SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 12/13 Union men's ice hockey (5-3-3, 2-2-0 ECAC Hockey) begins a lengthy slate of games away from Messa Rink with a trip down Route 7 to face ECAC Hockey rival Rensselaer (2-9-0, 1-3-0 ECAC Hockey). Tonight will mark the 79th meeting between the two teams as the Engineers are the most common opponent that Union has faced in program history. The Duchmen are 6-1-1 in their last eight games at Houston Field House and have not lost a contest in regulation at RPI since a 5-1 setback on Jan. 9, 2004.
Tonight is the beginning of an eight-game stretch of road/neutral site contests for the Dutchmen. This marks the longest stretch of games away from Schenectady for Union since the 2004-05 season, when the Dutchmen played nine consecutive contests at road/neutral sites from Nov. 19, 2004-Jan. 2, 2005.
Road Warriors
Union has established itself as one of college hockey's toughest road teams over the past two seasons. The Dutchmen are 22-11-4 in road contests over the past two-plus years, including a current 13-game run (11-1-1) that extends back to the end of the 2010-11 season.
Starting Off Strong
Union has scored in the first period of nine of its first 11 games this season and has a 5-1-3 record in those contests. The Dutchmen have scored a goal in the first 10:00 of the first period in five contests this season (2-1-2) and have twice scored in the first minute of games this season (10/22 vs. RIT and 11/11 vs. Brown).
Bodie, Zajac On a Roll
Sophomore defenseman
Mat Bodie (two goals, eight assists) has recorded a point in his first nine games this season. Bodie is tied for eighth in the nation in points per game among defensemen (0.91). Senior forward
Kelly Zajac began the season with a five game point streak and currently leads the team with 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) on the season. Zajac is second in the nation with an average of 1.18 assists per game and 19th with an average of 1.36 points per game.
Union Dominant on Faceoffs
Over the past two seasons, Union has established itself as a dominant faceoff team. Dating back to the beginning of last season, Union has won the faceoff battle in 47 of the last 51 contests, including the first 11 games of 2011-12. This season, Union has a combined faceoff record of 439-326 (.574), with junior forward
Jeremy Welsh (101-58, .635) leading the way.
Special Teams Success
The Dutchmen have gotten off to another hot start on the power play, which ranks tied for second in the nation at 25.0% (14-for-56). Junior forward
Jeremy Welsh is tied for second in the nation with five power play goals in 10 games. Union's penalty kill unit has been just impressive. Over the past seven games, the Dutchmen have killed 33 of the last 36 power play opportunities for their opposition and rank 15th in the nation at 87.5% (42-for-48) on the penalty kill.
The Capital Skates Trophy
A Capital Skates trophy was added for the second Capital Skates Classic in 1997 to add significance to the game. The Capital Skates Trophy features two skates, originally ordered for former Rensselaer forward Mauro DiPaulo, on top of an octagon-shaped base.
One of the laces for the skates is cherry (for Rensselaer) and the other garnet (for Union). In front of the skates are three pucks, one with a Union logo, one a Rensselaer logo and the third displaying the name of the trophy.
Union is attempting to retain the Capital Skates Trophy for the eighth straight year, the longest run since the trophy was first awarded in 1996. The trophy is awarded to the team that accumulates the most points each year in the Union-RPI series.
1996 - RPI 2004 - RPI
1997 - RPI
2005 - Union
1998 - RPI
2006 - Union
1999 - RPI
2007 - Union
2000 - RPI
2008 - Union
2001 - Union 2009 - Union
2002 - Union 2010 - Union
2003 - RPI 2011 – Split (retained by Union)
No Stranger to Drama
Eleven of the last 14 games between Union and RPI (and seven of the last eight) have been decided by one goal or fewer. Six of those games have gone to overtime with both teams winning twice and two ties.
All three games last season were close
games. Two of the contests were decided by goals in the final minute of regulation or in overtime. On Oct. 30, 2010 in the Halloween Faceoff at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY,
Mat Bodie scored with 30 seconds remaining in regulation to help the Dutchmen earn a 3-3 tie.
In the second meeting between the two teams, on Nov. 12, 2010 at Messa Rink, both
Jeremy Welsh and
Daniel Carr scored on the power play, and
Keith Kinkaid made 19 saves to help lead Union to a 2-1 win.
The third and final meeting on Nov. 13, 2010 went to Rensselaer, which earned a come-from-behind 4-3 win in overtime at Houston Field House. Union led 3-2 late in the third period on goals from
Matt Hatch,
Josh Jooris and
Justin Pallos. RPI's Marty O'Grady scored with 0.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 3-3, and Nick Bailen scored the game-winner at 2:56 of overtime on a 5-on-3 to give the Engineers the win.
The Union-RPI Series
Union's biggest rival owns a 45-23-10 overall record against the Dutchmen, including a 29-20-9 Division I mark. However, Union has gone 6-2-2 in the last ten outings, including a 1-1-1 showing last year.
All-time against the Engineers, the Dutchmen are 8-23-5 in road contests against Rensselaer, but are 6-1-1 in their last eight contests at Houston Field House.
Scouting RPI
The Engineers earned their second win of the season on Saturday night at Houston Field House with a 1-0 victory over Brown, snapping an eight game losing streak. Junior goaltender Bryce Merriam made 22 saves to earn the shutout while freshman Ryan Haggery had RPI's lone score.
RPI has managed just 10 goals in its 11 games and has four goals in its last six games. The Engineers have a goal or fewer in nine of their first 11 contests. RPI has been shutout in five of its first 11 games.
Junior Nick Bailen (1 goal, 3 assists), a defenseman, and freshman forward Ryan Haggerty (2 goals, 2 assists) top RPI with four points apiece. Five others have two points, including forward Joel Malchuk, a graduate student who has two goals.
Junior Bryce Merriam has started nine games in goal for RPI, posting a 2-7-0 record with a 2.03 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. Freshman Scott Diebold played the other two games . He is 0-2-0 with a 2.04 average and a .913 percentage
The Engineers are 4 for 60 (6.7%) on the power play. RPI is 54 for 61 (88.5%) when shorthanded with one shorthanded goal.
