Union appears to be supporting its heaviest load of offensive threats during head coach
Nate Leaman's seven years. Last season, seven Dutchmen recorded 20 or more points -- the most ever by a single Union team. Of the seven, six return. Junior
Adam Presizniuk set the school record with 38 points, comprised of 16 goals and 22 assists. Seniors
Mario Valery-Trabucco (15g-14a) and
Jason Walters (13g -15a) followed with 29 and 28 points, respectively. Junior #Stéphane Boileau# (10g-15a) had 25 points and sophomore
Kelly Zajac (6g-14a) produced 20 points. As a team, Union posted 111 goals, which ranked fourth in ECAC Hockey and 28th in the country.
Junior forward
John Simpson (5g-10a), who posted 15 points last year, is joined by brother and freshman
Wayne Simpson. They are the first set of brothers to lace up for the Dutchmen since the Goodjohns, Kris and Kurt, did so in 2000-02. Wayne comes from Lawrence Academy and was recently presented with the 2009 John Carlton Award, which is presented to the outstanding male athlete in Eastern Massachusetts who combines exceptional skill with academic excellence.
The Black Bears return 17 letterwinners from the 2008-09 squad, including six of their top eight scorers. Among the returnees is Hockey East All-Rookie selection Gustav Nyquist, who led Maine in scoring with 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points. Brian Flynn added 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points. Tanner House, who will serve as captain of the 2009-10 Black Bear squad, had 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points. Sophomore Spencer Abbott chipped in with seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. Will O'Neill had four goals and 12 assists from the blueline. Jeff Dimmen, who will serve as assistant captain this season, added six goal and nine assists for 15 points.
Sophomore goalie Scott Darling, who was 10-14-3 with a 2.76 goals against average and a .895 save percentage last year, will not be making the trip to Union this weekend. Either senior Dave Wilson or freshman Shawn Sirman will start in goal on Friday.
