Game Notes

SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 9 Union (20-7-3, 12-3-1 ECAC Hockey) enters the weekend on a hot streak, winners of five games in a row and nine of their last ten. Union became the first team in the nation to reach the 20-win plateau after a 3-2 overtime win on Saturday night at Quinnipiac. That win propelled the Dutchmen to their highest national ranking since the program moved up to Division I before the 1991-92 season. On Friday night, Union will face Cornell (11-9-3, 9-5-2 ECAC Hockey), a team in the midst of a season-long six game unbeaten streak (4-0-2). The last time Cornell lost was on Jan. 15, when Union earned a 5-1 victory at Lynah Rink. On Saturday night, the Dutchmen will take on Colgate (4-22-2, 1-13-2 ECAC Hockey), which picked up its first league win with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night at Clarkson. Union needs one win to break the school single-season ECAC Hockey wins record and tie the single-season school record for overall wins in the Division I era.

 

Several Dutchmen are on the verge of single-season school records. Sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid (19-7-2) needs one more win to break Corey Milan's single-season wins mark, set in the 2008-09 campaign. Freshman defenseman Mat Bodie (five goals, 19 assists) needs two assists to tie the single-season assists mark for a defenseman (21), set by Mike Schreiber last season. Bodie is five points away from Schreiber's single-season points record (29) for a defenseman, also set in 2010.

 

Last weekend, the Dutchmen clinched a top eight ECAC Hockey finish, solidifying a series at Messa Rink when they take the ice for the ECAC Playoffs. Union can clinch a first round bye with eight points in their final six games. Any combination of eight points gained by Union or lost by teams in contention for a top four finish in the conference will result in a first round bye for the Dutchmen.

 

Nineteen times this season the Dutchmen, who are seventh in the nation in scoring, have registered three or more goals, resulting in an 16-1-2 record. Union has amassed 109 goals so far this season – the second most through 30 games in program history.

 

Cornell extended its winning streak to three games with a sweep over the North Country foes at Lynah Rink last weekend.

 

The Big Red defeated Clarkson, 5-2, on Friday night, then needed a two-goal rally in the third period to force overtime, where Greg Miller scored the game-winner in a 4-3 win against St. Lawrence. Mike Garman got the start on Friday and stopped 23-of-25 shots faced, while Andy Iles stopped 15 of the 18 shots he faced against the Saints on Saturday.

 

For the year, Miller leads the team in scoring with 22 points on three goals and 19 assists, while Joe Devin is second with 20 points on 11 goals and nine assists.

 

The two teams first met on Feb. 22, 1928 and Cornell skated away with a 7-4 victory, propelling them to a 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, NY team. Cornell owns the all-time series lead with a 29-13-6, and a 24-13-5 Division I record. The Dutchmen recorded their most lopsided victory at Lynah Rink in 17 years when they defeated the Big Red 5-1 on Jan. 15.

 

On Jan. 15, freshman forward Daniel Carr scored two power play goals and senior defenseman Brock Matheson had a goal and an assist to help Union earn a 5-1 win in front of 4,267 fans at Lynah Rink.

 

Freshman forward Kevin Sullivan and sophomore forward Wayne Simpson added third period goals to help Union seal the victory.

 

Trailing 1-0 after one period of play, the Dutchmen took control in the second period, outshooting the Big Red 17-5. Carr scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season on the power play at 6:20. Sophomore forward Jeremy Welsh fired a shot form the point wide, but freshman forward Kevin Sullivan controlled the puck behind the net. Sullivan fed Carr, who redirected the puck past Iles to tie the game.

 

After a period of sustained pressure, Brock Matheson gave the Dutchmen the lead at 17:20. Freshman forward Matt Hatch drove the net, firing a low shot that Iles stopped. But Matheson corralled an errant clear attempt by Cornell, and beat Iles with a wrist shot into the top left corner.

 

Carr gave Union a 3-1 lead at 6:24 of the third period, finding a loose puck at the goal mouth and firing it past Iles for his team leading 14th goal of the season.

 

Sullivan scored on a wrap-around at 10:49, chasing Iles from the net, and Simpson scored an empty net goal at 16:10 to seal the win for the Dutchmen. Union outshot Cornell 42-17 for the game.

 

The Raiders picked up their first league win on Saturday, defeating Clarkson 4-2 at Starr Rink in a game where they outshot the Knights 39-27. Colgate had allowed 22 goals in the previous four games combined before facing Clarkson.

 

The Raiders have struggled to keep the puck out of their net this season, allowing 3.54 goals per game. Senior forward Francois Brisbois, who scored the game-winner against Clarkson, leads Colgate with 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists). Junior forward Austin Smith has 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists).

 

Saturday's meeting will be the 54th all-time between the two schools and Colgate leads 35-16-2 and 26-11-2 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, 2006, the Raiders produced a series-long nine-game winning streak. Hoever, in the past five outings, Union has gone 3-1-1, includuing a 2-1 win earlier this season on Jan. 14, 2011. That win was Union's first at Starr Rink since February 27, 1998, snapping a 12-game winles streak at Colgate.

 

Sophomore forward Wayne Simpson and freshman forward Josh Jooris each scored to help Union earn a 2-1 win over Colgate, their first since Feb 27, 1998, snapping a 12-game winless streak at Starr Rink.

 

Jooris' third period goal proved to be the game-winner, as the freshman benefitted from some good fortune after Colgate goaltender Eric Mihalik misplayed a puck behind his own net. Mihalik swept the puck off the boards, but it caromed right to Jooris on the opposite side, who deposited the puck into an empty net at 4:27 of the third period to give Union a 2-0 lead.

 

Colgate forward Jack McNamara cut Union's lead to 2-1 at 8:26, beating sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid on the short side.

 

But Kinkaid was solid the rest of the way, staving off Colgate's pressure throughout the rest of the game to help Union earn the victory. Kinkaid made 24 stops on the night, while Colgate's Mihalik stopped 23 shots.

 

On Union's second power play of the game in the second period, Wayne Simpson scored to give Union a 1-0 lead for the first time in six road games. Simpson followed his own shot from the slot, poking a rebound past Mihalik at 4:59 for his seventh goal of the season, and sixth on the power play.

 

In a scoreless first period, Union killed off two penalties in a frame that it otherwise controlled.