss during that span was a five overtime 3-2 loss in the 2006 ECAC Hockey Playoffs. The game, which lasted 141:35, is still the longest game in NCAA History. The contest started at 7 p.m. and finished at 1:10 a.m. The previous record was 129:30 on Mar. 8, 1997, with Colorado College defeating Wisconsin, 1-0.
Union and Yale have played six overtime games all-time with the series tied in those games 2-2-2. The Dutchmen are 7-8-2 all-time at Yale. Last season Union went 1-0-1 against Yale.
