SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 12/12 Union men's ice hockey (13-5-6, 7-2-3 ECAC Hockey) carries a five game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) into play against Brown (7-8-3, 4-5-2 ECAC Hockey) tonight at Meehan Auditorium. With a 3-1 win over Yale at Ingalls Rink last night, the Dutchmen are now 5-0-3 in their last eight ECAC Hockey contests. Tonight, Union is set to face the second of two ECAC Hockey teams that have beaten the Dutchmen this season - Brown earned a 2-1 win on Nov. 11 at Messa Rink. Last night against RPI, with Brown sophomore goaltender Marco DeFelippo making his fourth appearance in net, the Bears allowed two power play goals in a span of 2:33 early in the second period, as the Engineers held on for a 3-0 win.

»Road Warriors
Union has established itself as one of college hockey's toughest road teams over the past two seasons. The Dutchmen are 9-3-3 on the road this season. They are 10-0-2 in their last 12 ECAC Hockey road contests, an unbeaten stretch that dates back to the second half of the 2010-11 season. Union is 27-13-6 in road contests over the past two-plus years, including a current 22-game stretch (16-3-3) that includes the final seven (7-0- 0) road games of the 2010-11 season. Union's recent eight-game stretch away from Messa Rink, ending at Colorado College on Dec. 31, marked 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.

»Grosenick Leading the Nation in Net
Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick, who entered the season with just one career start, is off to a fantastic start in net for the Dutchmen in 2011-12. Grosenick, who has started 19 of 24 games in net for Union, leads the nation in goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.941), and tied for fifth in shutouts (3).

»Pacing the Dutchmen
Junior forward Jeremy Welsh has 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in the last 13 games and has scored a goal in eight of his last 13 contests.Welsh leads the team with 16 goals and enters the weekend as one of six players in the nation with 16 or more goals. Junior forward Wayne Simpson, who scored twice at Yale last night, has points in five of his last six games (five goals, one assist). Sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie (five goals, 15 assists), has points in seven of his last nine games (three goals, five assists). Sophomore forward Daniel Carr has points in eight of his last nine games (six goals, four assists). Senior forward Kelly Zajac, who had five points (one goal, four assists) last weekend, has points in six straight games (goal, eight assists).

»Grosenick, Zajac Honored by ECAC Hockey 
Senior forward Kelly Zajac and sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick each earned ECAC Hockey weekly awards, the league announced Tuesday. Zajac earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors, while Grosenick was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week for the third time this season. Zajac had a hand in five of Union's seven goals last weekend, leading Union to wins against Harvard (2-0) and Rensselaer (5-1). Grosenick had another solid weekend in net for the Dutchmen, recording his third shutout of the season with 18 saves against Harvard and followed that with a 39 save performance against Rensselaer on Saturday night.

Zajac had a hand in five of Union's seven goals last weekend, leading Union to wins against Harvard (2-0) and Rensselaer (5-1). Grosenick had another solid weekend in net for the Dutchmen, recording his third shutout of the season with 18 saves against Harvard and followed that with a 39 save performance against Rensselaer on Saturday night. 

»The Last Meeting
On Nov. 11, 2011, sophomore forward Daniel Carr scored early in the first period, but Brown rallied for two scores later in the frame and held on for 2-1 win over Union in front of 1,633 fans at Messa Rink. Freshman goaltender Colin Stevens (1-1-0) stopped 21 of 23 shots, while Brown's Matt Clemente stopped 24 of 25 shots to improve to 3-2-0 on the year.
 
Brown went 1-of-3 with the man advantage, while the Dutchmen finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play, including two third period chances.
 
Union got off to a quick start, scoring on its first shift of the game. Wayne Simpson controlled the puck along half boards and fed down low to senior forward Kelly Zajac. Zajac passed to Carr, who fired a one-timer past Mike Clemente to put the Dutchmen up 1-0 just 32 seconds into the contest. Brown scored twice late in the period to take the lead for good. After a failed breakout attempt by Union, Mike Wolff fired a shot from point that was stopped by Colin Stevens. Stevens stopped the initial rebound by Bobby Farnham, but Jack Maclellan scored from just outside the crease at 16:02.
 
Maclellan struck again on the power play with time winding down in the opening period. With senior forward Brian Yanovitch in the penalty box for interference, the Bears controlled in the Union zone. Matt Wahl fed Maclellan in the circle, who kicked the puck to his forehand and fired a wrist shot high over the glove of Stevens at 19:57 to give Brown a 2-1 lead.
 
»The Union-Brown Series
Saturday's contest will mark the 42nd meeting all time between the two schools and the 41st since Union went to Division I in 1991.

Brown leads all-time series 20-12-10 and 19-12-10 in DI play. The Dutchmen are 2-1-2 in their last five games against Brown, and 5-10-5 all-time at Meehan Auditorium.
 
»Scouting Brown
Brown has proven to be one of the most dangerous teams in ECAC Hockey this season, with wins over each of the top three teams (Cornell, Union, and Quinnipiac) in the ECAC Hockey standings as of Jan. 18. The Bears are 4-2-2 in their last eight games, including non-conference wins at New Hampshire and Providence. Brown earned three out of four points in the North Country trip last weekend, with a 4-1 win at St. Lawrence on Sunday to cap off the weekend.
 
Senior Jack Maclellan, a preseason All-ECAC Hockey first team member, is the team leader in scoring with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 17 games played. Freshman Ryan Jacobson is off to a great start for the Bears and is second on the team in points (15) and goals (eight). Senior forward Bobby Farnham (five points, eight assists) is also one of Brown's impact players up front and had a goal and two assists against St. Lawrence. Senior goaltender Mike Clemente has seen most of the action in net and is 6-7-1 with a 2.43 GAA and .911 save pct. Brown is 11 for 82 (13.4%) on the power play (47th NCAA) and 71 for 85 (83.5%) on the penalty kill. (22nd NCAA).