The Starr Curse Lives On

After last night's 5-2 loss at Colgate the
Dutchmen are now 1-17-1 at Colgate. Surprisingly this year's seniors have not won a game at Starr Rink, which is the least intimidating rink in the ECAC. The crowd is always dead and no one even goes to the games. Maybe the problem is going from Lynah to Starr and how different the environments are. Either way losing two games in a row is not how you want to head into the playoffs, but the Dutchmen have a bye which will give them some time to think everything over and get their heads on straight.

Once again, congratulations to Mario Valery-Trabucco on his program record 21st goal of the season. Mario is the MVP of the team this year and is one of the top forwards in the ECAC (along with Chase Polacek, Brock Little and Sean Backman just to name a few). He is a legitimate Hobey Baker and All-American candidate. Also, Mario's linemate Jason Walters is one point away from tying the program's career point record (114, Jordan Webb).

This weekend does bring up some concern for the playoffs. First and most importantly is goaltending. Keith Kinkaid has not stepped up when he has really needed to. He, nor Corey Milan, have stolen a game for the Dutchmen even though they have had some very good games. Goaltending is the most important factor for any playoff teams as hot goaltending will prevail above everything in the playoffs. This also brings up another concern which is the amount of breakaways allowed by the Union defense. It seems like almost every game the opposition gets at least one breakaway opportunity. Also, even though there is no official statistic, it seems like Kinkaid has trouble with breakaways. Finally, it is a bit worrisome that 'Super' Mario scored two of Union's three goals this weekend (the other goal coming from Kyle Bodie). Union played two Top 4 ECAC teams this past weekend and were only able to score three goals. Offense is the strength of this team and will have to continue to be if they want to be successful in the playoffs.

We now have two weeks for Union Hockey to return, and I'm sure it will feel longer than that. Hopefully this extra time will give the Dutchmen some time to relax and tie up some loose ends. If all the top seeds win their first round playoff games Union will face RPI in the quarterfinals, which will be a very energized and exciting series. I'm not excited about this potential matchup because it is very difficult to beat a team five times in one season, especially a rival. Also, all of the regualr season games this season have been extremely tight and could have gone either way.

For more on last night's game check out Ken Schott's Blog, Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, and USCHO.com.