This Weekend
The Dutchmen begin the final month of regular-season competition, hitting the road for a pair of ECAC Hockey games this weekend, Feb. 2-3. Union takes on No. 1 Cornell on Friday before playing against Colgate on Saturday. Both games are set for 7 p.m. (ET) start times.
Media Coverage
Matt Dubrey and Brian Unger will have the call this weekend and fans can listen for free at TeamLine.cc. Friday's game will be streamed live on the Ive League Network, while Saturday's stream will be on the Patriot League Network. Live stats for the games will be available through the host schools' websites (CornellBigRed.com and GoColgateRaiders.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
Only one Union skater enters the weekend having recorded a point in at least the previous two games:
J.C. Brassard (2 games - 0g, 3a).
Cole Maier recently had a career-best 12-game streak in which he recorded 13 points (5g, 8a) between Nov. 20-Jan. 6. Additionally,
Ryan Scarfo has scored nine points (5g, 4a) in the past six games.
Last Time Out
Union vs Rensselaer - Jan. 27 - Times Union Center
Union Goals:
Anthony Rinaldi,
Sean Harrison,
Tyler Hynes,
Sebastian Vidmar
RPI Goalie: Linden Marshall (L), 15 saves, 4 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (W) - 18 saves, 3 goals against
Power Play: Union 0-3, RPI 0-2
Noteworthy: The Dutchmen claimed the first-ever consecutive Mayor's Cup title in series history, defeating RPI, 4-3, at the Times Union Center last weekend. Union jumped out to 4-0 lead early in the second period, and weathered an RPI rally for the one-goal win.
Tyler Hynes scored his first goal of the season in the game, which was also his first appearance this season. First year defender Taylor Brierly also made his collegiate debut in the contest.
vs Cornell
Union enters Friday's contest trailing in the all-time series against Cornell, 20-33-8. Last season, the Dutchmen went 0-3-1 against the Big Red during the regular season, before being eliminated by Cornell in the ECAC Hockey semifinals. Union has not defeated Cornell since Feb. 26, 2016.
Friday's match up will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and they will play again in Schenectady on Feb. 24 to end the regular season.
Scouting the Big Red
Cornell enters the weekend as the No.1-ranked team in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. The Big Red has only lost two games this entire season, once to Clarkson, 4-0 on Nov. 18, and once to Miami, 2-1 on Dec. 1. Cornell leads the nation in both goals-against average (1.43) and goal-margin per game (+1.95).Â
Up front, the Big Red is led by junior forward Anthony Angello, who has 20 points from 12 goals and eight assists. Senior forward Trevor Yates is in a close second with 19 points (11g, 8a). In net, freshman Matthew Galajda has played the majority of minutes and holds a 14-2-1 record with a .938 save percentage and a 1.52 goals-against average
vs Colgate
Union enters Saturday's contest trailing in the all-time series against Colgate, 20-35-3. The Dutchmen have not fared well in Hamilton, having only four wins in Division I history at Colgate's rink, the last being last season on Feb. 24, 2017 by a score of 4-3. Despite Union having won both games last season, the Dutchmen have only won three of the past 10 games against the Raiders.
Saturday's match up will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and they will play again in Schenectady on Feb. 23.
Scouting the Raiders
Colgate enters the weekend with a .500 overall record at 11-11-4 and sits tied for fifth place in the league with a conference record of 7-6-1. Last weekend, the Raiders snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Harvard.
The Raiders are led by sophomore forward Bobb McMann, who has 22 points from 11 goals and 11 assists this season. Only five other Raiders have recorded more than 10 points this year: Adam Dauda, John Snodgrass, Nick Austin and Jared Cockrell. In net, freshman Colton Point holds an 11-8-4 record with a .945 save percentage, which ranks second nationally.
Killin' It
Since the new year, Union has posted a .909 efficiency on the penalty kill, which ranks sixth nationally, and third in the ECAC. In the seven games played since Jan. 1, Union has only conceded two power-play goals in 22 chances.
Junior Leadership
Union is fifth in the country for junior class scoring, having produced 35 goals and 64 assists this season. Six junior skaters have recored at least eight points this season.
Cole Maier leads the class with eight goals and 16 assists.
If You Ain't First, You're Last
The Dutchmen hold a 12-4-0 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 22 skaters have recorded at least one point for Union this season, including 19 who have more than one, and 20 who have scored goals.Â
Magic Number
Three seems to be the magic number for Union this season, as the Dutchmen have only won a single game yet this season when scoring two or fewer goals. When scoring at least three goals, Union is 14-5-0 and almost perfect, 11-1-0 when scoring four or more goals.
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Fashionably Late
Of the Dutchmen's 85 goals scored this season, the majority of them (35) have come in the third period, and Union is currently tied for sixth 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) |
