Union romps over RIT 7-2

Adam Presizniuk scored two goals last night

Last night the Dutchmen completely dominated the Tigers. They were opportunistic on the power-play and Keith Kinkaid came up big when his team needed him to. When I talked to RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson after the game he completely agreed. He wasn't happy with the refs, but gave Union a lot of credit and was really impressed with the depth of the forwards and Kinkaid. Anyone in Union's lineup is capable of scoring a goal, and they have plenty of "go to guys" like Prez, Zajac, Welsh, Wayne Simpson, Jooris, Carr, etc. This is why Union has the #1 scoring offense  in the country averaging 5.67 goals/game. On a negative note, Welsh's five game goal streak ended last night, along with Jooris' five game point streak.

Also thanks to Keith Kinkaid, Union has #3 defense in the nation averaging 1.83 goals allowed/game.

The Union power-play was so impressive last night as they looked unstoppable in the first period. They controlled the puck very well and dictated the play, causing the RIT penalty kill to run around. The great thing about the Union power-play is that they have 10 guys that can got out there and execute a perfect series. Each player they put out there is unselfish, but can bury the puck when they need to. Union's power-play is clicking at a 41.9% rate (13-of-31), which is tops in the nation.

It's also great that the Dutchmen have been dominant at home. In four games at home this season the Dutchmen have outscored their opponents 29-6. They are proving that it will be very difficult to come into Schenectady and come out with a 'W.'

For more on the win go to:
USCHO
Union Athletics.com
Ken Schott's Blog
Times Union.com

While all of these stats are very impressive, we still have to remember that four of Union's six games (and all of their games at home) were against Atlantic Hockey teams. I'm not here to bash on the AHA, but let's be honest... the AHA is by far the weakest conference in college hockey. Sacred Heart and Niagara are not very good, and RIT is obviously not as good as last year considering they lost their goaltender Jared DeMichiel and top defenseman Dan Ringwald. While RIT is the best team in the AHA, they are just a good team. I expect the Dutchmen to skate all over UConn on Thursday, but we will truly see what this team is made of when ECAC play begins in a few weeks. So, be excited about this team (I am!), but we have to see how they do against the likes of Cornell and Yale before we start talking about being a Top 15 team.

One thing Union fans should be excited about is freshman Matt Hatch. Yes he's only played in two games, but I'm telling you this kid is legit. We saw this last night when he picked up his first two career goals and assist. The reason why I'm so confident in Hatch is because of his speed. I'm a huge believer in "speed kills." A fast player can wreak havoc on the ice causing opposing players to rush their decisions and commit turnovers. Expect Hatch to be in Union's lineup more and more as the season goes on. After the game last night I was able to catch up with Matt and talk about his great night:



Also, here are some highlights from the epic Union-RIT game in the 1984 NCAA semifinals (start video at 7:10 mark):