This Weekend
Union hits the road for the final time of the 2022 calendar year with a trip south to visit ECAC Hockey foes Princeton University and #2/3 Quinnipiac. After this weekend, Union will be off for the holidays before returning for a two-game non-conference stint with the University of New Hampshire.
Union's Last Time Out
Union picked up a big win over #18 Northeastern last weekend at home, coming from behind to win 3-2. The victory marker Union's first win over a ranked opponent this season as the Dutchmen improved to 5-1 on home ice.
Senior
Owen Farris, junior
Liam Robertson, and senior
Chris Theodore all found the back of the net in the victory. First-year
Nate Hanley tallied a pair of helpers for his fifth multi-point game this season. Senior goaltender
Connor Murphy turned aside 23 shots in the win over his former team.
Off the ice, the men's hockey program teamed up with the women's program for a toy drive for C.O.C.O.A. House, collecting approximately 250 toys for children in the Capital Region.
Scouting the Tigers
Princeton is coming off a weekend that saw them split with ECAC Hockey foes Clarkson (W, 6-2) and St. Lawrence (L, 4-5). At home this season, the Tigers are 1-4, while their road record is 3-3.
The Tigers are led by sophomore Jack Cronin, who has nine points (7-2-9) in 11 games. Four of Cronin's goals have come on the powerplay. On the blue line, Princeton relies on Noah de la Durantaye who has seven points (2-5-7) and 17 blocks through 11 games and senior Pito Walton who has eight points (3-5-8) on the season.
Sophomore Ethan Pearson has seen the most minutes between the pipes, compiling a 4-4-0 record and three shutouts with a .922 save percentage and a 2.02 GAA.
Scouting the Bobcats
Quinnipiac is off to a 12-1-3 start this season. The Bobcats swept St.Lawrence and Clarkson, by scores of 2-1 and 6-3, respectively. In the first Friendship Four since 2019, Quinnipiac defeated Dartmouth 5-2, and tied #17 UMass, 2-2, in the final, before winning in a shootout to win the Belpot. Sophomore
Collin Graf was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Graf is the leading scorer for the Bobcats with 20 points (7-13-20) in 16 games. Jacob Quillan is second on the team in scoring with 16 points (6-10-16) in 16 games.
In goal, sophomore Yaniv Perets has manned the crease with a 12-1-3 record. Perets has a .916 save percentage and 1.86 GAA with three shutouts.
Touchdown Union
The last time Union made the trip to Princeton, the offense exploded for seven goals en route to a 7-3 victory on Feb. 5, 2022. Five members of the team recorded a multi-point night, including current junior
Tyler Watkins (1-1-2).
Lead the Way
Just over two months into the season, 17 of 62 NCAA teams are led in scoring by first-year players. First-year
Nate Hanley leads the team in scoring with 15 points in 15 games. The first-year tallied two assists in the win against Northeastern last Saturday and is currently riding a three-game point streak.
Block Party
The Dutchmen have racked up 214 blocked shots through 15 games, averaging just over 14 blocks per game. In the win over Northeastern, the team blocked 21 shots. Sophomore
Cullen Ferguson leads the way with 21 blocked shots with first-year defender
Nick Young right behind with 20. Compared to the 2021-22 season, Union made 202 blocked shots in the same time frame.
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 leads all Union skaters in points (3-10-13).
No Place Like Home
Union has only played six of their 15 games so far at home this season, posting a 5-1 record on home ice. Union won all three games in October. Union's lone loss was against Harvard on Nov. 12.
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 92 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 19 career games and has six points (1-5-6).
Mr. 100
Senior
Chris Theodore played in his 100th career game on Friday, Oct. 21. Theodore, a transfer from AIC, has played in all 15 games for Union this season and tallied one goal and five assists. The 2021-22 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year has compiled 65 points (21-44-64) 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.
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.
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 15 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.
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.
