This Weekend
The No. 16 Union College Dutchmen face-off against Yale and Brown for the third time this season, hosting the Bulldogs and Bears this weekend, Jan. 25-26. Both games are slated to begin at 7 p.m. (ET) at Messa Rink.
Mayor's Cup Rescheduled
After last weekend's snow storm, the seventh annual Capital District Mayor's Cup game has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29 for a 7 p.m. (ET) start at the Times Union Center in Albany.
Media Coverage
Matt Dubrey and Brian Unger will have the call this weekend at Messa Rink. The live audio stream will be available for free on UnionAthletics.com. The games will be streamed live on ESPN Plus in the United Stats and through StretchInternet for international markets. Live stats for the games will be available through UnionAthletics.com.
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.
Third Time's a Charm
The games this weekend against Yale and Brown will mark the third time this season Union has played each team, first time at Messa Rink, however. The Dutchmen have not defeated either team this season, having gone 0-1-1 against both teams this year. Union most recently played Brown in a 6-3 loss in the championship game at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh.Â
Last Time Out
The Dutchmen came away from the north country with a win and a loss during the Jan. 11-12 weekend. Union narrowly avoided a shutout against Clarkson, dropping a 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights. However, the Dutchmen rebounded with a 4-3 win over St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena the following night. The game against the Saints saw Union record a blistering 54 shots on net, the highest in a single game for the Dutchmen since 2014.
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
     Â
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.
vs Yale
The loss to the Bulldogs in New Haven back in December gave Yale a slight advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, as Union now trails 26-27-6 in the series. Neither of the two teams actually have a winning record against each other on their home ice, as Union leads 14-11-3 at Ingalls Rink, but trails 11-16-2 at Messa Rink.Â
The first time Union played Yale this season was in a nonconference game on Nov. 22, to open the 2018 Friendship Four tournament in Northern Ireland. Union and Yale tied 1-1, but Union advanced to the tournament championship with a 2-1 shootout win. In the second meeting of the year on Dec. 8, Yale won by a score of 3-0 in New Haven, Conn.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale comes in with a 7-3-1 record in ECAC Hockey, currently tied for first in the league standings. The Bulldogs hosted Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend, Jan. 18-19, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Golden Knights before beating the Saints 3-2.
Senior forward Joe Snively still leads the Bulldogs in scoring, having totaled 10 goals and 11 assists on the year. Goaltenders Sam Tucker and Corbin Kaczperski have split time in net so far this season, as Tucker holds a 5-4-1 record and Kaczperski with a 4-2-2 record. Kaczperski started last week's game against Clarkson, but was replaced by Tucker, who finished off the rest of the game and went on to earn the win against St. Lawrence the following night.
vs Brown
Union enters the weekend trailing in the all-times series against Brown, 20-24-13. In the first meeting of the season, Brown forced a 3-3 tie at Meehan Auditorium on Dec. 7. Brown then won 6-3 in a nonconference meeting for the Three Rivers Classic championship on Jan. 5 in Pittsburgh. Â
Scouting the Bears
Brown holds a 3-5-3 mark in ECAC Hockey competition and sits in a tie with Union for seventh place. Last week the Bears defeated St. Lawrence, 3-1, before dropping a 4-0 decision to Clarkson.
Senior forward Tommy Marchin and junior defenseman Zach Giuttari are the only Bears to have recorded 10 or more points this season, with the former leading the team with five goals and seven assists and the ladder having four goals and six assists. Junior Gavin Nieto leads the Bears in net, holding a 5-51 lead with a .906 save percentage and a 2.70 goals-against average.
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
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.Â
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.Â
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)Â |
| 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.Â
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