Scores From Last Night

Last night was the semifinals of each conference tournament. All of the championship games are today. This is what happened:

ECAC
Yale 4 - Colgate 0
Cornell 3 - Dartmouth 0
Championship: Yale vs. Cornell, 7pm in Atlantic City

CCHA
Miami 6 - Notre Dame 2
Western Michigan 5- Michigan 2
Championship: Miami vs. Western Michigan, 7:35pm in Detroit

Hockey East
Boston College 5 - Northeastern 4
Merrimack 4 - New Hampshire 1
Championship: Boston College vs. Merrimack, 7pm in Boston

WCHA
Denver 6 -  Bemidji 2
North Dakota 4 - Colorado College 3
Championship: Denver vs. North Dakota, 7:05pm (CT) in St. Paul

Atlantic Hockey
Air Force 3 - Holy Cross 2
RIT 4 - UConn 2
Championship: Air Force vs. RIT, 7:05pm in Rochester

For box scores and recaps from each game go to USCHO.

After tonight we will know who is in and who is out of the NCAA Tournament. On Sunday at 11:30am on ESPN2 we will find out where everyone is playing. It looks like RPI has a really good shot of making it by the way.

Friday Night Recaps/ Linkorama

After reading Justin's post (below) you probably know all the details from last nights game. But, here are some recaps about the game:

USCHO
Ithaca Journal
Union Athletics.com
Ken Schott's Blog
Times Union

In other ECAC games last night Yale was upset by St. Lawrence, and RPI fell to Colgate in overtime. These results have caused Union to jump into first place in the ECAC standings (one point ahead of Yale), and RPI to drop to fourth (six points behind Union). Colgate has now won two ECAC games in a row and look to make it three tonight at Messa Rink.

After last night's win Union is now tied for 7th in the PWR with New Hampshire and RPI.

I also want to say that the Union College Pep Band (Nott Noisemakers), while they're not comparable to the Cornell pep band, have improved tremendously. They are starting to get the hang of being a college hockey pep band, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were a true college hockey pep band in a few years.

On another note, I thought the actions of Dan Nicholls were completely classless. He just went after Andrew Buote for pretty much no reason (I'm not sure if Bootsie said anything to him or whatever). You got to give a lot of credit to him for showing some restraint. I also want people to know that Cornell coach Mike Schafer did not tell Nicholls to do this. Schafer is a class act and did not approve of Nicholls' actions.

Here are some other links that I thought were interesting:

The Cornell fans were not happy with the way Union fans acted last night. I'm sure a part of this can be attributed to their team's performance in the game, but semi-assaulting an opposing fan is not acceptable. (Lynah Forum)

According to this article more and more young Canadian hockey players are leaning towards playing NCAA hockey rather than the Canadian major junior leagues. (New York Times).... Thanks for the tip Dad!

I think I already Tweeted this, but the past few years that I've gone to the Frozen Four I really liked going to the Skills Competition because some Union players were in it (Mrazek, Walters, Leaman). But, the competition has been cancelled and has been replaced by an open skate. (USCHO)

Every week in the Concordiensis (student newspaper of Union College) there is a small section called "Man On The Street." In this section a question is asked to four Union students about topics in the world or at Union. This week's question was "What is your take on the policy to censor and/or kick out hockey fans that use profanity in their chants?" Of the four students asked, two of them were hockey players. Senior Stephane Boileau answered, "Wouldn't that mean kicking out the entire rink? I don't think we're the worst at all. Cornell's far worse. I personally don't mind. It's kind of part of the game and college hockey. I prefer the crowd being part of the game because they can make a big difference." Sophomore Ryan Forgaard said, "When you're out there on the ice and the crowd is really into the game, it gets everyone on the team going and it gives us more energy. We think we have the best fans in the league and it gives us a big home ice advantage. They're like the 7th player out there for us and it's a big boost to how we play and how successful we are." This has been a topic of conversation on campus lately. (Concordy)

There was a Union College Trustees meeting held on campus this weekend. I got to spend some time with trustee Jason Oshins this afternoon, who is the founder of the AEPi chapter on campus and a huge Union Hockey fan. He supports the Garnet Blades so much that in one game last season he was able to stand behind the bench for the entire 60 minutes. Here's the video:

Tonight's Lineups vs. Cornell (2/11/11)

Daniel Carr

Union
Carr - Welsh - Jooris
Presizniuk - Zajac - Hatch
Sullivan - J. Simpson - W. Simpson
Buote - Pallos - Boileau

Forgaard - Julseth-White
Coburn - Stuart
M. Bodie - Matheson

Kinkaid
Milan
Grosenick

Joe Devin

Cornell
Esposito - Kary - Kennedy
Roeszler - Miller - J. Devin
Craig - Collins - Nicholls
Jillson - Axell - Mowrey

Birch - M. Devin
Gotovets - Ross
D'Agostino - Brisson

Iles
Garman

NHL Draft Picks: Collins (Columbus '08 7th round), Birch (Chicago '08 6th round), Gotovets (Tampa Bay '09 7th round), D'Agostino (Pittsburgh '08 7th round)

Players To Watch This Weekend/ Videos

Tonight the Dutchmen take on Cornell for the WHITEOUT! After a slow start the Big Red have picked it up lately as they've only lost once in their past 10 games (Union has also only lost once in their past 10 games). The one loss came against Union. They are now tied with Dartmouth for 4th place in the ECAC and are only one point behind third place RPI.

Tomorrow night Union welcomes in Colgate, who won their first ECAC game of the season last weekend with a 4-2 over Clarkson.

Cornell
Joe Devin: the senior forward was named last week's ECAC Player of the Week as he picked up three goals and two assists. He leads the team with 11 goals.
Greg Miller: the sophomore forward netted the game-winning goal in overtime against St. Lawrence last Saturday. He leads the team with 19 assists and 22 points.

Colgate
Francois Brisebois: the senior forward leads the team with 10 goals and 23 points. He's been very hot of late scoring a goal in three of his last four games and has picked up a point in seven of is last nine games. He accumulated a goal and assist in last week's win over Clarkson.
Kurtis Bartliff: the sophomore forward is tied for second on the team with 13 assists. He scored two goals against Clarkson.

Union
Keith Kinkaid: last weekend marked the first time this season where he allowed a combined six goals on back-to-back nights. Let's see how he responds.
Mat Bodie: the younger Bodie has been overshadowed by the success of Josh Jooris and Daniel Carr, but he has put together a very solid freshman campaign accumulating five goals, 19 assists, and 24 points. He is in the Top 5 of the ECAC in assists.

For more on the weekend check out:
Union Athletics.com
Cornell Big Red.com
Ithaca Journal.com
Go Colgate Raiders.com

When you get to the game be sure to pick up a game program. This week's feature article in the program is about John Simpson. Read it because I wrote it! Also, tonight I will be freelancing for the Ithaca Journal, which should be interesting. So, you can read my game recap in the Ithaca Journal with a Cornell twist.

Check out this music video made by some players from Cornell last season, and a feature on Cornell fans:

Union Sweeps Central New York Trip

Keith Kinkaid

The Starr Curse? OVER! Lynah Rink? SILENCED! This is the first time Union can say that since they swept the Central New York trip in 1998.

Friday night the Dutchmen were able to pull out a 2-1 victory at Colgate despite a poor effort. But, winning games that you really shouldn't win is a sign of a good team. Wayne Simpson and Josh Jooris scored for Union, and Keith Kinkaid put in one of his best performances of the season with 24 saves. After the game Coach Leaman said, "if it wasn’t for Keith I don’t think we win that game."

They were not discouraged or intimidated by Cornell the following night as they convincingly beat the Big Red 5-1 just one night after RPI lost at Lynah by the same score. It didn't look good for Union at first as they went down 1-0 early, but finished the game with five unanswered goals. Daniel Carr scored two power-play goals, Brock Matheson scored his first goal of the year, Kevin Sullivan picked up his second goal in as many weekends along with two assists, and Wayne added an empty netter. Kinkaid made 16 stops. The Dutchmen completely dominated as they outworked the Big Red and out shot them 42-17.

On a side note, it must have been weird to go from playing in front of under 800 people at Colgate to playing in front of a sold out crowd at Cornell. The atmosphere in the two rinks are complete opposites. Maybe that's why Union's had so much trouble during this road trip in the past.

Also, Keith Kinkaid has allowed four goals in his past four games. He is third in the nation with a 1.91 GAA among goalies with at least eight games played, and is tied for second with 14 wins. Kinkaid leads Union's defense, which is tops in the nation with 2.00 goals allowed per game.

Daniel Carr

With his two power-play goals against Cornell, Daniel Carr now has nine power-play goals on the season. Not only does this tie a Union D-1 record (Chris Ford 1993-1994), but is second most in the country. At season's end I'm sure Carr, along with Jooris and Mat Bodie, will be in serious contention of the ECAC Rookie of the Year.

Up next, Union hosts Dartmouth and Harvard. Both games (as usual) are extremely important, especially the Dartmouth game.

For more on the Colgate game go to:
Union Athletics.com
Go Colgate Raiders.com
Ken Schott's Blog

For more on the Cornell game check out:
Union Athletics.com
Cornell Big Red.com
Ken Schott's Blog
Ithaca Journal

Oh, and Union's Club Hockey team opened up their winter term schedule with a win over Mohawk Valley CC 7-3.

Union Travels to Two Tough Buildings This Weekend

Prior to the beginning of the season I thought that the trip to Colgate and Cornell would be one of the most difficult one's of the year. I thought both of these teams would be competing for an ECAC championship (and so did the Coaches and Media). But, both the Raiders and Big Red have struggled to begin the ECAC season as both are in the bottom half of the standings with Colgate being in dead last. While I am more confident about Union's chances this weekend there are still reasons to worry. I do think Union will pick up two wins this weekend, but I would not be shocked if they lost one or both of these games for these two reasons:

Starr Rink

1. The Starr Curse: The Dutchmen have played 22 games at Colgate's Starr rink and they've only picked up ONE WIN going 1-20-1. The last time Union won a game at Colgate was in 1998 when Trevor Koening was in net (Check out Ken Schott's article about the win here). No player on Union's current roster has ever won a game at Starr. There is really no rhyme or reason to this trend, but the Dutchmen will have to find a way to break the curse... and this would be the perfect time to do so considering the Raiders have only won one game in their past 16 (1-14-1), including a seven game losing streak (three loses in OT).

Lynah Rink

2. Lynah Rink's atmosphere: Maybe a reason why Union has had so much trouble at Colgate is because they are looking ahead to playing at Cornell the next night, which is a pretty daunting task. Cornell's Lynah rink is the toughest building to play in the ECAC and one of the toughest in the country. The Big Red fans always pack the place and are extremely loud. They have some of the best fans in the country as they have a great pep band and entertaining chants. If you come out without alive without a loss at Cornell, you've done a good job. Cornell might be down as of this moment, but they are extremely dangerous. They just beat Quinnipiac and Princeton on the road.

Here are some players to look out for this weekend:

Colgate:
Austin Smith (forward): leads team with 12 assists and 17 points. He was named All-ECAC this preseason.
Francois Brisebois (forward): second on the team with 16 points.
Brian Day (forward): leads the team in goals (8), power-play goals (4), and penalty minutes (28). I picked him as All-ECAC this preseason and predicted that he would have a huge year.

Cornell:
Nick D'Agostino (defense): leads the team with six goals, tied for second with five assists, and is second with 11 points... AS A DEFENSEMAN! This actually comes as no surprise to me since I picked him to my Preseason All-ECAC team.
Greg Miller (forward): leads team with 10 assists and 12 points.
Joe & Mike Devin (forward & defense): the two senior brothers are big powerful players. Joe is tied for second on the team with five goals and is thrid with 10 points, wile Mike leads the team with 24 penalty minutes. Their younger sister Molly-Kate is a sophomore on Union's Women's Hockey team.

Union:
Kyle Bodie (forward): played very well last weekend as he picked up four points and was named the ECAC Player of the Week. Let's see if he can follow it up with another good performance and solidify his spot in the lineup.
Andrew Buote (forward): was a healty scratch for the first time in a long time last Saturday against Clarkson. Leaman says he's "challenging the seniors," so let's see how he responds.
Adam Presizniuk (forward): he finally broke the all-time points record last weekend, which was probably nice to just get out of the way. This weekend is his third weekend back since returning from his thumb injury. Now with the record out of the way and his thumb feeling better let's see if Prezie goes on a tear.

For more on the games check out:
Union Athletics.com
Go Colgate Raiders.com
The Unofficial Colgate Hockey Blog
Ken Schott's Blog --> He has tonight's starting lineups
Cornell Big Red.com

Also, Union Assistant SID Jeff Weinstein will be live chatting tonight from Starr Rink. To access the Live Chat click here.

Pirri officially leaves RPI

When Jerry D'Amigo (right) announced he was leaving RPI for the Toronto Maple Leafs, I said this was "great news for Union fans." Now that fellow freshman stud Brandon Pirri (left) is following in his footsteps as he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday, I am proclaiming that this is "AMAZING news for Union fans." I wonder what With Out A Peer will have to say about that (haha). I will say the same thing I said about D'Amigo: congrats and I hope you do well, but this is really going to hurt RPI in the wins column. Yes, maybe RPI will attract some bigger recruits, but at the end of the day it's about wins and winning championships... Just ask Rex Ryan.

Here's what RPI Head Coach Seth Appert had to say to Ken Schott:

"'At the end of the day, you win with your seniors,' Appert said. 'That's what college hockey is all about. It's about you senior class. I'm excited about the seniors that we have. We have eight coming back, and I like them for different reasons. I know from experience that the teams I've played on and coached that have won at their highest levels, won with seniors and not with talented, young players.'"

Well, if this is true, it doesn't look like RPI will be winning too much because after Chase Polacek there really isn't that many impact seniors. You have Bryan Brutlag and Tyler Helfrich on offense, who both need to step up dramatically to try and fill the holes D'Amigo and Pirri left. On defense you have Jeff Foss and captain John Kennedy, who will have to not only be rock solid on defense but help on the offensive end as well. Maybe the incoming freshman can help out on both sides of the puck. RPI will have to depend on their defense with Kennedy and Foss leading the way, and incoming freshmen Patrick Koudys and Guy Leboeuf logging some major minutes. But, once again, I am not impressed with goaltender Allen York.

I agree with Appert that you win with your seniors. Just look at Union last season. They had the best season and program history and were led by seniors Mario Valery-Trabucco and Jason Walters. You can also say the same about Cornell, who were lead by Blake Gallagher, Colin Greening, and Ben Scrivens. The mix of great veterans with some talented younger players is the key for success (see Maine Hockey 1993, Paul Kariya, Ferraro Brothers, and Jim Montgomery). But, in order to do this you need to keep some good players for four years. Maybe if RPI is lucky one of their freshmen will step up with Polacek and go on a run. But, when the Class of 2013 becomes seniors it will be a pretty weak group of guys (Marty O'Grady is promising though). And if you win with your seniors there's not going to be a lot of winning in Troy during the 2012-13 season.

For more on Pirri check out Ken Schott's Blog, NBC Sports.com, and M Live.com.

This also brings up the thought of Union players leaving school early to join the NHL ranks. Now that Union is on the rise, they will be getting better recruits. The one name that comes to mind is Keith Kinkaid, who was named to the ECAC All-Rookie team last season. If he has a big season this year, there is that possibility that he leaves Union. Keith has participated in many NHL Prospect Camps and NHL teams have some interest in him. This would be a major loss for the Dutchmen if this were to happen, but luckily Colin Stevens is on his way next year. The difference between Kinkaid and the RPI studs is that Kinkaid was not drafted by an NHL team. But, we'll cross that bridge when it comes around.

Read this article from the Satchem Patch (Long Island) about Kinkaid and the possibility of him going to the NHL.

Help Cornell Head Coach Mike Schafer

The college hockey community is a small one, one that's tight knit and very passionate. While some fans and players might hate each other while the game is being played, off the ice we are one big family. And as a family we must help each other when one needs help... Even when the one your helping just destroyed your dream of your first ECAC Championship and ended your season.

Recently, Cornell Bench Boss Mike Schafer's nephew Jake has been diagnosed with cancer. This is not the first time his family has been stricken by a life threatening sickness. I'm not going to go into it, but you an read about it on Ithaca Journal.com.

So, I urge you to donate to the cause or at least send your best wishes to the Schafer family. You can donate or write a message to Jake's Team by clicking here. It's very quick and easy (only took me a minute), but most of all it is for a good cause.

All-USCHO teams announced

Even though no Dutchmen were named to either of the All-USCHO teams, there were some familiar faces on each team. Maine's sophomore superstar and Hobey Baker hat trick finalist Gustav Nyquist was named to the first team. Nyquist and the Black Bears traveled to Schenectady to take on Union in the first two weekends of the season. Also, two of Union's biggest enemies this season were named to the second team: ECAC Player of the Year Chase Polacek (RPI) and ECAC Goalie of the Year Ben Scrivens (Cornell). Polacek led the league in scoring, while Scrivens was one of the nation's top goaltenders.

For the complete list check out USCHO.com.

ECAC stars sign with NHL teams

Cornell's Brendon Nash and Yale's Sean Backman, two of the best seniors in the ECAC this past season, have each signed a professional contract with an NHL team. Nash, a defenseman, has just signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens, while Backman, a forward, recently agreed to a contract with the Dallas Stars. Both players were First Team all-ECAC selections this season. For more on Nash and Backman check out ECAC Hockey.com.

Recap of Day 1 of NCAA Tournament

In an exciting first day of the NCAA Tournament a #1 seed, #2 seed, #3, and #4 seed all advanced. It was an exciting four games as three of the games were one goal games. Both games in the West regional were close affairs. First, St. Cloud topped Northern Michigan 4-3 in double overtime. This was the first win for the (2)Huskies in the national tournament in eight tries. This game was followed by another nail-biter as Wisconsin beat Vermont 3-2 behind three power-play goals by the (1) Badgers.

The biggest upset of the day came in the East Region where (4) RIT beat a highly praised Denver team 2-1. I was able to watch this game on TV and was very impressed with the Tigers and their goaltender Jared DeMichiel. DeMichiel was very aggressive in net as he was on top of his crease all game. On one save he was even out around the hash marks.

The only game that was a blowout was the UNH-Cornell game where Bobby Butler,the nation's leading scorer, and the (3) Wildcats put up a six spot on Ben Scirvens and the Big Red. Scrivens did not allow a goal for an ECAC record 266:11, but UNH was able to put up six goals in the final 23+ minutes of the first round game. Not only was this not good for Cornell, but it is bad for the ECAC as a whole. Cornell was supposed to be the top team in the ECAC by far and a legitimate contender for the national tournament. But, allowing six goals in their first tournament game proves that the ECAC is truly the weakest of the "Big Four" conferences in college hockey. As a Union fan it is mind-boggling how Cornell looked so dominant during the ECAC playoffs and in the championship game against the Dutchmen, and then get demolished against UNH. Imagine what the Wildcats would have done to Union's four freshmen defensemen and freshman goaltender. This was the first time the Big Red allowed six goals all season and only the third time they allowed at least five goals. Also note that Cornell went into Manchester earlier this season and beat the Wildcats 5-2.

Well, after going 3-1 today I lead the family bracket challenge. But, my one loss is a big one since I picked Cornell to go to the Championship game. Luckily, two people picked Denver to go to the championship game and one picked the Pioneers to win them all.

Tomorrow, the Northeast and Midwest Regionals get underway. In the Northeast, (1) BC takes on (4) Alaska-Fairbanks at 1:30pm, and (2) North Dakota will go up against the last ECAC team left in the tournament in (3) Yale at 5:30pm. (1)Miami, the nation's top team, kicks off the Midwest regional against (4)Alabama-Huntsville at 4pm, who snuck into the tournament as they won the CHA tournament when Bemidji was upset in the previous round. At 7:30pm, (2) Bemidji looks to cool down (3) Michigan, who is riding a hot streak into the national tournament. They seem to be really feeding off the opportunity of playing in the Frozen Four in their home state.

Hopefully, tomorrow's six games will be equally exciting as today's.

NCAA Tournament starts today

While the NCAA Basketball tournament continues today, the NCAA Hockey tournament begins with the East and West Regional Games. In Albany, (1) Denver takes on (4) Rochester Institute of Technology at 3pm, and (2) Cornell goes up against (3) New Hampshire at 6:30pm. In St. Paul, (1) Wisconsin plays (4) Vermont at 9pm, and (2) St. Cloud State matches up against (3) Northern Michigan at 5:30pm.

If you haven't filled out your bracket do so ASAP. I have already done so and have picked Miami, Boston College, Wisconsin, and Cornell to make it to the Frozen Four. Then I have Miami and Cornell matching up in the final with Miami taking home the hardware.

Union's Season ends in ECAC Finals

Sorry about the late post... I've been having some computer issues.

Well, that was a disappointing way to end the season. The score and the shots might have been close, but it was not an equal contest. The Big Red was just perfect in every facet of the game and the Dutchmen couldn't handle the constant pressure. Cornell's forecheck worked perfectly, their defense was impenetrable, the penalty kill was swarming, and the power-play was flawless. It just looked like men amongst boys out there as even some of Union's "tougher" players were being knocked around. Going into the game Union knew it was going to be a tough task at hand, but they didn't even make it interesting. The Union crowd seemed to realize this as it seemed to get quieter and quieter as the game progressed. The 3-0 loss was the first time all season the Dutchmen got shutout and lost. In the RPI Tournament, Union beat Lake Superior State in a shootout after finishing regulation at 0-0.

As I said before the game, special teams would be incredibly important. And it was as the Big Red scored two power-play goals, and their penalty kill did not let Union get any good shots on Ben Scrivens, who was named tournament MVP after the game. The Dutchmen took too many penalties and some were undisciplined penalties which were out of character.

But, even though it was a disappointing end to the greatest season in the history of Union College Division I hockey, there were a few good things that came out of the game: 1) Keith Kinkaid had a good game and a good Final Four. The Dutchmen might really have a big time future goaltender. 2) Adam Presizniuk seemed to be one of few Union players not to be over matched against Cornell as he was able to skate and battle with the Cornell players. Prez had a great playoffs and hopefully he can be Union's go-to-guy next season. 3) Four freshman defensemen played in both Final Four games. This gave them some major experience points and will be helpful if the Dutchmen make it back to the Final Four. 4) Many Union fans came out to support their team this past weekend. Hopefully the fans keep supporting the team and more people in the Schenectady area catch on in the future.

It's sad to see Mario Valery-Trabucco and Jason Walters finish up their four years at Union. They are arguably the greatest players in the history of the program. Unfortunately for the Dutchmen the duo did not have a great playoffs. In five playoff games Mario tallied two goals and an assist. One goal came in the first game of the playoffs when he pushed the puck about three inches into the back of the net after Walters rung a shot off the post, and the other goal was an empty netter against St. Lawrence. Walters on the other hand picked up just two assists, the first coming on Mario's goal against Quinnipiac and the second coming on Adam Presizniuk's game-winning goal against SLU. Either way these two guys brought Union to where they were and they will be deeply missed.

That is all I have for now. I will continue blogging throughout the off-season and will focus on such topics as evaluating the 2009-10 season, looking into next season, and maybe even getting some special interviews with people in Union Hockey. I had a great time following the team this season and couldn't have asked for anything more.

Union beats SLU to go to ECAC Championship Game

Who would have picked Union to be in the ECAC Championship game in the beginning of the season? Not many. The Dutchmen were picked to finish sixth in both the Coaches and Media Poll prior to the season. But, with last night's barn-burner Union will face Cornell to decide who will take home the ECAC crown.

Last night's atmosphere was incredible. I don't think I've ever seen so many Union fans in one place! The Union faithful took up about four to five sections at the TUC. The fans were also extremely loud and easily drowned out the SLU fans with their chants. They even found ways to make the SLU cheers into Union cheers. Dutchmen fans will have to be even louder tonight as Cornell has a tremendous and loyal following and has a great cheering section.

The Dutchmen did not play a great game as they seemed to not have enough jump and were fighting the puck a little too much. Luckily, Keith Kinkaid was stellar in net for Union as he made 29 saves on the night, including 13 in the final period. He was great positionally as he was able to catch almost every outside shot in his chest. It looks like the Coach of the Year made a "Coach of the Year" decision. Even though the Dutchmen missed the net on some good opportunities, they were still opportunistic. On only eight shots in the final 40 minuets, Union was able to score two goals.

On other notes, Kelly Zajac got hurt for the second game in a row. After separating his shoulder last weekend, he seemed to sustain another arm/shoulder injury. But, he returned in the second period and played the rest of the game. Now that's what I call a hockey player. As an old hockey friend of mine used to say, "Just Tape It Up." Also, with an assist on last night's game-winning goal, Jason Walters in now the all-time leading scorer with 115 points. But, Mario Valery-Trabucco is right on his tail.

For more on last night's game check out Union Athletics.com, USCHO.com, Ken Schott's Blog, Daily Gazette.com, and other literature you can find on the Extra Frame Blog.

Tonight's game against the Big Red will be a tough one for the Dutchmen as Cornell is one of the most fundamentally sound teams in the nation. Oh, and have I mentioned that they have one of the nation's best goaltenders? Ben Scrivens has been lights out all year and is near the top in every statistical category in all of Division I college hockey. He is tied for first with a .935 save percentage, second with a 1.83 GAA, fourth with 20 wins, and tied for first with six shutouts. He was recently named First Team all-ECAC and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Scrivens leads the second best defense in the country that has only allowed 1.91 goals per game. Besides Scrivens, Cornell's strength is its' special teams. The Big Red sports the ninth best power-play in the country (20.7%) and the third best penalty kill in the country (87.4%).

So, the keys tonight for the Dutchmen are to stay out of the penalty box and to be opportunistic. It was only two games ago that Union did not have to kill any penalties, and if they do that again they will be in good shape. Also, if they go on the power-play they're going to have to screen Scrivens and pounce on any loose pucks.

If the Dutchmen are able to come out on top tonight it will probably be by the score of 1-0 or 2-1. In their past five games, Cornell has not allowed more than one goal and have only allowed one goal in their three playoff games. Scrivens and the defense brings their shutout streak into tonight's game as they have shutout Harvard and Brown in back-to-back games. Cornell has not allowed a goal in over 170 minutes. The game will be a great battle between high-flying offense (Union is fifth in the nation in scoring) and stifling defense (Cornell is second in the nation in team defense).

Rest of ECAC Awards handed out

• RPI's Chase Polacek was named Player of the Year


• Cornell's Justin Krueger named best Defensive Defenseman


• RPI's Jerry D'Amigo named Rookie of the Year


• St. Lawrence's Travis Vermeulen named Defensive Forward of the Year

Also, according to Ken Schott, captain Mike Wakita is questionable for Friday's game against SLU. He left the bench sometime in the third period with a lower body injury, but I'm pretty sure he returned later in the period. There has also been no announcement on who will be starting in goal for the Dutchmen tomorrow. SLU Head Coach Joe Marsh has announced that Kain Tisi will start for the Saints.

Union advances to ECAC Final Four for first time in program history

Finally! Finally! Finally! Union is finally going to Albany for the ECAC Final Four for the first time in program history! The Dutchmen will face St. Lawrence next Friday at the Times Union Center.

The great thing about tonight's victory was that it was a complete team effort. The forwards fore-checked hard, the defense stepped up to the Quinnipiac forwards, beat them badly along the boards and in front of the net, and Corey Milan made all the stops he needed to. It was also great to see the freshman step up for the team as Wayne Simpson and Jeremy Welsh scored both of Union's goals tonight.

It was such an emotional battle between both teams. Bobcat goaltender Dan Clarke was throwing punches, Jason Walters and Eric Lampe were getting at each other for the fourth game in a row, and both teams worked extremely hard. I give the Bobcats a lot of credit for playing the way they did. They worked extremely hard, but just couldn't get past the tough Union defense. I also think the home-ice advantage was HUGE difference in the game. The student section was loud the entire game and the team really fed off of it, which was seen at the end of the game when Milan and the rest of the team jumped into the glass at Section Q.... I honestly thought the glass was going to shatter.

The emotions at the end of the game were incredible to see. Will Friedman and the rest of the student section were jumping up and down and hugging each other while popcorn was thrown into the air and the players could not wipe the smiles off their faces. Union Athletic Director Jim McLaughlin also looked extremely happy, and I even caught the Daily Gazette's Ken Schott with tears in his eyes.

For more on the game check out USCHO.com, Union Athletics.com, Ken Schott's Blog, and Times Union.com.

I was shocked to hear that Brown beat Yale 1-0, which makes all the difference in the world for the Dutchmen. I was even more shocked to see that the only goal was shorthanded and came midway through the first period. Cornell is an incredible team and Union won't have to see them until the ECAC finals. Brown deserves a ton of praise after beating a very good RPI team and then beating the top seed and defending champs on the road in back-to-back weekends. Bears goaltender Mike Clemente has now pulled off three upsets in the past two years. Their hard hitting defensive style has really worked for them. If I were Yale's Sean Backman I would be apologizing to my team for letting them down.

Let's just hope enough students stick around next weekend to see if their team can make more history. Also, good luck to the players and their fans on their upcoming finals.

Union loses important game at Cornell

Well, all hopes of making it into the National Tournament are smashed with the loss to Cornell. Union is now on the outside looking in the PWR in a tie for 18th. I don't know if it's possible for the Dutchmen to jump back into the Top 16, but it is possible something drastic will probably have to happen.

From what people have been saying and from looking at the box score it seems like Union played a good game, but Cornell was opportunistic and had a great defense. The Big Red scored on their only man-advantage last night and only threw 15 shots at Keith Kinkaid. This sounds exactly like what Cornell Hockey has been for years, and this is why I feel they are the best team in the ECAC. Yes, Yale has the top offense in the nation (4.29 goals per game), but Cornell has the second best defense in the nation (2.11 goals allowed per game) and most of the time a great defense will beat a great offense. And this why I predict that Cornell will win the ECAC tournament and each game they will play from the quarterfinals on will be by the scores of 2-1 or 3-2.

Union will finish in third place in the ECAC this season, no matter what happens tonight. But, it is very important that the Dutchmen pick up a win so they can head into the playoffs on a high note, and so they can break the Starr Curse.

Also, congratulations to 'Super' Mario Valery-Trabucco who broke Jordan Webb's program record for most goals in a career. Mario's lone goal last night was the 56th of his career. He is also just one goal away from breaking Union's single season record for goals in a season. He currently has 20.

For more on last night's game check out Ken Schott's Blog, Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, and post-game interviews courtesy of Ken Schott.

Dutchmen finish regular season at Cornell and Colgate

As everyone expected, the seeding for the top spot in the ECAC playoffs has come down to this weekend. Tonight's game at Cornell is a huge one as both the Big Red and Dutchmen are tied for second place. Colgate is also looking to get a first round bye so expect them to come out flying on Saturday night. Here are some players to keep a tab on this weekend:

Mario Valery-Trabucco (Union): he's only one goal for breaking Union's all-time goals record. Mario is also currently leading the online voting for the Hobey Baker Award.

Jeremy Welsh (Union): the big freshman has scored four goals in his past six games. Cornell has very big defensemen so maybe Welsh will be able to neutralize them.

Riley Nash (Cornell): the junior has registered a point in his past five games, four of which have been multi-point games. In these five games he has tallied three goals and eight assists for 11 points.

Blake Gallagher (Cornell): the senior forward leads the team with 17 goals and 32 points. He has also registered a goal in his past five weekends, including one on a Tuesday night game against Colgate.

Colin Greening (Cornell): this other senior forward has been carrying a hot stick of late as he has scored a goal in five of his past six games. Over this six game span he has totalled six goals and three assists.

Ben Scrivens (Cornell): the senior goaltender is the top goaltender in the ECAC and is one of the top five, statistically in the nation. He sports a 2.07 GAA and a .928 save percentage.

David McIntyre (Colgate): the senior captain is second on the team with 34 points and is tied for first with 24 assists (second in ECAC). McIntyre has registered a point in eight out of his last 10 games, including a point in each of his last five games. Last season he was one of the top players in the ECAC with 21 goals and 22 assists.

Brian Day (Colgate): leads the team with 20 goals (third in ECAC) and is currently riding a four game goal scoring streak. He has also picked up three assists in that span.

It should be a fun and exciting weekend. For more on the games check out: Concordy.com, Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, and INCH.com.

Union in the polls (2/22/10)

After wins over Princeton and Quinnipiac this weekend this is what has happened to the Dutchmen in the polls:

• Union moved up one spot to #15 in the USCHO.com National Rankings. The Dutchmen received only three less votes than #14 Ferris State.


• They also jump into the USA Today/ USA Hockey Magazine poll at #15. Once again, they are only a mere five points behind #14 Ferris State.


• The Dutchmen are tied for #15 with Maine in the PairWise Rankings. They are basically on the border for making the National Tournament. Cornell is the team ahead of Union. The Dutchmen travel to Ithaca to take on the Big Red this Friday.


• Finally, they jump up three spots to #10 in the INCH Power Rankings.

Union goes down 4-0 once again, but unable to comeback

After last night's come-from-behind 5-4 victory you would think that the Dutchmen would not allow that to happen the following night. Well, we all thought wrong as Union was down 4-0 midway through the third period. They once again tried to comeback but just ran out of time as they fell 4-3. This game marked the fourth time in a row that the Dutchmen have let up the first goal of the game. Even though Union found a way to comeback and win three of these games, this is not the way you want to play hockey. Playing from behind leads to frustration and sloppy play. It is great to see that the Dutchmen have the ability to mount huge comebacks, but as we saw last night it will not always work. Scoring first is an essential aspect of winning games, and the Dutchmen need to figure out how to do this before the playoffs start.

With the loss and Yale topping Cornell, the Dutchmen are now tied with the Big Red for second place in the ECAC. These last four games will essentially be playoff games as it is a tight race for the top spots in the standings. As shown in this week's poll, the most important weekend of the season will be the last one when Union travels to Colgate and Cornell. There is a very good chance that the Cornell game will decide the final ECAC standings. Also with the loss, the Dutchmen fall into a tie for 20th place in the PWR, which is definitely not good enough for a NCAA Tournament berth.

My Dad sent me a good analysis on the ECAC playoff picture:

"If you look at the standings, Union needs four more points to wrap up a Top 4 finish. If Colgate loses to Cornell, four points gets them no worse than 3rd. If Colgate and Cornell tie on Tuesday night, it will depend on the tiebreaker with Colgate for 3rd, assuming Union gets four points and Colgate gets all eight of the points available to them over the last two weekends. Union won their first meeting. If Colgate wins the second meeting, it will come down to this tiebreaker formula. Besides Colgate, the only teams below them that can catch them if they get four more points are RPI and St. Lawrence. They swept both RPI and St. Lawrence, so they hold the tiebreaker against each of them. They need to get the four points next weekend so that they are only playing for positioning in the Top 4 during the final Cornell/ Colgate weekend." (Thanks Dad!)

To be successful in the last two weekends of the season and in the playoffs one of the goaltenders needs to get hot. This biggest thing to have in the playoffs is hot goaltending because the goaltender is the only player on the ice who can steal a game for your team, and as of right now neither Keith Kinkaid or Corey Milan has proved they can do this. Keith has had some nice stretches, but then falters after a while, and Corey has received his chances but has been prone to allowing the weak goal. The Dutchmen and their fans better pray for hot goaltending if they want to go somewhere in the post-season. Just see Jean-Sebastien Gigure's performance in the 2003 NHL playoffs to see what a hot goalie can do for a team.

This upcoming weekend will be the last regular season home games for the seniors, so expect Mario, Wally, and Schreiber to have big weekends.

You can read more about last night's game on Union Athletics.com, USCHO.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, and Ken Schott's Blog.

Also, be sure to vote Mario and Wally for the 2010 NCAA Skill Competition. THE VOTING WILL END AT NOON TOMORROW (2/15), SO VOTE AS MANY TIMES IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. You can vote here.