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SCHENECTADY, N.Y.--The No. 9/10 Union College men's hockey team returns to Messa Rink for the first time since November 12, closing out 2016 against defending national champion No. 8/8 North Dakota on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
#12/13 Union 2, #10/11 Vermont 1 - Dec. 18 - Gutterson Fieldhouse
Union Goals: Brassard, J. Taylor
Vermont Goalie: Mike Santaguida (L) - 18 saves, 20 shots
Union Goalie: Alex Sakellaropoulos (W) - 32 saves, 33 shots
Power Play: Union 1-4, Vermont 1-5
Noteworthy: The win was Union's eighth come-from-behind win this season and its third during its current six-game win streak… the Dutchmen had a season-low eight shots through the first two periods … Alex Sakellaropoulos made 14 saves in the final frame … Spencer Foo extended his point streak to 17 games with an assist on Jeff Taylor's game-winning goal.

UNION VS. NORTH DAKOTA ALL-TIME SERIES
Union enters Saturday's game brimming with confidence, having never lost to North Dakota.  However, Saturday's game marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs. 

SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
The defending national champion Fighting Hawks have not played since splitting a series with No. 16 Western Michigan on Dec. 9-10. North Dakota started the season a perfect 5-0-0 and then went through a six-game winless skid (0-4-2) before registering a 4-3 win against No. 4/4 Boston College at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3. The Fighting Hawks' roster features nine NHL Draft picks. North Dakota will not be able to rely on two of its three top scorers when it faces Union. Tyson Jost, who is tied for the team lead with 11 assists and sits second with 18 points,  is currently representing Team Canada at the 2017 World Junior Championships, while the team's third leading scorer, Brock Boeser (7G-9A), is sidelined due to a wrist injury. 

QUICK HITS
- Spencer Foo has either scored or assisted on 11 of Union's 14 game-winning goals this season, including five of the last six (2G-3A). 
- With its 2-1 win at Vermont, Union improved to 4-0 in one-goal games this season.     - Last year's team was 6-6 in games decided by one goal. 
- Union is 8-0-0 when scoring first, 5-0-1 when leading after the first and 11-0-1 when leading after two. 
-The Dutchmen are 9-0-0 when scoring five or more goals and 10-1-1 when scoring four or more. 
- Union is 17-1-2 in December since the 2013-14 season.

GAME-WORN JERSEY RAFFLE
The Dutchmen will raffle off their game-worn jerseys, which were designed to pay tribute to the Nott Memorial building at the center of Union's campus. The limited edition jerseys will be handed out by the players directly after the game. Following the completion of the jersey raffle, fans are also invited to join the team on the ice for an open skate.

For more details click here.