7th Annual Mayor's Cup - Union vs Rensselaer

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019  •  Albany, N.Y.  •  Times Union Center  •  6 p.m.

Television: N/A • Radio: N/A

Live Stats: UnionAthletics.com  •  Web Audio: UnionAthletics.com

Weekend Preview

Union Game Notes  •  Rensselaer Game Notes

This Weekend
The No. 16 Union College Dutchmen take on cross-town rival RPI this Saturday, Jan. 19, for the seventh annual Capital District Mayor's Cup. Puck drop at the Times Union Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET).

Media Coverage
Matt Dubrey and Brian Unger will have the call this weekend at the Times Union Center. The live audio stream will be available for free on UnionAthletics.com. Live stats for the games will be available through the host teams' websites. Due to contractual obligations with the Times Union Center, there will be no live video available for Saturday's Mayor's Cup game.

Social Media
Receive real-time updates during all Union men's hockey games by following the team's official Twitter account @UnionMHockey. Additional behind-the-scenes looks are also available through the team's official Instagram account, UnionMHockey.

vs Rensselaer
The Engineers handed Union its first two losses of the season earlier in October, defeating Union 5-3 in Troy and 4-2 in Schenectady. However, Union won last year's Mayor's Cup game, 4-3, marking the first time either team had won the game in back-to-back years. Union and RPI enter the weekend with a tied overall series record of 37-37-9. The Dutchmen have won six of the last 10 meetings, and hold a slight advantage in neutral site games against the Engineers (7-6-3). Senior forward Cole Maier enters the weekend as the current leading scorer against the Engineers, having totaled three goals and six assists in 11 total games against RPI.

Scouting the Engineers
RPI enters Saturday's contest having won three of its last four games, which includes a 2-1 win over Army West Point, a 6-5 win at St. Lawrence and a 5-2 win at UConn. The Engineers hold an overall record of 7-15-0 and currently sit tied for ninth in ECAC Hockey with a record of 4-7-0.

Junior forward Jacob Hayhurst leads RPI in points this season, having totaled 23 points off of three goals and 20 assists, which accounts for nearly 18 percent of RPI's offensive production.

In net, Linden Marshall and Owen Savory have split time, with Marshall holding a 5-8-0 record and Savory recording a 2-7-0 mark.

Union Partners with ESPN+ For Hockey Streams
Union fans across the country will be able to stream all Union home and select ECAC Hockey games through ESPN.com and the redesigned ESPN App, for just $4.99 a month. Fans can sign up for the service by visiting Plus.ESPN.com

For fans living outside the United States, Union and many other ECAC Hockey schools have partnered with Stretch Internet to provide coverage for games this season, giving all fans the same opportunity to watch ECAC Hockey games for $4.99 a month or $2.99 per game. International fans can access the ECAC Hockey video portal at Portal.StretchInternet.com/ECACHockey

Last Time Out
Union College began the new year with a huge 7-2 win over No. 1 St. Cloud State in the opening game of the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh. The seven goals was a season-high for the Dutchmen, besting their five-goal outings against Omaha, Quinnipiac and Canisius. The following night, Union dropped a 6-3 decision to Brown in the championship game at PPG Paints Arena.

Union at #16 Clarkson - Jan. 11 - Cheel Arena
Union Goals: Anthony Rinaldi
Clarkson Goalie: Jake Kielly (W) - 23 saves, 1 goal against
Union Goalie: Darion Hanson (L) - 11 saves, 4 goals against
          Jake Kupsky - 7 saves, 1 goal against
Power Play: Union 0-3, Clarkson 0-2
Noteworthy: Clarkson scored two goals in the first two periods to hold a 4-0 lead to start the third period. Union was out-shot 9-5 in the first period, but ended the contest out-shooting the Golden Knights 24-23. Anthony Rinaldi scored his sixth goal of the season for the lone Union tally, scoring with 7:47 left in the third period. Jake Kupsky came in for relief late in the second period and stopped all seven shots he faced in the remainder of the contest. Clarkson goaltender Jake Kielly made 23 saves and helped the Golden Knights kill all three of Union's power plays.

Union at St. Lawrence - Jan. 12 - Appleton Arena
Union Goals: Parker Foo, Sean Harrison, Bret Supinski, Cole Maier
St. Lawrence Goalie: Daniel Mannella (L) - 50 saves, 4 goals against
Union Goalie: Jake Kupsky (W) - 16 saves, 3 goals against
Power Play: Union 0-1, St. Lawrence 0-4
Noteworthy: Parker Foo opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season nine minutes into the first period. Sean Harrison scored late in the first to give Union a 2-1 lead before the first intermission. Brett Supinski tallied his 100th point off his 32nd career goal early in the third period, which put Union up 3-1. Cole Maier scored the would-be game-winner at the 13:19 mark of the third period after Foo intercepted an offensive-zone turnover. Jake Kupsky earned his sixth win in net this season, stopping 16 shots.

Best of the Month
Cole Maier was named ECAC Hockey's Player of the Month for October. The senior forward led all conference skaters with 10 points in the month, scoring four goals, including two game winners, and picking up six assists. He was also named the league's first Player of the Week this season, after a five-point weekend against Omaha, Oct. 12-13.

Leading the nation with a .972 save percentage and a 0.97 goals-against average during the month of November, Darion Hanson was named ECAC Hockey's Goalie of the Month and the Hockey Commissioners Association Goalie of the Month. He finished the month with 104 saves (34.6 per game), posting a 2-0-1 record. After a 34-save performance against Quinnipiac on Nov. 10, the sophomore posted back-to-back 30+ save games against Yale and Boston University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, leading the Dutchmen to the 2018 Friendship Four title while earning MVP honors. He was also named Goalie of the Week twice during the month of November.

Best of the Week
After a five-point weekend, Cole Maier was named ECAC Hockey's first Player of the Week for the 2017-18 season. Maier had a hand in all three Union goals in the Oct. 12 game against Omaha, scoring once and tallying two assists. He followed that up with two assists in the finale against the Mavericks. 

With a big road sweep against then-No. 12 Northeastern, Union's Brett Supinski and Darion Hanson both earned ECAC Hockey weekly honors. Supinski had a stellar four-point weekend leading all skaters in the league. He, had a hand in all three regulation goals in Friday's 4-3 overtime win. In that game, he scored twice in the first period against the Huskies, including potting Union's first shorthanded goal of the season. In net, Hanson was also stellar, leading all goalies in the nation with 68 saves over the Oct. 18-20 weekend, and being one of only four goalies to record two wins that weekend as well. Despite conceding four goals over the weekend, only one was even strength, as the other three were all scored on Northeastern power plays. Hanson ended the weekend with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.

Darion Hanson earned his second Goaltender of the Week award after posting 34 saves to help Union defeat No. 13 Quinnipiac, 5-1. A total of 16 of his 34 saves were made in the second period alone, as Quinnipiac out-shot the Dutchmen 35-23 in the contest. His efforts in net also helped the Union penalty kill go a perfect three-for-three on the night.

Hanson earned his third Goalie of the Week honor after leading Union to a 2018 Friendship Four championship. The sophomore only conceded one even-strength goal all weekend and made a career-high 39 saves against Boston University in the championship game. Hanson was also named the tournament's MVP for his efforts.

20 Goalies To Watch
Senior goaltender Jake Kupsky has been named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List for the 2018-19 season. The award annually honors the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey. The winner of the sixth annual award will be announced at the 2019 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y.

Kupsky returns for his senior year after being named to the All-ECAC Hockey Third Team last season. During the 2017-18 campaign he posted the third-best winning percentage in the league (10-2-1) with a .917 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average in conference action.

Returning Offense
The Dutchmen return 92 goals from last season, which ranks 10th most in the nation. Union scored a total of 115 goals last year, 20 of which were scored by Ryan Scarfo, and 14 of the top 15 goal scorers from last season return this year.

Senior Leadership
Union's current senior class ranked 10th in the country last year for class scoring, having produced 48 goals and 87 assists. Six of the senior skaters recored at least eight points during the year, and Cole Maier led the class last year with 11 goals and 23 assists.

Overall, Brett Supinski leads the group in career points with 26 goals and 59 assists, while Sebastian Vidmar leads the class in career goals with 30 goals, in addition to his 51 assists.

Look Who's Back: Forwards
Union returns 14 forwards from the 2017-18 season. Cole Maier is the top returning offensive producer, having totaled 11 goals and 23 assists last season. Fellow senior Sebastian Vidmar was third on the team in scoring, producing 10 goals and 20 assists. Anthony Rinaldi was fourth-overall but second on the team in goals, totaling 17 goals and 11 assists last season. Brett Supinski rounded out the top-five scorers for the Dutchmen last year, scoring nine goals and tallying 19 assists.

Also returning up top for the Dutchmen includes: Ryan Walker (38gp, 11g, 6a); Greg Campbell (35gp, 3g, 14a); Liam Morgan (29gp, 6g, 10a); Jack Adams (28gp, 4g, 9a); Brendan Taylor (31gp, 4g, 4a); Luc Brown (25gp, 3g, 5a); Parker Foo (33gp, 1g, 5a); Sean Harrison (30gp, 3g, 1a); Zachary Emelifeonwu (31gp, 2g, 2a); Josh Kosack (25gp, 1g, 3a); and Mark Dufour (2gp, 0g, 0a).

Look Who's Back: Defense
The Dutchmen return six defensemen from the 2017-18 season. Greg Campbell and Vas Kolias both totaled three goals and 14 assists each last season, as they are Union's top returning offensive producers on the blue line. 

Also returning on the blue line for Union includes: Joseph Campolieto (33gp, 3g, 4a); Brandon Estes (33gp, 1g, 5a); and Taylor Brierley (3gp, 0g, 0a).

Look Who's Back: Goaltenders
Union returns all three goaltenders from last season. Senior Jake Kupsky led the trio last season with 25 games played, securing a 11-11-2 record (10-2-1 in ECAC Hockey), with a .917 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average.

Sophomore Darion Hanson had a stellar freshman season, posting a 10-4-0 record with a .908 save percentage and a 2.32 goals-against average. Hanson began his career winning six of his first seven games.

Senior Joe Young returns as Union's third goalie. Young has played a total of 61:35 during his career and holds a perfect 1.000 save percentage having stopped all 26 shots he's faced in his time at Union.

Welcome to Union College
The Dutchmen welcome six new student-athletes to their ranks this season, including three forwards, and three defensemen.

#	Name	Pos.	S/C	Hometown / Previous Team
9	Blake Hayward	F	L	Vancouver, B.C. / Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL)
10	Ryan Sidorski	D	R	Williamsville, N.Y. / Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL)
12	Fletcher Fineman	D	R	Lake Worth, Fla. / Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
14	Lucas Breault	F	R	Toronto, Ontario / Central Illinois Flying Aces (USHL)
21	Michael Ryan	D	R	Marion, Mass. / West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)
28	Sam Morton	F	R	Benicia, Calif. / Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)

Already Spoken For
The Union College hockey team features three student-athletes who have been drafted by NHL teams. 

Name	Team	Year	Round	Overall
Jake Kupsky	San Jose	2015	7	193
Parker Foo	Chicago	2015	5	144
Jack Adams	Detroit	2017	6	162