This Weekend
Union opened ECAC Hockey play last weekend with a home-and-home series against Rensselaer, dropping the series 4-2 and 3-0. The Dutchmen welcome Clarkson and St. Lawrence to Messa Rink this weekend to continue ECAC Hockey play.
Media Coverage
Fans can watch this weekend's games on ESPN+. Live stats for both 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.
vs. Clarkson
Union and Clarkson have met 65 times in Union's Division I era, with the Golden Knights holding a 26-34-5 advantage in the series. The last meeting came in January 2020, with Union dropping a 2-0 decision.
vs. St. Lawrence
Saturday's meeting between Union and St. Lawrence will mark the 65th meeting with the Saints in Union's Division I era. The Saints hold a 27-35-2 edge in the series. The last time the two teams met was in January 2020, with Union taking a 5-4 victory at St. Lawrence.
Scouting the Golden Knights
Clarkson is 4-2-1 so far this season, winning three out of four games with Alaska Fairbanks, splitting a pair of games with Michigan Tech, and tying Canisius College. The Golden Knights were one of four ECAC Hockey teams that played last season, posting a 6-4-3-1 conference record and going 11-7-3-1 overall. The finished second in the ECAC Hockey regular season standings before ending their season prematurely.
The Golden Knights were picked to finish first in the ECAC Preseason Media Poll and second in the ECAC Coaches Poll. Clarkson's leading point scorer from the 2020-21 season, Zach Tsekos, was named to the Pre-Season ECAC All-League team.
First-year Ayrton Martino was named the ECAC Rookie of the Month for October, registering six assists over five games and helping the Golden Knights to a 3-1-1 record during that time.
The team added transfers Luke Santerno (Bentley) and Lukas Kaelble (Lake Superior State) to a roster with a lot of veteran depth.
Lukas Kaelble leads the Golden Knights with nine points (3-6=9) with Zach Tsekos has five goals, three of which are power-play goals.
Ethan Haider is the leading goaltender for Clarkson, starting all seven games. Haider has a 1.87 goals against average and a .921 save percentage this season.
Scouting the Saints
St. Lawrence is 1-2-2 so far this season, earning a win and a tie against Colorado College, before dropping a game at RIT, and going 0-1-1 against Lake Superior State last weekend. The Saints join Clarkson as two of four ECAC Hockey teams to compete last season, posting a 4-8-2 conference record and 6-8-3 overall record.
St. Lawrence is the defending ECAC Hockey Champions after downing Quinnipiac 3-2 in overtime last March as the three seed. However, the Saints were unable to participate in the NCAA Tournament due to Covid-19 issues.
The Saints were picked to finish fifth in the ECAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll while goaltender Emil Zetterquist was named to the ECAC Hockey Pre-Season All-League team. The senior is 1-1-2 this season
Zetterquist was named the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month for October, posting a .951 save percentage and a 1.45 goals against average.
Seven of the eight top point scorers from the Saints' championship returned for the 2021-22 season. The Saints lost most of their defensive core from last year's squad. St. Lawrence added one transfer to their roster, Josh Boyer, from Nebraska-Omaha.
Scoring has been spread out this season as seven different players have found the back of the net and eight different players are tied for the team lead with two points each. Kaden Pickering scored the lone power-play goal of the season, which also served as the game winner against Colorado College.
Lighting The Lamp Fast
Union has scored the first goal in five out of its six games played this season, including three games in which the Dutchmen scored within the first 2:01 of the game. Despite that advantage, Union is 1-3-1 in games in which the Dutchmen lit the lamp first.
First-Year Force
First-year
Michael Hodge has established himself as a steady offensive presence in the first eight games. The forward started the season on a five-game point streak, registering  three goals and three assists during that time. Hodge is tied for first on the team with six points.
How Sweep It Is
On Monday, October 18, the ECAC announced a clean sweep of their weekly awards by the Dutchmen. Senior
Brandon Estes earned Player of the Week honors, scoring one goal and adding three assists from the blue line. Junior
Connor Murphy garnered Goalie of the Week recognition, posting a 1.92 goals against average and a .945 save percentage with 69 saves in two contests. First-year
Collin Graf played a role in both Union goals in Friday's 2-1 win over the Tigers, scoring his first collegiate goal on the power play and then picking up the primary assist on Estes' game-winning goal.
This marked the first time that Union swept the weekly awards since March 2014 when Daniel Carr '14 (Player), Colin Stevens '15 (Goalie), and Mike Vecchione '17 (Rookie) were all recognized.
Oh Captains, My Captains
Senior
Josh Kosack will wear the captains' "C" this season while juniors
Dylan Anhorn and
Gabriel Seger will don the "A" for the Dutchmen in 2021-22. Kosack is captaining the team for the second straight season, after serving as a team leader during the 2020-21 pandemic year.
Looking to Surprise
Union was picked to finish in a tie for eighth in the ECAC Hockey preseason coaches poll, earning 40 points to tie with Rensselaer. The local media were even more pessimistic about Union's chances, voting the Dutchmen 11th out of 12 teams (26 points) in the preseason media poll.
Welcome to the Show
Heading into the 2021-22 season, more than half (16 of 31) of Union's players have never played in a collegiate game. Seven sophomores were with the team last year but did not compete, as Union did not play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program also welcomed eight first-year players to the team this season as well.
