Union at Franklin Pierce

Friday, December 16, 2022 • Winchendon, Mass • Jason Ritchie Ice Arena • 7:30 p.m.

Live Stats • Video Stream

Union at Franklin Pierce

Saturday, December 17, 2022 • Winchendon, Mass • Jason Ritchie Ice Arena • 3:00 p.m.

Live Stats • Video Stream

Game Preview

Union Game Notes

About the Dutchwomen:
- The Dutchwomen enter their final week of the 2022 season as they face off against the Ravens of Franklin Pierce University. The Dutchwomen wrapped up the 2022 portion of ECAC play last week against Brown and Yale. The Dutchwomen were outscored 9-2 over the weekend and lost both games. Union got goals from senior Emily King and junior Meredith Killian over the weekend. First-year Emily Evans made her collegiate debut on Saturday in relief. 

- Senior Emily King leads the team in assists (6) and points (14). First-year Riley Walsh leads the team in goals (9). Sophomore Sophie Matsoukas has started all 17 games and posted a 2.81 goals against average and a .919 save percentage, while going 8-8-1 overall. 

About the Ravens:
- The Ravens will play host to Union for the first time this weekend. The Ravens are coming off a winless weekend in which they tied LIU and then lost to LIU on Saturday. The Ravens are 2-2-1 in their last five games. 

- Junior Jenna Ruiz leads the team in goals (9), while first-year Avery Farrell leads the team in assists (8) and points (14). First-year netminder Jill Hertl has appeared in 13 games this season posting a 1.63 goals against average and a .937 save percentage. 

Historically Speaking:
- The all-time series between these two sides has a 1-1-0 record with each team grabbing a win the last time these teams met. Union is averaging three goals a game, while the Ravens are averaging 2. 

Last Time We Met:
- The Ravens were victorious last time these teams met. Union lost 4-2, with Katie Sonntag '22 and Grace Heiting '22 scoring Union's goals. 

Record Watch:
- The Dutchwomen two wins away from breaking the program single-season record for wins in the Division I era (9, set in 2013-14) and are four wins away from surpassing the overall program single-season wins record (11, set in Union's last Division III season in 2002-03).

- Individually there are a few records to keep tabs on. Sophomore Sophie Matsoukas needs two more wins to set the single-season wins record for a goalie, as her eight wins are one behind the program-record nine first set by Dana Smullyan in 2002-03 and matched by Shenae Lundberg in 2013-14. Head Coach Josh Sciba sits just two wins behind Head Coach Claudia Asano Barcomb (2007-16) on the school career wins list and three wins would make Sciba the winningest coach in program history. 

Program Firsts:
- Union's 4-1 win over #15/14 Princeton University on December 3 was Union's first ever win over a nationally ranked opponent. The Dutchwomen beat the Tigers 4-1 as sophomore Sophie Matsoukas made 56 saves in the win. Earlier this season, Union topped Boston University, 3-1, which was the program's first win over the Terriers. Riley Walsh has also added some first's for Union this season. She is the first Union player to win ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors three times in a season and became the first skater (and second player overall, joining Matsoukas last season) to win HCA National Rookie of the Month for the month of November. 

Riley Walsh Chronicles:
- Walsh has been Union's stand out first-year this season. She has won three ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week awards, while also winning ECAC Rookie of the Month (November) and HCA National Rookie of the Month (November). Walsh had three game-winning goals in the month of November, with all of them coming in overtime. She was the first Union skater since 2006 to score both a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal in the same game. Walsh is also leading the team in goals with nine goals through her first 15 games. She is just shy of a point-per-game player with 13 points in 15 games. She has four multi-point games this season. 

ECAC Awards:
- 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

- 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.

- 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.

- Walsh was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month for November. She posted four goals and four assists for eight points in five games, while also scoring three overtime game-winning goals as Union went 4-0-1 in that span. She is the first Rookie of the Month for Union since Matsoukas was earned both Goalie of the Month and Rookie of the Month honors in December of last season. 

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. 

U.S. National Team Assistant Coach Josh Sciba:
- Union College head women's hockey coach Josh Sciba served as an assistant coach for the 2022 U.S. Women's National Team. The United States returned home from the 2022 IIHF Women's Hockey World Championships with a Silver Medal, following a 2-1 loss to Canada in the gold medal game.

- Sciba got back behind the bench again in November for a three-game Rivalry Series against Team Canada and is back with the team for another two-game Rival Series against Team Canada this week.