Game Notes
SCHENECTADY, NY – As the Union College men's ice hockey team prepares for its nationally televised game against No. 5 Cornell, the Dutchmen received even more exposure, being featured on ESPN.com. College Sports section. The article can be accessed by
clicking here.
The Dutchmen welcome the Big Red to Messa Rink on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and the Red Raiders of Colgate on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m. Friday's game will be televised on the NHL Network, locally on Time Warner Sports Channel 3 and
through the internet. Fans can catch both games on WRUC FM 89.7 or online at
Teamline.cc.
Live stats will be provided through UnionAthletics.com.
Entering last weekend, Union carried a 2-4-0 conference record. At weeks end, the Dutchmen pulled to 4-4-0 with victories at No. 5/7 Princeton (3-2 on Friday) and at rv/rv Quinnipiac (4-2 on Saturday). Junior forward
Jason Walters registered a team-best five points behind two goals and three assists on his way to being named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week. Sophomore forward
Adam Presizniuk registered a goal and three assists during the two games, including three points at Quinnipiac. In net, sophomore
Corey Milan continued his stellar play with 29 saves in each victory. For the weekend, Milan posted a 2.00 goals-against average with a .935 save percentage.
For the majority of the season, Walters has centered Presizniuk and
Stéphane Boileau as Union's top line. Combined the trio has produced 22 goals, 30 assists and 52 points. They are one, two and three on the team for all three categories. Together they have produced 34 percent of the team's scoring and Union is 11-4 when at least one of the three produces a point. The Dutchmen are 10-3 when Presizniuk has a point, 7-2 when he scores a goal and 7-1 when he has an assist. When Boileau scores a goal, Union is 6-0 and when Walters registers a point, the team is 8-2 and 6-0 when he has an assist.
During Union's 11 wins this season, the power-play has produced on 12-of-59 opportunities for a .203 conversion rate. The Dutchmen are 6-2-0 when scoring on the man advantage. Senior defenseman
Brendan Milnamow is tied with Presizniuk with three power-play goals. Milnamow has produced a team-best six points with the man advantage, while junior defenseman
Mike Schreiber has tallied a team-best five assists.
The Big Red are one of the top defensive teams in the country and are led by junior goaltender Ben Scrivens, who leads the country in both goals-against average (1.27) and save-percentage (.952). In conference games, he has posted a 0.74 goals-against average and a .972 save percentage. Cornell owns the nations best winning percentage (.833) with a 11-1-3 record. The team is currently on a eight game unbeaten streak, winning seven of eight. Offensively, junior forward Colin Greening leads the team with 13 points behind seven goals and six assists. Sophomore forward Riley Nash is the only other 10-plus point scorer with 11. He has potted five goals to go along with his six assists.
The two teams first met on Feb. 22, 1928 and Cornell skated away with a 7-4 victory, propelling them to 6-0-1 record against Union in the first seven outings. On Feb. 22, 1992 the Dutchmen earned their first victory, 6-4, against the Ithaca team. Cornell owns the all-time series lead with a 25-12-5 mark and a 20-12-4 Division I record. The Dutchmen's last victory came in the form of a 3-2 win at Cornell last season on Feb. 15. In the last five outings, including two playoff games a season ago, Union is 2-2-1.
The Red Raiders are coming off a series split against Lake Superior State last Thursday and Friday. After taking the first contest 5-4 in overtime, Colgate dropped the second 6-1. This season, junior forward David McIntyre, a Dallas Stars prospect, leads the team and is tied for third in the conference with 21 points. He has produced eight goals and a team-best 13 assists. Freshman forward Austin Smith, another Dallas prospect, is second on the team with 20 points, which places him in the top five for scoring in ECAC Hockey. He has tallied a team-high 11 goals. Junior Charles Long has seen the majority of the action between the pipes, posting a 5-5-4 record with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Despite posting a 1.95 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage he is 1-3-3 in conference games.
Saturday's meeting will be the 48th all-time between the two schools and Colgate leads 34-13-1 and 24-10-1 in Division I action. The programs first squared off on Feb. 15, 1929 and Union claimed a 3-1 win. Between Feb. 21, 2003 and Feb. 10, 2007, the Red Raiders produced a series-long nine-game winning streak. However, in the last three outings, Union has gone 2-1-0, including a 4-2 victory at the 2008 Governor's Cup earlier this season.
