After earning a first-round bye for the first time in program history, the fourth-seeded Dutchmen host fifth-seeded Cornell in a best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series at Messa Rink this weekend. Union swept the regular season series from the Big Red for the first time since the 1997-98 season, but the teams have never met in the playoffs. Union will put its 9-2-6 home record on the line as the Dutchmen look to earn their first playoff series win and a trip to the Times Union Center for the 2008 ECAC Hockey Bank of America Championship March 21-22.
Can't make it to Messa Rink this weekend? Follow the action on WRUC 89.7-FM in the Schenectady area or online with live stats, live Teamline audio, and live video from B2 Networks
Playoff Position: Union is making its first appearance in the quarterfinals since the 12-team format was introduced in the 2002-03 season. Union made its first ECAC Hockey playoffs appearance in the quarterfinals of the 1993-94 season, falling in three games at RPI. The Dutchmen made a first-round appearance the following season before returning to the quarterfinals to face RPI again in the 1996-97 season. Union has made first round appearances in each of the last five seasons, but has never won a playoff series.
Playoff Record: Union is 2-19 all-time in the playoffs, and five of its last seven postseason games have gone to overtime. The Dutchmen are 1-4 in those overtime games, with the win coming as a 2-1 victory against Clarkson on 3/5/05. Michael Beynon recorded an assist on the game-winning goal.
Cookin' Up a Storm: Junior co-captain Matt Cook played a big role in Union's season sweep of Cornell. The winger scored the game-winner in Schenectady in January before becoming the first Union player to record a two-goal game when he sparked the Dutchmen's comeback at Lynah Rink in February. Cook, who leads the team with 10 goals to go with eight assists, remains the only Union skater to record a multiple-goal game this season.
Voting Volition: Union received seven votes in this week's USCHO.com/CSTV poll. Union has received votes in the poll for eight-straight weeks, the longest in program history.
Coyle Contributions: Josh Coyle leads the team in career points vs. the Big Red with three goals and three assists for six points in six games. Coyle had a goal and an assist in the January win over Cornell, and picked up two helpers in the February win in Ithaca.
A Big Im-Prez-ion: Freshman Adam Presizniuk leads Union with 23 points on seven goals and a team-high 16 assists. The winger also leads the team with 16 points in league play with five goals and a team-high 11 helpers.
The Big 2-0: Sophomore center Jason Walters joins Presizniuk as the only players with 20+ points on the season. Walters comes into the weekend with 20 points on five goals and 15 assists.
That's So Schreiber: Sophomore defender Mike Schreiber ranks seventh in the league in overall scoring by defenders with 17 points on four goals and 13 assists. Schreiber leads Union's defenders and ranks fifth on the team. Looking at ECAC Hockey play, however, Schreiber has picked up 13 points with three goals and 10 helpers.
Caffaro Counts: Junior defenseman Lane Caffaro has recorded just five minor penalties since he has donned the captain's 'C' in early January. Caffaro set a Union record with 101 penalty minutes in his freshman season.
Facing Off With Boileau: Freshman Stéphane Boileau leads Union at the faceoff dot with a 61.1 win %. He has won 195 of 319 draws overall and has posted a 59.4 win % in league play with 139 wins in 234 faceoffs. Boileau also ranks second on the team with 13 points in ECAC Hockey games on four power-play goals and nine assists. Boileau leads the team with a plus-six rating.
Magical Mrazek: Senior netminder Justin Mrazek is 9-5-0 with a 2.41 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in 16 starts this season. Mrazek stands at 5-3-0 in ECAC Hockey games with a 2.92 GAA and a .898 save percentage. He was the goalie of record in both wins over Cornell this season with 42 combined saves in the two victories
Milan Wall: Freshman goaltender Corey Milan is 6-7-6 with a 2.50 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 17 starts this season. In league play, Milan has posted a 5-4-5 record with five ties and a shutout against Dartmouth. He sports a 2.33 GAA and a .905 save percentage in ECAC Hockey games.
Get Shorty: Union and Cornell are the only two teams in ECAC Hockey that did not record a short-handed goal this season.
All Tied Up: Union's tie with #11 Clarkson on 2/22 marked the fifth in league play, eclipsing the program record of four set in 1994-95 and met again in 2005-06. Corey Milan has been the goaltender of record in every Union tie this season.
Isn't That Special: The Dutchmen rank eighth in the league with a 14.4% power play (22-for-153) and ninth in ECAC Hockey with an 82.7% penalty kill (129-for-156). The Dutchmen are 4-for-17 on the power play in the last four games and have killed 18 of 21 penalties (85.7%) in the same span.
Perfect 10: Union's 10 league wins marks the most since the 2002-03 season (10-10-2). The most league wins in a season for the Dutchmen is 11, coming as part of an 11-8-3 record in the 1996-97 season when Union finished tied for fifth place.
Being Buote: Freshman Andrew Buote has scored two goals in his career, and both have come as late game-winners. The winger scored the winning goal at Quinnipiac on 11/30, and he capped Union's comeback at Cornell on 2/15 with a third-period tally.
Keep It Close: Union is 9-4 this season in one-goal games, including a 7-3 mark in one-goal ECAC Hockey games. Union won three-straight ECAC Hockey games by a one-goal margin to kick off the second half of the season with victories over Colgate, Cornell and RPI. The Dutchmen are 5-1 in one-goal games at Messa Rink this season.
Around ECAC Hockey: The other quarterfinal matchups around ECAC Hockey are No. 8 Colgate at No. 1 Clarkson, No. 7 Yale at No. 2 Princeton, and No. 6 Quinnipiac at No. 3 Harvard. All games in the best of three series are slated for 7 p.m.
Home Ice Advantage: Union earned home ice for the ECAC Hockey playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Dutchmen are 9-2-6 at Messa Rink this season, marking the second-highest winning percentage (.705) in program history. Union went 12-3-2 at home in 1996-97 (.765).
Topping Out: Union's fourth-place finish in the regular season is the highest in program history. Union's previous highest finish was tied for fifth place in 1996-97 season with an 11-8-3 league record.
Longest Game: Union played the longest game in NCAA history against Yale in the first round of the ECACHL playoffs on March 4, 2006. The five-overtime game lasted 141:35 minutes on the game clock and spanned more than six hours on fans' wristwatches. Yale won, 3-2, with a short-handed tally 1:35 into the fifth overtime.
Shooting Gallery: Union is averaging 30.6 shots per game this season, the most since the 1996-97 season when the Dutchmen averaged 34.7 shots per game. On the flip side, Union is allowing opponents an average of 28 shots per game, the lowest total in program history. In league play, the Dutchmen averaged 31.5 shots per game, while holding opponents to a 26.5 shots per game average, the lowest in program history.
A Look at the Big Red: Cornell comes into the quarterfinal series after winning its first-round series in three games against Dartmouth at Lynah Rink last weekend. Cornell won the first game, 3-2, before dropping a 5-3 decision on Saturday. In the third game, Cornell dominated the Big Green with a 6-0 win, but was on the short end of the shot advantage with 28 to Dartmouth's 32. Special teams proved essential, especially Cornell's penalty kill that held Dartmouth 1-for-17 with the man advantage in the first-round series. The Big Red converted three of 16 chances in the series (23.1%). Cornell is led by the young duo of sophomore Colin Greening and rookie Riley Nash. Each has recorded 29 points, with Greening picking up a team-high 13 goals and 16 helpers and Nash tallying 12 goals and 17 helpers. The rookie has been a principal player on Cornell's power play with a league-leading 16 points (7-9-16). Senior Topher Scott has been the key playmaker for the Big Red with 19 assists. In net, Ben Scrivens is 16-11-3 in 31 starts with four shutouts to go with a league-leading 2.01 GAA and league-best .930 save percentage.
Union vs. Cornell: The two teams meet for the first time in the postseason, after Union captured the season series from the Big Red for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Union won the first game of this season's series, 2-1, in Schenectady on 1/12 with goals by Josh Coyle and Matt Cook. Cook became the first Union player to net two goals in a game this season and Andrew Buote notched the game-winner in a 3-2 comeback win at Lynah Rink on 2/15. The Dutchmen are on a three-game unbeaten streak against the Big Red, which holds a 23-12-5 lead in the all-time series and an 18-12-4 lead since the teams began Division I competition. Head Coach Nate Leaman is 4-4-2 all-time against the Big Red.
