The Dutchmen are riding high after beginning the season with a 5-1-0 record. In four of the six games they have beaten up on Atlantic Hockey teams at home, outscoring their AHA opponents 29-6. On Thursday Union welcomes in another Atlantic Hockey team: the University of Connecticut.The Huskies are traditionally one of the weakest teams in all of college hockey. They were picked to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the AHA pre-season poll. And as I've said over the past month, the AHA is by far the weakest conference in college hockey.
UConn has got off to a decent 1-1-1 start. They opened up the season with a shocking 3-3 tie at now #7 Maine, but then fell to Merrimack 7-1 the following weekend. But, the rebounded with a 3-2 win at Army.
Last season, UConn went 7-27-3 along with a 2-18-2 road record, and finished 11th in their conference. No UConn player last season scored in double digits. Andrew Olson and Justin Hernandez each scored nine goals to lead the team. Olson also led the team with 20 points. Jason Krispel had a team high 12 assists. Freshmen Garret Bartus and Jeff Larson split the majority of the time in between the pipes. Bartus had the best numbers of the two as he went 5-14-1 with a 3.26 GAA and .900 save percentage. Larson left the team in the middle of last season for personal reasons.
The Dutchmen faced off against the Huskies in the Toyota UConn Classic where they demolished the host team 7-0. Union received goals from Mike Wakita, Adam Presizniuk (2), Stephane Boileau, Jason Walters, John Simpson, and Mike Schreiber, while Corey Milan made 14 saves for the shutout. Union holds a 7-0-1 advantage in the series all-time.
Players To Watch For UConn
Sean Ambrosie: leads the team with three assists and four points.
Cole Schneider: the freshman scored two goals against Army, which leads the team. It was the first time a UConn scored twice in one game since Ambrosie did so in a 4-3 loss at Bentley on October 23, 2009, exactly a year before Schneider did.
Brian Reagan: the senior defenseman accumulated three points with a goal and two assists in the win at Army. He is the first UConn player to tally three points in a game since Jason Krispel recorded three against Bentley in a 4-3 OT loss on February 16, 2008.
Rui Encarnaco: this is more of a personal thing since I grew up playing against this guy in youth hockey and in high school hockey. Rui played for White Plains HS and in the Brewster organization, two rivals of mine. He was a good player then and I'm interested how he adapts to D-I hockey.
Players To Watch For Union
Matt Hatch: scored his first two career goals and assist in the 7-2 win over RIT. Let's see if he cracks the lineup again.
Adam Presizniuk: is second in the nation in scoring.
Brian Yanovitch: surprisingly, he has not appeared in a game this season. Maybe he'll get his chance against a "weak" UConn team.
Prediction: I really believe that the leadership on this team is so strong that there is no way that the Dutchmen over look the Huskies. They should be pedal to the metal for all three periods, which is why I predict a 7-0 Union victory.
Other news from this week:
Union moves to #16 in the USCHO poll
Dutchmen get a lot of love in the INCH Power Rankings
Union jumps to 13th in USA Today/USA Hockey poll
Presizniuk and Kinkaid honored by ECAC
No comments:
Post a Comment