This Weekend
After falling to nationally-ranked UConn last weekend, Union looks to bounce back with a home game against Bentley University on Thursday before traveling to RIT on Saturday.
Scouting the Falcons
Bentley opened the season with an 8-2 loss to Boston University before taking a week off. The Falcons finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 14-20-2 record, falling to eventual Atlantic Hockey champion AIC in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals.
Junior Cole Kodsi is the top returner for the Falcons after a 23 point (10-13-23) sophomore campaign.
Union will see some familiar faces on the team as two former Quinnipiac Bobcats, Nick Bochen and Ethan Leyh, transferred to Bentley over the summer. The Falcons also added Josh Latta and Jordan Schulting from UMass Lowell.
Nicholas Grabko and Connor Hasley split time in net so far for the Falcons this season.
Scouting the Tigers
After falling to Union in the season opener, RIT bounced back with a weekend sweep of Army West Point. RIT defeated the Black Knights 3-2 and 4-1.
So far this season, 12 RIT skaters have scored a point. Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Cody Laskosky, and Carter Wilkie lead the way with three points each. Hansen-Bukata has two goals on the season and is a +6 with nine blocked shots.
Both RIT netminders have appeared in games this season. Tommy Scarfone is 1-1-0 with a 3.03 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Kolby Matthews made the start on Saturday and is 1-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .964 save percentage.
Rank 'Em
Union's centers are ranked among the top in the nation in faceoffs. As a team, they are winning 54.3% of the faceoff battles, good for 14th. Junior
Ville Immonen is 11th in the country with 35 wins while fellow junior
Liam Robertson is 22nd nationally and senior
Owen Farris is 30th. As a trio, they are the top-three in the conference in faceoff wins.
New Kids on the Block
First-years
Nate Hanley,
Carter Korpi,
John Prokop, and
Cal Mell, as well as sophomore
Josh Nixon and senior
Chris Theodore all tallied their first points for Union in the opening weekend. In total, newcomers accounted for 12 of the 15 points scored (4-8-12).
Shut it Down
Union boasts one of the top penalty kill units in the country with a 91.7% success rate with a man down.
New Bench Boss
Josh Hauge was named the 22nd head coach in Union hockey's history on April 15, 2022. Hauge was previously the Associate Head Coach at ECAC Hockey rival Clarkson University.
Fresh Faces
Union welcomes 13 new students to the team in 2022-23 comprising of four transfers and nine first-years representing eight states and three Canadian provinces.
Transfer Commits
The coaching staff was active in the transfer portal this offseason, committing four student-athletes:
Chris Theodore (AIC),
Mason Snell (Penn State),
Josh Nixon (Lake Superior State) and
Ben Tupker (Cornell).
Rounding Out the Staff
Joining
Josh Hauge and Assistant Coach
John Ronan behind the bench is
Lennie Childs, who previously served as an assistant coach with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL.
New Numbers
Josh Phillips and
Thomas Richter changed numbers this season and will wear 4 and 9, respectively.
Set Records
Senior
Connor Murphy made an immediate impact for Union in his first season. He set the program's new single-season save records with 1,060.
Looking to Surprise
Union was picked to finished eighth in the ECAC Hockey preseason coaches poll, earning 45 points. Local media were more optimistic, picking the Dutchmen to finish sixth in the preseason media poll.
NHL Bloodlines
Sophomore
Thomas Richter and junior
Mason Snell are sons of retired NHLers Mike Richter (New York Rangers 1989-2002) and Chris Snell (Toronto, Los Angeles 1993-95), respectively.
