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SCHENECTADY, NY - Union begins a stretch of 16 ECAC Hockey games to close out the regular season, starting with St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Friday and Saturday night at Messa Rink. The Dutchmen are coming off a weekend split at the Mariucci Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota, defeating Minnesota 3-2 in overtime on Friday night before falling 3-1 to Bemidji State on Saturday afternoon. Union is 19-33-2 all-time against St. Lawrence, but has won the last three meetings with the Saints, including a 3-1 win in an ECAC Semifinal on March 19, 2010. The Dutchmen are 15-27-5 in the all-time series against Clarkson, but have won the last five meetings with the Golden Knights. 

 

With last Friday's win against Minnesota, head coach Nate Leaman became the school's all-time wins leader. Leaman passed the previous mark held by Charlie Morrison (1978-88) who posted a career record of 122-146-9. In his last three-plus seasons (including this year), Leaman has posted a 66-49-18 record. After taking over a program that finished 14-18-4 in 2002-03, head coach Nate Leaman has worked his way to a plus-.500 record through eight seasons. 

 

Though sidelined for six weeks with a thumb injury, senior forward Adam Presizniuk has been on a torrid scoring pace to start the season with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 14 games. With 115 points (41 goals, 74 assists), Presizniuk is now tied for eighth on the career points list and tied for first on Union's Division I points list with Jason Walters ('10). Presizniuk also needs just one assist to become the Union's Division I-era assist leader. He shares the current mark with Joel Beal ('05). Presizniuk became the 19th member of the Union College Century Club when he surpassed 100 career points against Sacred Heart on Oct. 9.

 

Dating back to last season, the Dutchmen are unbeaten (11-0-1) in 12 regular season home games at Messa Rink. Not including exhibition contests, the Dutchmen are 131-132-41 all-time at home and 71-45-19 with Nate Leaman behind the bench.

 

The Saints are riding high after pulling a major upset on Sunday, defeating No. 2 New Hampshire 2-1 on the road thanks to a game-winning goal in overtime by Aaron Bogosian. The Saints followed that win with a 5-2 victory against Sacred Heart on Monday, and have now won three in a row and four of their last five.

 

Though 3-7-2 on the season, freshman goaltender Mat Weninger (2.25 GAA, .920 save pct.) has been impressive. Sophomore forward Kyle Flanagan has been a force for the Saints in conference play, with nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven games. The Saints are 45th in the nation on the power play at 13.3% (10-for-75), and 9th in the nation on the penalty kill at 86.0% (74-for-86).

 

Since Feb. 22, 1929, the Saints have posted a 33-19-2 record against the Dutchmen with a 29-15-0 Division I mark.

 

Friday's game will be the 54th meeting all-time between the two teams. Union is 3-2-0 against St. Lawrence in the last five, including wins in all three meetings last season.

 

Union is 9-12-0 when hosting St. Lawrence and 7-11-0 at Messa Rink.

 

The last win of the 2009-10 season for the Dutchmen came against the St. Lawrence Saints in the ECAC Hockey Semifinals at the Times Union Center on March 19, 2010.

 

In that contest, Adam Presizniuk scored the game-winning goal at 9:26 of the third period after the two teams entered the second intermission tied at 1-1. Senior forward Mario Valery-Trabucco put the finishing touches on the game with his 114th career point (his last in a Union uniform), an empty net goal with five seconds remaining.

 

The Dutchmen got on the board first when sophomore Luke Cain rocketed a wrister top shelf on St. Lawrence netminder Kain Tisi at 10:25 of the first period. The Saints' Derek Keller tied the game with 25 seconds remaining in the second period. Keith Kinkaid made 29 saves on 30 shots.

 

The win against the Saints propelled Union to its first appearance in the ECAC Hockey Finals against Cornell.

 

The Golden Knights had won six of seven games before No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth swept a two-game series at Cheel Arena by scores of 4-1 and 3-1 on Monday and Tuesday. Senior forward Brandon DeFazio continues to be a force, leading the team with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists).

 

Clarkson is 56th in the nation on the power play at 10.7% (9-for-84), and 8th on the penalty kill at 86.4% (95-for-110). The Clarkson is the second-most penalized team in the nation at 19.1 PIM/G.

 

In a series that dates back to Jan. 23, 1923, the Golden Knights own a 27-15-5 advantage, including a 26-14-5 DI mark, over the Dutchmen.

 

In the last five outings, Union has posted a 5-0-0 record. Its last loss against Clarkson came on Jan. 23, 2009 in overtime. Union rebounded for a must-win regular season game (2-1) on Feb. 28, 2009. The Dutchmen then hosted the Golden Knights for the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs, sweeping the series (5-3 and 7-2) on Mar. 6-7. The win was the first playoff series victory for the Dutchmen's Division I history. Thr Dutchmen won both games last season, outscoring the Golden Knights by a combined score of16-3 in the two contests.

 

Union is 10-12-4 when hosting Clarkson and 9-12-4 at Messa Rink.

 

Mario Valery-Trabucco picked up three goals leading Union past Clarkson University, 11-2, on Feb. 5, 2010 at Messa Rink.

 

The 11 goals scored set a Union record for goals in a game, topping their previous high of 10 goals when they did so against Air Force on Jan. 27, 1996. In all 13 Dutchmen registered at least one point and nine student-athletes had multi-point efforts.

 

Despite allowing the first goal of the game, the Dutchman responded with five unanswered goals (eight unanswered overall) as they dominated the first period of play. Led by Trabucco and Jason Walters, each of which tallied a goal and assist in the period, Union's five goals were the most goals scored in a period during the 2009-10 season.

 

The second period was more of the same as the Dutchman continued to scorch the net, tacking on three more goals. Trabucco notched his 100th career point on a pass from Walters after goalie Keith Kinkaid distributed a long outlet pass and was attributed his third assist on the season.

 

The third period saw Union tack on three more goals coming from Adam Presizniuk, Trabucco, and Kyle Bodie. Clarkson's Matt Beca scored his 14th goal of the season at 4:38 to help Clarkson's cause. Both teams employed three goaltenders each in the game. For Union, Kinkaid earned the win with 13 saves in 33:23, while Corey Milan (6:37) and Rich Sillery (20:00) supplied some relief.