Union vs Dartmouth

Friday, November 11, 2022 • Schenectady, N.Y. • Messa Rink • 7:00 p.m.

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Union vs #12 Harvard

Saturday, November 12, 2022 • Schenectady, N.Y. • Messa Rink • 7:00 p.m.

Live Stats • Live Audio • Video Stream • International Video Stream

Game Preview

Union Game Notes • Dartmouth Game Notes • Harvard Game Notes

Coach Hauge Interview • Players Interview

This Weekend
Union returns home for the final home series of the fall term as they host Dartmouth and Harvard. Friday kicks off the start of the Union Hockey Theme Nights with Military Appreciation Night before teaming up with the women's hockey team for a Pink at the Rink game.

Union's Last Time Out
Union picked up their first road win of the season in a weekend split with Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Dutchmen defeated Clarkson 3-2 on Friday night before falling 4-2 Saturday to the Saints. 

Union's game at Clarkson marked the first win in Potsdam since January 27, 2017. Juniors Liam Robertson and Tyler Watkins and sophomore Josh Nixon all found the back of the net in the win. Senior Connor Murphy made a season-high 34 saves in the win. 

The Dutchmen ran into penalty trouble in Saturday's loss to St. Lawrence, going 6-for-7 on the penalty kill. First-year Carter Korpi tallied his fifth goal of the year on the powerplay in the opening frame. Sophomore Cullen Ferguson scored his first collegiate goal, and extra-attacker goal, in the final 9.2 seconds of the game. 

Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth saw their 2021-22 season end in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs after going to three games with Rensselaer. 

Dartmouth is coming off a big weekend that saw the Big Green go 1-0-1 in conference play. They had five different goal scorers in a 6-0 blanking of Yale at home on Friday. On Saturday, Dartmouth scored the equalizer late in the third period to force overtime against Brown and subsequently won the shootout for the extra ECAC Hockey point. 

Up front, Dartmouth is led by first-year Luke Haymes who has scored four goals in the last three games, including two power-play goals. Fellow first-year forward Cooper Flinton (1-3-4) and senior defenseman Tanner Palocsik (0-4-4) 

In goal, Dartmouth has turned to first-year Cooper Black who has started all four games this season. The 6'8" goaltender has a 1-1-1 record with a 2.38 GAA and a .919 save percentage. 

Scouting the Crimson
Harvard is the reigning Whitelaw Cup champions. After defeating #6 Quinnipiac in overtime to capture the Whitelaw Cup and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Crimson fell 4-3 to #1 Minnesota State.  

Turning the page to 2022-23, Harvard is the lone undefeated team left with a 4-0 record with all four wins coming against conference opponents. The trip to New York will be Harvard's first road trip of the regular season. 

Junior Alex Laferriere leads the Crimson with nine points in four games (5-4-9). Sophomore Matthew Coronato is second on the team with seven points (3-4-7). In four games, 14 skaters have recorded at least one point for the Crimson with 11 scoring two or more. 

In net, Harvard has split time between three goaltenders. Senior Mitchell Gibson has started two games and posted a 1.00 GAA and a .931 save percentage on way to a 2-0-0 record with a shutout. First-year Aku Koskenvuo (1-0-0, 2.00, .913) and junior Derek Mullahy (1-0-0, 2.00, .905) have each started one game for the Crimson. 

Oh Captains, My Captains
On Nov. 3, head coach Josh Hauge named seniors Owen Farris and Connor Murphy and junior Ben Tupker as the captains for the 2022-23 season. 

He'd Be Honored
First-year Nate Hanley was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month for October. The last time a Dutchman earned Rookie of the Month honors was on January 5, 2016 when Sebastian Vidmar was recognized. Hanley is tied for the conference lead in points (2-7-9) and leads all Union skaters in points. 

No Place Like Home
Union opened the season with ten games in October, posting a 3-6-1 record. All three of Union's wins were at Messa Rink. 

Shut 'Em Out
Senior Connor Murphy posted his first shutout of the season and fourth since transferring to Union in the Oct. 29 6-0 win over the Engineers. In Union's Division I era, they had not blanked RPI at home. The lone shutout was back on February 23, 1924, a 7-0 win. 

Murph Keeps Climbing
Senior Connor Murphy continues his climb up the Union record books. His fourth shutout at Union ties him with Keith Kinkaid '11 for sixth place in career shutouts. Murphy needs one more shutout to move into a tie for fifth place with Justin Mrazek '08. He's also only 160 saves away from tying Kinkaid in career saves with 1,500. 

Scheerer Scores
Junior Bram Scheerer scored his first collegiate goal last weekend against UMass. After losing his freshman season to the pandemic, he saw his sophomore season cut short only eight games in with a season-ending injury against Clarkson. To date, Scheerer has appeared in 14 career games and has four points (1-3-4). 

Mr. 100
Senior Chris Theodore played in his 100th career game on Friday, Oct. 21. Theodore, a transfer from AIC, has played in all 10 games for Union this season and tallied five assists. The 2021-22 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year has compiled 63 points (20-43-63) throughout his career. 

Reigning Rookies
Union's first-year defenders are off to a hot start. Nick Young was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week on Oct. 10 after scoring his first collegiate goal and blocking five shots against nationally-ranked UConn. John Prokop earned the honor the following week after tallying an assist on five of Union's 10 goals between Oct. 13 and 15. Cal Mell picked up his first weekly honor on Oct. 31. Nate Hanley was named the Rookie of the Month after scoring a conference-leading nine points in 10 games.

Top of the Pack
First-year Nate Hanley is one of the leading scorers in the nation with 11 points in 12 games, ranking fourth among all first-years. Classmate John Prokop sits right behind him with nine points, which is second among first-year defenders. 

Watkins Lights the Lamp
Junior Tyler Watkins has already matched his goal total from last year. Watkins scored twice on the powerplay in the 5-1 win over Bentley and followed up with two goals at RIT. The junior tallied his team-leading third power-play goal on Saturday, Oct. 29 against RPI. His three power-play tallies place him seventh nationally and tie him for first in the conference. 

Faceoff Success
Junior Liam Robertson and Ville Immonen are seeing a lot of success in the circle this season. Robertson is third in the conference with 88 wins. Immonen has won 60 draws in eight games. Robertson (53.0%) and Immonen (52.2%) lead the way for Union in the circle.

Powerplay Makes Statement
After a slow start to the season, Union's powerplay made a statement in a 5-1 win over Bentley, striking three times, including twice in the opening period. 

Spread the Wealth
Through 12 games, Union has seen 21 of 24 skaters score at least one point. Seven of the eight first-year skaters all have at least one point. 

On the Road October
October is the busiest month for the Dutchmen with 10 games on the slate. Of those 10, only three are at home. 

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). 

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. Hauge earned his first coaching victory in Union's home opener, a 4-3 win over RIT on Oct. 1, 2022. 

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.