SCHENECTADY, NY – Few college hockey rivalries have been as intense as Union-RPI this year and the two programs look to add another spellbinding chapter to the history books as the Dutchmen host the Engineers on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 7:07 p.m. The contest will be the 75th all-time meeting between the two schools and the fourth this season. After losing game one, 4-3, in overtime on Oct. 30, Union claimed a 5-4, OT victory on Nov. 28 and a 5-4 win on Dec. 9.
Fans that can't make it to Messa Rink can listen to the broadcast on WRUC 89.7 FM or online (
click here). Video will also be available (
click here) along with live stats (
click here). Saturday's game will also be televised locally on Time Warner Sports Channel 3 in the Capital District.
With a 9-1-4 record since the start of November, Union has made its way up in the national rankings. The USCHO.com's most recent poll had the Dutchmen in the 13 spot with 350 points, up four spots from the Jan. 4 poll. Union entered the ranks on Dec. 7 in the 20th position with 79 points. The team moved to 18th on Dec. 14 and 17th on Jan. 4.
Union is also making moves in the USCHO.com's PairWise Ranking, which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine NCAA Tournament participants. As of Monday, Union was 13th, which would place them in the 16-team tournament field.
Going back to last season, Union has scored three or more goals in 10-out-of-11 games at Messa Rink and four or more in six of the 11. The team is averaging 4.1 goals-per game during that span. Not including exhibition contest, the Dutchmen are 117-129-40 all-time at home and 57-42-18 with Nate Leaman behind the bench.
This season, Union is 4-2-3 at Messa Rink, outscoring its opponents 33-25. Senior
Mario Valery-Trabucco (5g-9a) and junior
Adam Presizniuk (3g-7a) have had the most success at home with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
>> Scouting RPI
Like Union, RPI swept Quinnipiac (4-1) and Princeton (4-1) last weekend. The Engineers have been streaking lately with four wins in their last five outings. Their last conference loss came against Union, 5-4, on Dec. 9. On Monday, RPI's Allen York was named the conference's goaltender of the week after making 36 saves at Quinnipiac and 30 stops at Princeton. He wasn't alone as teammate Marty O'Grady earned rookie of the week honors. He had a game-winning, short-handed goal against Quinnipiac, and scored a power-play goal against Princeton.
For the year, York has posted a 9-8-1 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. He has played in all three games against Union this season, going 1-2-0 with a 4.25 goals-against average and .829 save percentage.
Junior Chase Polacek, who has four goals and four assists against the Dutchmen this year, leads the team with 32 points and 15 goals. His 17 assists rank second.
Freshman Jerry D'Amigo returns from winning gold with Team USA at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships. For the year he has 17 points with four goals and 10 assists.
>> The Series
Union's biggest rival owns a 44-21-9 overall record against the Dutchmen, including a 28-18-8 Division I mark. However, Union has gone 6-1 in the last seven outings, including a 2-0-1 showing last year.
All-time against the Engineers, the Dutchmen are 11-17-2 at Messa Rink and head coach Nate Leaman is 11-5-3 all-time against RPI.
>> Next Up for Union
The Dutchmen remain at home next weekend when 10th-place Harvard (2-10-2, 2-5-2) and 11th-place Dartmouth (4-11-0, 2-7-0) come to Messa Rink for a pair of 7 p.m. games. The Crimson arrives on Friday, Jan. 22, while the Big Green follows on Saturday, Jan. 23. Purchase tickets at
UnionAthleticsTickets.com.
