This Weekend
The Dutchmen finish off the regular season this weekend, March 1-2, hosting Dartmouth on Friday and No. 15/16 Harvard on Saturday. Both games are slated to begin at 7 p.m. (ET).
Media Coverage
Matt Dubrey and Brian Unger will have the call, and the live audio stream will be available for free on UnionAthletics.com.com. Fans inside in the United State can watch the games online through ESPN Plus, while fans outside the States can watch through StretchInternet. Live stats for the game will be available through the host institutions' athletics websites.
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.
Playoff Picture
As Union enters the final weekend of the regular season, the Dutchmen can still finish anywhere between sixth place and 11th place. Union can clinch home ice for the first round of playoffs with three points on the weekend, regardless of other team's results. If Union wins on Friday, and both Colgate and RPI lose, then Union will secure home ice as well.
Senior Farewell
Saturday's game will serve as the final home regular-season game for Union's nine seniors:
Greg Campbell,
Mark Dufour,
Jake Kupsky,
Cole Maier,
Brett Supinski,
Brendan Taylor,
Sebastian Vidmar,
Ryan Walker and
Joe Young.Â
vs Dartmouth
Union defeated Dartmouth, 3-1, on Feb. 9 in Hanover, despite the Big Green out-shooting the Dutchmen, 34-24. In that contest,
Greg Campbell,
Ryan Walker, and
Liam Morgan scored goals while
Darion Hanson made 33 saves in net.Â
All-time Union holds a 29-23-7 record against Dartmouth, which includes a 16-10-5 record in games played at Messa Rink. Union has also won 13 of the last 15 meetings against Dartmouth, including the past seven straight, dating back to Dec. 5, 2016.
vs Harvard
The Crimson handed the Dutchmen a 5-3 loss in Cambridge on Feb. 8. Union held a 3-2 lead late in the second period, but Harvard scored three straight, including one on an empty net, to take the 5-3 win.Â
Union trails in its all-time record to Harvard, 16-34-6. More recently, the last 10 games between the two teams has been a wash with the record sitting at 4-4-2. Despite Union also trailing to Harvard in games played at Messa Rink, 8-14-5, Union has defeated Harvard in the past two games in Schenectady.
Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth enters the weekend in a tie for sixth place with Brown in the league standings. Dartmouth can finish anywhere from fourth to eighth place and has already clinched home ice for the first round of playoffs.Â
The Big Green have gone 2-1-1 in their last four games, defeating Clarkson and Yale, tying St. Lawrence and losing to Brown. Freshman forward Drew O'Connor leads Dartmouth in scoring with 10 goals and eight assists. Junior goaltender Adrian Clark has played almost every minute so far this season, and has recorded a .910 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against average.Â
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard enters the weekend tied with Quinnipiac for second place in the league standings. However, Harvard could still finish anywhere between first and fifth place. The Crimson need just one point on the weekend to secure a first-round bye, but would need four points and for Cornell to at least tie one game, to claim first place.
Harvard is currently sporting the best power play in the nation, averaging 31.6 percent on the man advantage. Two defensemen lead Harvard in scoring this season, with Adam Fox posting a team high eight goals and 30 assists, while Reilly Walsh is close behind with 10 goals and 18 assists. Senior forward Lewis Zerter-Gossage leads the team in goals with 16. In net, Michael Lackey has played the majority of games, posting a 14-6-3 record with a .920 save percentage and a 2.23 goals-against average. However, junior Cameron Gornet posted a 35-save shutout last weekend against Yale.
Last Time Out
Union played in its final road series of the regular-season last weekend, dropping a 5-1 decision to Colgate on Feb. 22, and a 3-1 decision to No. 8/9 Cornell on Feb. 23.
Union at Colgate - Feb. 22 - Class of 1965 Arena
Union Goals:
Brendan Taylor
Colgate Goalie: Mitch Benson (W) - 32 saves, 1 goal against
       Andrew Farrier - 3 saves, 0 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 7 saves, 3 goals against
     Â
Jake Kupsky - 6 saves, 2 goals against
Power Play: Union 0-5, Colgate 0-2
Noteworthy: Colgate goaltender Mitch Benson made 32 saves for his eighth win of the year. The Raiders scored once in the first, twice in the second and third periods.
Jack Adams scored the lone Union goal, coming at the 7:32 mark of the third period. Union was unable to capitalize on five power-play chances.
Union at #8/9 Cornell - Feb. 23 - Lynah Rink
Union Goals:
Cole Maier
Cornell Goalie: Matthew Galajda (W) - 30 saves, 1 goal against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 17 saves, 2 goals againstÂ
Power Play: Union 0-4, Cornell 1-5
Noteworthy:
Cole Maier scored an unassisted shorthanded goal, a league-leading fifth shorthanded goal this season for the Dutchmen. Matthew Galajda made 30 stops in net and helped the Big Red kill off all four penalties they were assessed. There were a total of 13 minor penalties assessed in the game, but only five power plays earned, four for Union and five for Cornell.
Major Wins
The Dutchmen are undefeated (3-0-0) in the three games in which they have been assessed a five-minute major penalty: Jan. 25 vs Yale; Jan. 12 at St. Lawrence; Oct. 20 at Northeastern.
Winning From the Box
Union is 6-2-1, in games in which the Dutchmen are assessed more penalty minutes than their opponents, and also hold an 8-2-1 record in games in which Union's opponents have more power-play opportunities. On the opposite side, the Dutchmen are 4-8-3 when they have more power-play chances and are 7-8-3 when assessed fewer penalty minutes than the opposing team.Â
If You Ain't First, You're Last
Union is 9-2-2 (.769) when scoring the first goal of the game. On the flip side, Union has gone 6-9-3 when the opposing team scores first.Â
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.
Already Spoken For
The Union College hockey team features three student-athletes who have been drafted by NHL teams.Â
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