This Weekend
The Dutchmen hit the road next weekend, Jan. 19-20, taking on Yale and Brown in ECAC Hockey action. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) start times.
Media Coverage
Matt Dubrey will have the call this weekend for both games and fans can listen for free at TeamLine.cc. Friday's game will be broadcast on WatchESPN.com and live stats will be available at YaleBulldogs.com. Saturday's game will be streamed on IvyLeagueNetwork.com and live stats will be provided at BrownBears.com.
Social Media
Receive real-time updates during all Union men's hockey games by following the team's official Twitter account @UnionMHockey. Additional in-game updates and commentary will be provided by assistant sports information director
Ross LaDue via his Twitter account @RLaDue.
Current Streaks
Two Union skaters enter the weekend having recorded a point in at least the previous two games:
Sebastian Vidmar (4 games -1g, 4a); and
Brandon Estes (2 games - 1g, 1a).
Cole Maier recently had a career-best 12-game streak in which he recorded 13 points from five goals and eight assists.
Last Time Out
Union vs #3 Clarkson - Jan. 12 - Messa Rink
Union Goals:
Sebastian Vidmar (PP)
Clarkson Goalie: Jake Kielly (W), 32 saves, 1 goal against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 25 saves, 4 goals against
Power Play: Union 1-5, Clarkson 0-5
Noteworthy: The Dutchmen suffered a 4-1 loss to No. 3 Clarkson in the first home game of 2018. The Golden Knights scored in the first minute to take the early lead.
Sebastian Vidmar scored on the power play in the first period to tie the game up, but Clarkson scored again to take a 2-1 lead before the first intermission. After a scoreless second period, Clarkson scored two more goals for the 4-1 win. Union was successful, however, on keeping the league's best power-play team scoreless through five opportunities.
Union vs St. Lawrence - Jan. 13 - Messa Rink
Union Goals:
Vas Kolias (PP),
Anthony Rinaldi,
Cole Maier (PP),
Brandon Estes (PP),
Luc Brown
St. Lawrence Goalie: Arthur Brey (L), 41 saves, 5 goals against
Union Goalie:
Jake Kupsky (W) - 24 saves, 4 goals against
Power Play: Union 3-6, St. Lawrence 1-2
Noteworthy: Union rebounded after the loss to Clarkson for a 5-4 win against the Saints for its eighth conference win of the season. St. Lawrence opened up with a 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game, but the Dutchmen responded with two goals to tie it up before the end of the period. In the second period, both teams traded goals as the game remained tied into the third period.
Brandon Estes then scored his first collegiate goal and
Luc Brown scored to give Union a 5-3 lead before the Saints scored their final goal in the 5-4 win.
vs Yale
The Bulldogs won the earlier matchup on Dec. 2 in Schenectady, defeating Union 5-3. The Dutchmen tied the game at 3-3 in the first two minutes of the second period, but a hat trick by Yale's Ted Hart helped propel the Bulldogs to victory.
The win in December gave Yale the advantage in the overall series with Union, sitting at 26-25-4 in the Bulldogs' favor. However, the Dutchmen have fared better in New Haven, and lead Yale 13-10-3 all-time at Ingalls Rink.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale enters Friday's contest with an 8-8-1 overall record and a 5-6-1 mark in league play, sitting in sixth place in ECAC Hockey. The Bulldogs are on a four-game undefeated streak, beating Colgate, 5-1, and tied Cornell, 3-3, last weekend.Â
The Bulldogs are led by junior forward Joe Snively who has 19 points from 10 goals and nine assist. Junior Sam Tucker has played the majority of time in net, and holds a 5-7-1 record with a .898 save percentage and a 2.92 goals-against average.
vs Brown
The Dutchmen won their third-consecutive game against Brown on Dec. 1, defeating the Bears 3-1 at Messa Rink. Union held a 3-0 advantage, but Brown scored with 5:32 left in the contest to break Union's shutout bid.
Brown owns the all-time record in the series, having gone 22-19-11 against Union. In games played in Providence, Union trails 8-11-7. Â However, Union has done better in recent history, posting a 7-2-1 record against Brown in the past 10 meetings.
Scouting the Bears
Brown enters the weekend with a 5-10-3 overall record and sit in 10th place in ECAC Hockey with a 4-8-0 in league play.
The Bears are led by sophomore forward Brent Beaudoin who has 14 points this season from four goals and 10 assist. In net for Brown, sophomore Gavin Nieto holds a 4-6-0 record with a .902 percentage and a 3.21 goals-against record.
Junior Leadership
Union is fourth in the country for junior class scoring, having produced 33 goals and 59 assists this season. Six junior skaters have recored at least seven points this season.
Cole Maier leads the class with eight goals and 14 assists.
If You Ain't First, You're Last
The Dutchmen hold a 9-4-0 record this season when scoring the first goal. On the flip side, Union has only won three games when the opponents have scored first (3-8-1).
Spreading the Wealth
A total of 21 skaters have already recorded a point for Union this season, including 18 who have more than one, and 18 who have scored goals.Â
Magic Number
Three seems to be the magic number for Union this season, as the Dutchmen have not won a game yet this season when scoring two or fewer goals. When scoring at least three goals, Union is 12-5-0 and almost perfect, 10-1-0 when scoring four or more goals.
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Fashionably Late
Of the Dutchmen's 76 goals scored this season, the majority of them (33) have come in the third period, and Union is currently third in the nation in final-period goal production.Â
Best of the Week
Senior
Ryan Scarfo picked up his second, and the team's third, weekly honor of the season, being named Player of the Week on Jan. 9 for his efforts at Dartmouth and Harvard. Scarfo had a four-point outing, scoring a goal and tallying an assist in both games.
Posting an undefeated weekend at No. 3 North Dakota, junior netminder
Jake Kupsky was named ECAC Hockey's Goaltender of the Week on Nov. 28. Kupsky made a total of 64 saves over the weekend to help Union earn a 4-1 win and a 2-2 tie at Ralph Engelstad Arena. On the weekend, he posted a .955 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average.
With five-point weekend over Oct. 20-21,
Ryan Scarfo led all ECAC Hockey skaters in scoring, and earned Player of the Week honors for his efforts. In the first outing of the weekend, Scarfo put up two assists against RIT in a 6-1 win. Against Niagara, Scarfo scored twice, including the game-winner, and added an assist for a career-tying best three-point night. The weekly honor was the first for the Dutchmen this season.
Extra Goals
Forward
Brett Supinski is tied for the nation's lead in extra-attacker goals. The junior from Collegeville, PA scored with an empty Union net in back-to-back games, Oct. 13-15. Both of his extra-attacker goals were scored within the final 15 seconds of regulation.
Apple-trick
Junior captain
Cole Maier set a personal best on Oct. 21 at Niagara, recording three assists against the Purple Eagles. He registered an assist on the game-winner, and had an assist in each of the three periods.
Brett Supinski recorded Union's second 'apple-trick' of the season, tallying three assists in the 4-1 against No. 16 Quinnipiac on Nov. 11. It was also the second three-assist game in the junior's career.Â
What a Debut
First-year goaltender
Darion Hanson made his collegiate debut on Oct. 20 against RIT. Hanson made 24 saves in the 6-1 win, including 14 in the third period, seven of which were made while shorthanded. He followed up his debut with second win, helping Union defeat Niagara 5-1, with the only goal conceded coming on a Purple Eagles' power play.
Winning
With a 5-1 win over Niagara on Oct. 20, 2017, head coach
Rick Bennett became the winningest hockey coach in Union hockey's Division I history. Bennett owns a career record of 142-75-30, surpassing Nate Leaman's record of 138-127-35.Â
Already Spoken For
The Union College hockey team features three student-athletes who have been drafted by NHL teams.Â
Welcome to Union College
The Dutchmen welcome nine new student-athletes to their ranks this season, including five forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender.
Newest Pros
Over the summer Union College had six members of its 2016-17 team sign professional contracts with North American organizations.
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Team |
League |
Date |
| Nick DeSimone |
Jr |
D |
San Jose |
NHL |
March 30 (FA) |
| Spencer Foo |
Jr. |
F |
Calgary |
NHL |
June 27 (FA) |
| Michael Pontarelli |
Sr. |
D |
Quad City |
ECHL |
July 27 |
| Alex Sakellaropoulos |
Sr. |
G |
Fort Wayne |
ECHL |
July 20 |
| Jeff Taylor |
Sr. |
D |
Pittsburgh |
NHL |
March 26 |
| Mike Vecchione |
Sr. |
F |
Philadelphia |
NHL |
March 31 (FA) |
