This Weekend
The Dutchmen begin November with a trip to Buffalo for a two-game series against Canisius this weekend, Nov. 1-2. Friday's game at Harborcenter is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. (ET), while Saturday's will begin at 4 p.m. The games this weekend will also mark the first time that Union has played Canisius on its home ice in Buffalo.
Media Coverage
Fans can watch this weekend's games online through FloHockey.tv. Plans with FloHockey start at $12.50 per month. Live stats will also be provided through Canisius' athletics website, GoGriffs.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.
Career Firsts
Eight of the 10 first-year skaters have already recorded their first collegiate points, with six of them doing so in the first weekend of competition.
Gabriel Seger currently leads the freshmen class in scoring one goal and two assists. Last weekend,
Owen Farris recorded his first two points in the game at RPI (Oct. 26), assisting on both of Union's goals in the 2-1 win.
vs Canisius
Union holds an all-time record against Canisius of 2-0-1. The two teams met for the first time in 2005 during the Holiday Classic tournament in Minneapolis, in which the Dutchmen won the tournament's third-place game over the Griffins, 2-0. Union and Canisius would not meet again until last season at Messa Rink, when the Dutchmen hosted a two-game series, Dec. 28-29, 2018. Canisius forced a 2-2 tied on the first night, but Union rebounded to win the second game 5-3.
Junior defenseman
Brandon Estes recorded three points (1g, 2a) in the series against the Golden Griffins last year, while
Zachary Emelifeonwu and
Michael Ryan also scored goals against Canisius.
Darion Hanson got the start in the first game of the series, making 24 saves in the 2-2 tie.
Scouting the Golden Griffins
Canisius enters the weekend with a 0-3-0 record, and is most recently coming off a 3-1 exhibition loss to the U.S. Under-18 Team. The Golden Griffins started the season with a pair of games at North Dakota, Oct. 11-12, and lost both games by scores of 5-0 and 8-1. On Oct. 19, Canisius played at Rensselaer and suffered a 7-2 loss to the Engineers.
Junior forward Austin Alger is the current leading scorer for the Golden Griffins, having scored two of the team's three goals. Fellow junior Matt Long has scored the other goal for Canisius, and four other skaters have one assist on the season.
In net, sophomore Matt Ladd has played nearly two-thirds of the team's minutes, posting a 0-2-0 record with a .783 save percentage and a 7.06 goals-against average. Freshman goaltender Jacob Barczewski holds a 0-1-0 record with an .863 save percentage and a 6.05 goals-against average.
Doing it the Hard Way
Freshman forward
Christian Sanda was one of five players to score a shorthanded goal during the opening weekend of play, Oct. 5-6. His shorthanded goal came during the second period at Army West Point on Oct. 6.
Last Time Out
The Dutchmen opened conference play with a split against Rensselaer last weekend, Oct. 25-26. Union dropped the first contest at Messa Rink, 3-2, but defeated the Engineers, 2-1, at the Houston Field House for the first win of the season.
Union vs Rensselaer - L, 3-2 - Oct. 25 - Messa Rink
Union Goals:
Anthony Rinaldi,
Gabriel Seger (PP)
Rensselaer Goalie: Owen Savory (W) - 24 saves, 2 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 27 saves, 3 goals against
Power Play: Union 0-4, Rensselaer 1-4
Summary: Senior
Anthony Rinaldi scored his second goal of the season, recording his team-leading fourth point of the season, during the first period to tie the game at 1-1. First-year forward
Gabriel Seger scored his first collegiate goal, scoring on the power play in the third period to bring the Dutchmen within one. Junior netminder
Darion Hanson made 27 saves in the contest, including seven on the penalty kill, helping Union kill off all four penalties it received. Union went 1-for-4 on the man advantage, scoring its first power play goal since Oct. 6 vs Army West Point. The Dutchmen registered a season-high 26 shots on net, including a single-period best of 15 in the third period.
Union at Rensselaer - W, 2-1 - Oct. 26 - Houston Field House
Union Goals:
Zachary Emelifeonwu (2x)
Rensselaer Goalie: Owen Savory (L) - 25 saves, 2 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (W) - 25 saves, 1 goal against
Power Play: Union 0-4, Rensselaer 1-3
Summary:
Zachary Emelifeonwu's scored both goals, and they were the first points of the season for the senior. The forward line of Emelifeonwu,
Josh Kosack and
Owen Farris combined for five of the six points in the contest.
Darion Hanson made 25 saves in net and the RPI goal came during the Engineers' final power play of the game. Union out-shot RPI 27-26, including a 10-5 margin in the third. RPI blocked a total of 20 shots in the contest, including 11 in the second period alone.
