The Union College women's hockey team finishes off their seven game home stand with #4 Quinnipiac and #15 Princeton. For Saturday's game against Princeton, the first 25 fans to drop off a new toy at Messa Rink at the women's and men's hockey games on Saturday will receive a beanie, courtesy of New Country Lexus of Latham. All donations will benefit the annual Christmas toy drive organized by C.O.C.O.A. House. New Country Lexus of Latham will also provide free hot chocolate to the first 300 fans making donations to the toy drive part of their Give a Gift, Get a Gift initiative.
About the Dutchwomen:
- Union completed the month of November with a 4-0-1 record which ties the program record for the longest unbeaten streak and is the longest in the school's Division I era. The Dutchwomen earned their third overtime victory of the season with a 2-1 win over ECAC rival RPI in their last outing on November 15.
Riley Walsh scored both goals for Union, including her third game-winning goal in the month of November. The Dutchwomen sit in ninth place in the ECAC standings.
- Walsh leads the team in goals (8) and in points (12). Senior
Emily King and sophomore
Maren Friday lead the team in assists with 5 apiece. Sophomore
Sophie Matsoukas has appeared and started in all 13 games for Union. She has posted a 2.58 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
- Three of Walsh's goals have come in overtime, making her the only player in program history to score more than one overtime game-winner in her career. Entering this season, Union had won just five games in overtime over the program's first 23 years.
About the #4 Bobcats:
- The Bobcats come to Messa Rink on a five-game winning streak, that has seen them out score opponents 19-2 including three shutouts in those games. Quinnipiac sits atop the ECAC standings with a 6-1-0 record in conference play.
- Junior Olivia Mobley leads the team in assists (16) and points (22). Graduate Student Shay Maloney and sophomore Maya Labad are tied for the team lead in goals with nine apiece. Graduate Student Logan Angers has appeared in 10 games for Quinnipiac, posting a 1.10 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. Angers also has four of the seven Quinnipiac shutouts.
Last Time They Played:
- Union lost 5-0 the last time these teams met in Schenectady.
Historically Speaking:
- Union has 1-34-1 record all time against the Bobcats. The lone win came back in 2019, whe Union won 4-2 over the Bobcats at Messa Rink.
About the #15 Tigers:
- The Tigers will come to Messa Rink on Saturday afternoon after playing at Rensselaer on Friday night. Princeton enters the weekend in eighth place in the conference standings. The Tigers went 1-1 at the Smashville Showcase in Nashville over the weekend, including a shootout victory over Cornell.
- Junior Sarah Fillier and freshmen Emerson O'Leary are tied for the team lead in goals with four. Fillier and freshmen Izzy Wunder are tied atop the team in assists with four apiece and Fillier leads the team in points with eight. Sophomore Jennifer Olnowich has appeared and started in seven games for the Tigers, posting a 2.05 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.
Last Time They Played:
- The Tigers topped Union 5-0 in Schenectady in the team's second meeting last season. Five different Princeton skaters found the back of the net in the effort.
Historically Speaking:
- Union has one win in 36 matchups between the programs. That win came in 2014 with a 2-1 win in Princeton, New Jersey.
ECAC Players of the Week:
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Riley Walsh was named ECAC Rookie of the Week on September 27 after scoring three goals in her first weekend series and helping Union to a 1-1 record over the weekend against New Hampshire. Walsh scored twice in her collegiate debut, with goals coming on the power play and shorthanded, making her the first player to do this for Union since 2006. She added her third goal of the season on Saturday afternoon against UNH.
- Senior
Emily King found the back of the net three times over the weekend and first-year
Stephanie Bourque tallied three helpers to help the Union College women's ice hockey team post a 1-1-0 record against Holy Cross. King was named ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week and Bourque earned ECAC Hockey Defensive Player of the Week on October 4
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Riley Walsh earned her second ECAC Rookie of the Week honor on November 8 after her five-point weekend (1g, 4a) against Dartmouth and Harvard, including the overtime goal in Union's 5-4 win over the Big Green. Walsh is the first player in program history to win Rookie of the week multiple times in a season.
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Sophie Matsoukas was named ECAC MAC Goaltender of the Week on November 15 following a 57-save weekend performance against RIT. The sophomore goalie posted a .950 save percentage and 1.45 goals against average in Union's 2-0-0 weekend sweep against the Tigers.
- Walsh earned her third ECAC Rookie of the Week honor on November 22 thanks to a two-goal effort against Rensselaer, including the game-winning goal in overtime of the 2-1 win. Walsh is the Union's first ever three-time Rookie of the Week winner.
Captains:
- Senior
Emily King will serve as the lone captain for Union, while
Allison Smith,
Meredith Killian, and
Celeste Beaudoin will all serve as assistant captains for the upcoming season.
