SCHENECTADY, NY – The Union College men's hockey team secured a top-four finish within ECAC Hockey with a 2-1 victory over Dartmouth on Saturday night at Messa Rink.
 
With the win, the Dutchmen improve to 18-13-1 overall with a 13-5-0 mark in league play and are currently tied with Clarkson for second place in the standings with 26 points. Union is now guaranteed a top-four finish and a first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey postseason.
 
It was a defensive battle between the Dutchmen and the Big Green. Dartmouth outshot Union, 36-20, in the contest, but timely goals from Ryan Scarfo and Liam Morgan and solid goaltending from Jake Kupsky put the Dutchmen on top.
 
Kupsky made 35 saves in the outing to earn his fourth-consecutive win and eighth of the season. He also helped Union go a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, and came up big in the second period, stopping all 17 shots he faced in the 20-minute span.
 
Scarfo scored his 17th goal of the season just four seconds into a power play in the opening minutes of the second period.  Union won the draw and moved the puck up to the defensemen at the point. J.C. Brassard took a shot that Scarfo deflected to put the Dutchmen on the board first. The goal also marks the eighth power-play goal of the season for Scarfo, which is tied for the lead in ECAC Hockey.
 
The Big Green would then go on to outshoot Union 17-5 in the middle period, but Kupsky and the Union defense would hold onto the 1-0 lead to start the third period.
 
Unfortunately, Dartmouth would tie the game up quickly in the third period. Seconds after Union killed off a penalty, Dartmouth's Tim Shoup got a shot through traffic that found the back of the net at the 1:16 mark.
 
The Dutchmen got the lead back at the 12:26 mark thanks to the hottest stick on the ice this weekend. On an offensive-zone face off, Cole Maier won the draw back to Morgan who then fired a quick shot into the top shelf for his third goal, and second game-winner, of the weekend.
 
Union hits the road for its final road games of the regular season, taking on Quinnipiac and Princeton next weekend, Feb. 16-17. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. (ET) starts.