This Weekend
The postseason begins with the first round of ECAC Hockey playoffs at Yale this weekend, March 6-8. The first two games of the best-of-three series will feature 7 p.m. (ET) start times, and Sunday's game will be played at 4 p.m., if needed.
Media Coverage
Fans inside the United States can watch all ECAC Hockey Tournament games on the ESPN Plus platform, while international fans can watch through Stretch Internet. Live stats for all this weekend's games will be available through YaleBulldogs.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
Nine of the 10 first-year skaters have recorded their first collegiate points, with six of them doing so in the first weekend of competition.
Gabriel Seger leads the freshman class in scoring with 18 points, stemming from six goals and 12 assists.
vs. Yale
Union trails slightly in the all-time series with Yale, 27-29-6 (.484). However, the Dutchmen hold an advantage in games played in Ingalls Rink, leading by a 14-12-3 (.534) margin. In recent history, the two sides have been closely matched and Union has gone 5-4-1 against the Bulldogs in the past 10 meetings.
Yale shut out the Dutchmen in both games during the regular season this year, by a score of 2-0 in Schenectady and 5-0 in New Haven. Corbin Kaczperski played in net for the Bulldogs during both games and has stopped all 47 shots the Dutchmen threw at him. Kaczperski was also named ECAC Hockey's Goaltender of the Week after both meetings with the Dutchmen.
Union vs Yale - L, 2-0 - Dec. 7 - Messa Rink
Union Goals: none
Yale Goalie: Corbin Kaczperski (W) - 26 saves, 0 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 21 saves, 2 goals against
Power Play: Union 0-3, Yale 0-3
Summary: Union out-shot Yale 26-23, but Kaczperski stopped all 26 saves he faced in net for the Bulldogs.
Darion Hanson made 21 saves on the night, including seven while the team was on the penalty kill. The Dutchmen killed off a major penalty in the second period, and were a perfect 3-for-3 on the PK. Yale won 64 percent of the faceoffs against Union.
Union at Yale - L, 5-0 - Jan. 17 - Ingalls Rink
Union Goals: none
Yale Goalie: Corbin Kaczperski (W) - 21 saves, 0 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 23 saves, 4 goals against
Josh Graziano - 4 saves, 1 goal against
Power Play: Union 0-5, Yale 2-5
Summary: The Bulldogs out-shot Union, 32-21, in the contest, including a 12-3 advantage in the first period. Hanson made 23 saves in the contest, while first-year goaltender
Josh Graziano made his collegiate debut in relief during the third period, making four stops. Union was unable to convert on the power play, going 0-for-5 on the man advantage, while the Bulldogs went 2-for-5 on the power play. The game marked the second time this season that Kaczperski shut out the Dutchmen.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale completed the regular season with an overall record of 13-14-2 and finished tied for sixth in ECAC Hockey with Dartmouth, posting a conference record of 10-10-2. Yale lost the tiebreaker with the Big Green and received the No. 7 seed in the conference playoffs. The Bulldogs are coming off a weekend split with Princeton and Quinnipiac last weekend on the road. Yale defeated Princeton 2-1 before losing 5-0 to Quinnipiac.
Three skaters have recorded over 20 points for the Bulldogs this season: Curtis Hall (15g, 10a), Justin Pearson (14g, 10a) and Tyler Welsh (8g, 14a). In net, Corbin Kaczperski has played the majority of time and holds a 12-12-2 record with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.
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 closed out the regular season with two tough losses on the road at Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend.
Union at Dartmouth - L, 5-3 - Feb. 28 - Thompson Arena
Union Goals:
Anthony Rinaldi,
Chaz Smedsrud,
Parker Foo (PP)
Dartmouth Goalie: Adrian Clark (W) - 29 saves, 3 goals against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 31 saves, 5 goals against
Power Play: Union 1-5, Dartmouth 2-4
Summary:
Anthony Rinaldi had a two-point night, scoring one goal and assisting on Foo's. The senior has recorded five points in the past three games.
Parker Foo also had a two-point outing, as he scored on the power play and assisted on Rinaldi's goal in the first.
Chaz Smedsrud scored his sixth goal of the season, tying
Gabriel Seger for most first-year goals on the team this year. In net,
Darion Hanson made 31 saves for the Dutchmen, while Adrian Clark posted 29 saves for Dartmouth. Union was 1-for-5 on the man advantage while Dartmouth went 2-for-4 on the power play.
Union at Harvard - L, 4-1 - Feb. 29 - Bright-Landry Hockey Center
Union Goals:
Dylan Anhorn
Harvard Goalie: Cameron Gornet (W) - 23 saves, 1 goal against
Union Goalie:
Darion Hanson (L) - 26 saves, 4 goals against
Power Play: Union 0-8, Harvard 3-5
Summary:
Anthony Rinaldi continued his point streak with an assist on
Dylan Anhorn's goal. Rinaldi now has six points in the past five games. A total of 50 penalty minutes were assessed in the game, 21 against Union and 29 against Harvard. Despite the power-play chances for Union, the Dutchmen were 0-for-7 on the power play, while Harvard went 3-for-5. In net,
Darion Hanson made 26 saves for the Dutchmen, while on the other side of the ice, Cameron Gornet stopped 20 shots for the Crimson.
