GAME NOTES
NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal
#7/7 Union (25-9-3) vs. #11/11 Penn State (24-11-2)
Dates/Times: March 25/4:30 p.m
Location/Venue: Cincinnati, Ohio | U.S. Bank Arena
Division I Series Record: Union leads, 4-0-0
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SCHENECTADY, N.Y.--The Union College men's hockey team will be making its fifth NCAA Division I Tournament appearance this weekend when it takes on No. 14/15 Penn State in the Midwest Regional Semifinal. The Dutchmen, who are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013-14, swept Princeton in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals before falling to Cornell in the semifinal last Friday in Lake Placid, N.Y.
LAST TIME OUT
#6/7 Union 1, #9/9 Cornell 4 - March 17 - ECACH Semifinal - Herb Brooks Arena
Union Goal:
Cole Maier
Cornell Goalie: Mitch Gillam (W) - 33 saves, 34 shots
Union Goalie:
Alex Sakellaropoulos (L) - 29 saves, 33 shots
Power Play: Union 1-4, Cornell 1-4
Noteworthy: Union was outshot 21-7 in the first , tying its season high for shots allowed in a period, but Sakellaropoulos stopped all 21 ... Cornell sealed the win two goals in 62 seconds in the third ... Maier extended his goal streak to three games, scoring his first career power-play goal ... Foo pushed his point streak to eight games ...
Mike Vecchione was held off the scoresheet for just the seventh time this season ... The loss snapped Union's seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1).
UNION VS. PENN STATE ALL-TIME SERIES
Union is 4-0-0 against Penn State in its Division I era, but the teams have not met since the 2013-14 season. The last two meetings between the teams have been one-goal games (5-4, 4-3).
LAST MEETING: Dec. 1, 2013 – Union 5, Penn State 4 – Penn State jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second period, but the Dutchmen responded with four unanswered goals en route to a 5-4 win. Shane Gostisbehere scored a pair of goals and
Mike Vecchione added a goal and an assist. Mat Bodie and Max Novak each finished with a pair of helpers.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State rattled off three wins in three days, including two in double overtime, to claim its first-ever Big Ten Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. First-year goaltender Peyton Jones was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after posting a 1.25 goals-against average and a .959 save pct. over the three games. The Nittany Lions are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games. Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky has faced Union 21 times in his career, including 17 while at Princeton, and holds an overall record of 5-15-1 in those games.
HOBEY HOPEFULS
Mike Vecchione and
Spencer Foo have been named as two of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. They are the fourth and fifth Union players to earn the honor, joining Daniel Ciampini '15 (2015), Shayne Gostisbehere '15 (2014) and Troy Grosenick '13 (2012). The duo's selection marks just the sixth time that ECAC Hockey teammates have been named to the top 10 in the same season. The 10 Hobey finalists were chosen in voting conducted by head coaches from all 60 Division I programs. A 27-member Selection Committee will determine this year's winner, which will be announced at the Frozen Four on April 8.
AWARD SEASON
- Vecchione was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year, while head coach
Rick Bennett was tabbed as the Tim Taylor Coach of the Year, highlighting four Dutchmen that earned All-ECAC Hockey honors. Vecchione joined Shayne Gostisbehere as the only two Dutchmen to win the award. He and
Spencer Foo received All-ECAC Hockey First Team honors, while
Jeff Taylor and
Alex Sakellaropoulos were named to the second team.
- Bennett was tabbed as Coach of the Year for the second time in his career (2011-12) after guiding the Dutchmen to a share of their fourth Cleary Cup title with a conference record of 16-4-2. Union was picked to finish seventh in the league's preseason coaches poll and eighth in the media poll.
