SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 17 Union (11-8-4, 5-4-3 ECAC Hockey) continues ECAC Hockey play against Harvard (5-10-1, 3-8-0 ECAC Hockey) tonight at Messa Rink in a rare midweek contest for the Dutchmen. Harvard has won just once in the past 10 contests (1-1-8), and will wrap up a seven game stretch of road contests tonight. Union has played one midweek game in each of the last two seasons, defeating RPI at Houston Field House, 5-1, on Nov. 15, 2011, a Tuesday night last season, and earning a 3-3 tie against Connecticut at Messa Rink on Oct. 28, 2010, a Thursday night.
 
»The Last Time Out...
On Saturday night, senior forward Wayne Simpson and freshman forward Nick Cruice scored to help Union defeat Colgate, 2-1, snapping a three game home winless streak (0-2-1). Junior goaltender Troy Grosenick (7-6-4) made 25 stops to earn the victory in net, as Union improved to 18-5-4 in its last 27 ECAC Hockey home games.
 
»Wayne Simpson on a Roll
Senior forward Wayne Simpson is playing some of his best hockey of the season over the past seven contests. Simpson is in the midst of a four game point streak, and has recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last seven games. Simpson is tied for the team lead with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) on the season.
 
»Scouting Harvard
Top Players (2012-13 stats): So. F Tommy O'Regan (3 goals, 8 assists), Fr. F Jimmy Vesey (6 goals, 4 assists), Sr. F Alex Fallstrom (3 goals, 7 assists), Fr. F Brian Hart (4 goals, 3 assists), Sr. D Danny Biega (6 assists), Jr. G Raphael Girard (5-9-1, 3.31 GAA, .902 Save %)
 
Synopsis: At 5-10-1 (3-8-0 ECAC Hockey) Harvard sits at the bottom of the ECAC Hockey standings and has posted a record of 1-8-1 in its last 10 games. The Crimson have struggled on both ends, but most notably on defense during their recent stretch, allowing four or more goals in six of their last eight contests.
 
Harvard also ranks last in ECAC Hockey in scoring, averaging 2.25 goals/game. Special teams have also been an issue, as Harvard is 52nd in college hockey at 10.8% on the power play, and 45th on the penalty kill at 79.7%.
 
Last weekend, the Crimson lost games at Yale (4-0) and Brown (5-2). On Saturday night at Meehan Auditorium, Brown scored four unanswered goals in the second period on Harvard freshman goaltender Peter Traber en route to victory. Harvard leading scorer Tommy O'Regan, and Brian Hart had goals for the Crimson.
 
»The Union-Harvard Series
Last season, the Dutchmen went 2-0-1 against Harvard in three meetings, including a 3-1 win in the ECAC Hockey Championship Game on March 17. Union is unbeaten in its last six games against the Crimson (5-0-1), its longest unbeaten streak in the series against Harvard.
 
Harvard has controlled the series, which began when Union joined Division I in 1991. The Crimson own a 30-10-4 record, but Union is 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings.

»The Last Meeting
On Nov. 9, junior forward Matt Hatch had two goals and sophomore forward Daniel Ciampini had a goal and two assists to lead Union to a 6-2 win over Harvard in front of 2,286 fans at Bright Hockey Center.

Senior forward Wayne Simpson extended his goal-scoring streak to six games with a goal in the third period, and sophomore defenseman Charlie Vasaturo and senior defenseman Greg Coburn each added first period goals for the Dutchmen, who extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1). Junior goaltender Troy Grosenick (nine saves) earned the win in net, but was forced out of the game with a lower body injury in the second period. Sophomore goaltender Colin Stevens (14 saves) filled in the rest of the way.

Union got off to a quick start, as Vasaturo scored his first collegiate goal in the opening minute of the contest. Vasaturo corralled a pass from junior forward Daniel Carr and fired a long wrist shot through traffic past Harvard goaltender Raphael Girard (25 saves) at :41 to give Union a 1-0 lead. Dutchmen would make it 2-0 on their first power play opportunity of the game. With Harvard's Luke Greiner in the penalty box for hooking, senior defenseman Greg Coburn put in his own rebound on a backdoor pass from sophomore forward Daniel Ciampini, giving Union a two-goal lead at 3:00. Union finished the night 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

Harvard cut into Union's lead in the opening minutes of the second period, capitalizing on a Dutchman turnover in the neutral zone. Greiner fed Jimmy Vesey, who cut to the middle of the ice and fired over the shoulder of Grosenick at 1:32 to make it 2-1.

Union responded as senior defenseman Greg Coburn fired a shot from the left point that deflected off the leg off junior forward Matt Hatch and past Girard at 5:58 to give Union a 3-1 lead. Union would make it 4-1 late in the second period, as senior forward Kyle Bodie gained possession of the puck on a failed clear by Harvard and fed sophomore forward Daniel Ciampini cutting into the zone. Ciampini fired a slapshot over the left shoulder of Girard at 16:40 to give the Dutchmen a three-goal lead.

Simpson scored his team-leading sixth goal of the year at 10:32 of the third period, poking in backhander on a rebound off a shot by Ciampini. Just over a minute later, Hatch scored his second of the game, following up a shot off the glass from sophomore forward Max Novak and beating Harvard goaltender Peter Traber (seven saves) who had replaced Girard in net after Simpson's goal.
 
»Union in ECAC Hockey Play
At 5-4-3 in conference play, Union, the defending Cleary Cup and Whitelaw Cup champions, has continued a run of success in league play over the past three seasons. Union is 17-6-7 in its last 30 league games dating back to Nov. 12, 2011, when the Dutchmen fell 4-0 at home against Yale last season.
 
»Union's Power Play Best In The Nation, PK is No. 4
The Dutchmen are off to a solid start in special teams play, bettering impressive numbers from a a season ago. Through 23 games, Union is 86-for-95 (90.5%, 4th NCAA) on the penalty kill and 27-for-108 (25.0%, 1st NCAA) on the power play. Union is the only team in the nation to have top-4 power play and penalty kill units. Last season, Union fielded a power play which ranked fourth in the nation with a 24.2% efficiency rate and penalty kill unit which finished the season 12th in the nation at 84.5%.
 
»Home Is Where The Heart Is
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Dutchmen have an impressive record (26-6-7) in their last 39 regular season home games at Messa Rink. Not including exhibition contests, the Dutchmen are 154-140-46 all-time at home. Union has been even more dominant in ECAC Hockey play at Messa Rink. Over the past two plus seasons, the Dutchmen have compiled a record of 18-5-4 in ECAC Hockey regular season home games.
 
»Three is the Magic Number
Last season, the Dutchmen set a new school mark by scoring five or more goals in 14 contests. Union reached the five goal mark four times this season, including a 6-2 win at Harvard on Nov. 9. While Union is 30-0-0 since the start of the 2010-11 season when it scores five or more goals in a game, it has an even more impressive record when scoring three or more goals in a game. Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, Union is 33-0-7 when scoring three or more goals in a game. Over the last six contests (2-4-0), Union has topped the three goal mark once.

»Bodie Nears Career Points Record by a Defenseman
Junior defenseman Mat Bodie (72 points) is just 7 points shy of the Union career points record by a defenseman in the Division I era record held by Lane Caffaro '09 (79 points). Bodie added an assist last Friday night in a 3-2 win at Princeton to add to his career point total.