Three third period goals lifts Union over SLU

On Thursday night I said: "Things haven't been going well for our Dutchmen... The main cause of this problem has been the lack of scoring... meaning that their top scorers need to start scoring... Mario along with is linemates, Jason Walters and Adam Presizniuk, need to put the offense on their backs and carry it. They are one of the most dynamic and lethal lines in the ECAC and need to play like it every game."

Well, I doubt Mario, Wally, and Prez read this but maybe they heard what I said through the grapevine haha. These guys were the reason why the Dutchmen were able to put up 15 goals this weekend. Mario registered four goals and three assists, Wally put up a goal and four assists, and Prez had two goals and five assists on the weekend. So, if you do the math this line scored seven of Union's 15 goals this weekend and had a combined 12 assists. Also, the line had their hand in nine of the 15 goals this weekend. In the six previous games the Dutchmen put up only 12 goals. It was also nice to see leaders such as Mike Schreiber and Brock Matheson and freshman such as Kyle Bodie and Wayne Simpson help with the offense this weekend.

The defense also had a good weekend as they only let up four goals. Last night's game marked the third game in a row that they let up just two goals.

It was great to see the team come back in the third period, especially after the short-handed goal just a few seconds before the second period ended. The ability to come back in the third period is a sign of a great and gritty team, which will be huge in the playoffs.

This weekend was a great way to halt the winless skid and now the Dutchmen have to keep it rolling into next weekend when they hit the road to take on Dartmouth and Harvard, both of whom came into Messa Rink and beat the Dutchmen a few weeks ago. Also, the Dutchmen are now in a three way tie for first place in the ECAC with Cornell and Yale and are ahead of fourth place St. Lawrence by three points.

Also note that Mario is now tied for 11th in the nation in points (35), Union is fifth in the nation in goals per game (3.64), tied for 14th in goals against per game (2.50), and 10th in the nation in power-play percentage (20.6%). It will be interesting to see where they end up in the National Rankings on Monday. I personally feel that they will move up a few spots. My guess is to #18.

To read more about the game check out USCHO.com, Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, and Ken Schott's Blog.