SCHENECTADY, NY--The Union College men's hockey team opens ECAC Hockey play this weekend with a home-and-home series against crosstown rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The teams square off for a third time in the Fifth Annual Capital District Mayor's Cup at the Times Union Center on January 19.
LAST WEEK
Union swept a pair of Atlantic Hockey opponents with back-to-back 5-2 wins against RIT and Niagara, extending its unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1).
Mike Vecchione tallied a career-high four goals and tied a career high with five points in Saturday's win against the Purple Eagles. He finished with eight points on the weekend (6g, 2a).
Sebastian Vidmar, who netted back-to-back game-winning goals, also had a career day against Niagara with four points (1g, 3a). Senior goaltender
Alex Sakellaropoulos improved to 3-0-0, making 16 saves against RIT, while sophomore
Jake Kupsky picked up his first win of the season last Saturday, stopping 23 shots against Niagara.
vs. RIT (W, 5-2)
Shots: Union 34, RIT 18
Power Play: Union 3-9, RIT 0-6
vs. Niagara (W, 5-2)
Shots: Union 48, Niagara 25
Power Play: Union 0-8, Niagara 0-8
UNION VS. RPI ALL-TIME SERIES
Union is 34-53-11 all-time against RPI, 31-35-9 in its Division I era, and 11-6-0 under head coach
Rick Bennett. Bennett's teams won 10 straight games against RPI from Nov. 15, 2011 to Nov. 16, 2013. The Engineers went 3-0-0 against the Dutchmen last year, marking RPI's first sweep of Union since the 2003-04 season.
BILL FOX NIGHT
The Union College men's hockey will honor the memory of former Garnet Blades executive committee member Bill Fox '72 during Saturday's game. A former lawyer, North Greenbush Deputy Town Attorney and President of the Rensselaer County Bar Association, Bill was an impassioned supporter of Union hockey. He dedicated his time and effort to help ensure the continued success of Union's student-athletes, the hockey program and the Garnet Blades, and his contributions will be sorely missed.
VECCHIONE EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
Mike Vecchione was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week and the NCAA Men's Hockey First Star of the Week after his eight-point weekend. Vecchione led Division I in goals (6) and points and was tied for the best plus/minus rating with a +5 over the two games.
THE BIG THREE
Union's top line of Vecchione,
Sebastian Vidmar and
Spencer Foo combined for nine goals and eight assists for 17 points last weekend. The trio was also a combined +14 over the two- game span. This season, the three players have accounted for 14 of the team's 23 goals (69.6%) and 31 of its 59 points (52.5%).
NEXT UP
Union faces a quick turnaround, going on the road to take on Holy Cross at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1, before returning to ECAC Hockey play with home tilts against No. 17 Yale and Brown Nov. 4-5.
