This Weekend
The Union College men's hockey team opens the season this weekend with the home opener against RIT on Saturday before traveling to West Point, N.Y. for a Sunday afternoon matchup with Army West Point.
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.
Scouting the Tigers
RIT finished the 2021-22 season with an 18-16-4 record. They fell to Air Force in the AHA Semifinals. Sophomore Carter Wilkie was named the Atlantic Hockey Co-Preseason Player of the Year after finishing the 2021-22 season with 30 points (13-17-30) as the 2022 Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year. In net, Tommy Scarfone returns for the Tigers after posting a 2.46 GAA and a .919 save percentage, which placed him fourth in the conference.
Scouting the Black Knights
After finishing the 2021-22 season with a 14-17-4 record, the Black Knights were picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Hockey Preseason poll. Senior Anthony Firriolo tallied 21 points (9-12-21) and anchored the blueline with 54 blocks. The Black Knights will turn to junior Gavin Abric in net, who posted a 13-13-4 record in 2021-22 with a 2.51 GAA, a .925 save percentage, and four shutouts.
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.
