This Weekend
After opening the season with a 4-3 win over RIT and a 2-2 tie at Army West Point, Union will travel to #20 UConn for a two game series with the Huskies.
Scouting the Huskies
UConn saw their hopes of a NCAA tournament bid slip away in overtime of the Hockey East title game this past spring in a 2-1 loss to #11/12 Massachusetts after putting together a program best record of 20-16-0 since joining Hockey East.
The Huskies welcome 16 newcomers, including grad transfer Ty Amonte (Boston University) and first-year Matthew Wood, a highly-touted prospect in this year's first-year class. The team will lean heavily on All-American Ryan Tverberg who scored 32 points (14-18-32) to finish second in team scoring last season.
On the blue line, UConn will rely heavily on junior John Spetz, who led all UConn defensemen with 18 points (4-14-18) including two power-play goals.
Between the pipes, the Huskies turned to the duo of sophomore Logan Terness (1-0-0, .960 save percentage, 1.00 GAA) and first-year Arsenii Sergeev (1-0-0, .938 save percentage, 1.00 GAA) in the opening series against Vermont.
Climbing the Ranks
After a 1-0-1 start, Union is receiving votes in the national polls. This is the first time Union has received votes in a national poll since September 30, 2019.
Why Stop There?
Senior
Connor Murphy started his 60th consecutive game on Sunday, dating back to his sophomore year at Northeastern. Murphy has compiled an overall 24-27-7 record with a .912 save percentage and 2.72 GAA. He is 15-18-4 at Union with three shutouts.
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 is one of 18 teams that is perfect on the penalty kill so far this season. The Dutchmen are a perfect 6-for-6 playing short-handed.
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.
