This Weekend
Union returns home for the final weekend of the regular season to host #2 Quinnipiac and Princeton. After the conclusion of Saturday's game against the Tigers, Union will recognize six student-athletes on senior day:
Matt Allen,
Owen Farris,
Connor Murphy,
Merek Pipes,
Christian Sanda and
Chris Theodore.
Union's Last Time Out
Union is looking to bounce back after a tough weekend on the road against #9/10 Harvard and Dartmouth.
Friday night against the Crimson, three different Union skaters found the back of the net, but the team ultimately fell 5-3 to Harvard. Junior
Chaz Smedsrud, who played in his 100th game, scored on the powerplay in the first to tie the game before Harvard scored two quick ones in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Senior
Owen Farris netted his seventh goal of the year and first-year
Cal Mell scored on the powerplay and with the extra attacker.
On Saturday, Union had several big chances, but ultimately fell 1-0 to the Big Green.
Scouting the Bobcats
Quinnipiac is coming off a weekend sweep of Brown and Yale while clinching the Cleary Cup for the third consecutive season.
Quinnipiac has six skaters with 26 or more points this season. Leading the way for the Bobcats is sophomore
Collin Graf, who has 47 points (18-29-47) in 32 games. Graf also leads the powerplay unit with seven goals on the man advantage. Graduate student Ethan de Jong is second on the team in scoring with 32 points (15-17-32). First-year forward Sam Lipkin has 31 points (11-20-31) in 30 games, including four goals last weekend.
On the blueline, graduate student Zach Metsa leads the way with 26 points (6-20-26) in 31 games and a +27 on the season.
In goal, sophomore Yaniv Perets has started every game for the Bobcats, posting a 26-3-3 record with eight shutouts on the year. Perets has a .926 save percentage and 1.59 GAA.
Scouting the Tigers
Princeton is coming off a wekkend split against Brown and Yale. After defeating Brown, 3-2m Friday night, the Tigers dropped a 4-0 decision to the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Three Tigers have posted 20 or more points this season. Junior Ian Murphy leads the way with 23 points (10-13-23) while senior Liam Gorman (12-8-21) has registered the most goals on the team with 12. Sophomore Jack Cronin (11-6-17) leads the team in powerplay goals with five.
Senior defender Pito Walton is third on the team in scoring with 20 points (6-14-20) and has blocked 31 shots in 27 games.
Both Princeton netminders have seen time between the pipes this season. Sophomore Ethan Pearson has started in 21 of Princeton's 27 games, posting an 11-9-0 record and four shutouts. Pearson has compiled a .903 save percentage and a 2.71 GAA, but has not played since Feb. 10 at St. Lawrence. Senior Aidan Porter has made the last three starts and is 1-6-0 on the season with a .847 save percentage and a 3.80 GAA.
Where We Stand
Union is currently in ninth place in the conference standings with 23 points and two games to play. Princeton is in seventh with 26 points and RPI sits in the final home spot with 23 points.
Reigning Rookies
Union's first-year class has seen a lot of success this season. First-year
Nate Hanley is the latest to earn ECAC Rookie of the Week honors. He joins
Nick Young,
John Prokop, and
Cal Mell who were all recognized in October. Hanley was also previously honored as the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month.
Rookie Watch
First-year
John Prokop was named to the Hockey Commissioner's Association Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Watch List, the association announced Thursday afternoon. Prokop has played in all 32 games for Union this season and leads the blueline in points.
Double Up
Eleven of Union's skaters have reached double-digit scoring. First-years
Nate Hanley (5-16-21) and
John Prokop (4-17-21) lead the way with 21 points each.
Murphy Blanks Engineers, Again
Senior
Connor Murphy blanked the Engineers for the third time in six meetings, with two those meetings happening in the Mayor's Cup. The shutout on Jan. 28 marks his fifth shutout at Union, and seventh overall.
Chauvette with the Shutout
First-year
Kyle Chauvette was stellar in his first ECAC Hockey start on Saturday at Yale, recording his first collegiate shutout. Chauvette made 30 saves and came up clutch in the shootout, stopping all four shots to anchor Union in the shootout win over the Bulldogs.
Pipes Earns National Engineering Scholarship
Senior
Merek Pipes was named a recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Aerospace and Electronic Systems (IEEE AESS) Engineering Scholarship for his research on controlled chaotic signals for dual functional bistatic radar-communication systems.
Chauvette's First Win
First-year
Kyle Chauvette made his first collegiate start on home ice on Dec. 31 and earned his first win.Chauvette turned aside 34 shots, which is tied for the second highest save total by a Union netminder this season.
No Place Like Home
After playing a majority of the season on the road to start the season, Union flips the page to 2023 and the bulk of conference play. So far this season, Union is 10-4 on home ice. Union won all three games in October and all three in December. Union's lone home loss in the first half was against Harvard on Nov. 12.
Block Party
Union has racked up 445 blocked shots through 32 games, including a season-high 27 blocks at Yale. As a team, they are averaging 13.91 blocks per game. First-year
Nick Young leads the way with 52 blocked shots with sophomore
Cullen Ferguson (37), and senior
Owen Farris (34) right behind. To date, 12 student-athletes have 20 or more blocked shots this season.
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.
Murph Keeps Climbing
Senior
Connor Murphy continues his climb up the Union record books. This month, he moved into ninth place in career saves, surpassing Troy Grosenick '13. His fifth shutout at Union ties him with Justin Mrazek '08 for sixth-place in career shutouts.
Spread the Wealth
Through 30 games, Union has seen 23 of 27 skaters score at least one point. Seven of the eight first-year skaters all have at least one 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. 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.
