Union Announces 2011-2012 Regular Season Schedule

Hi folks,

Hope everyone enjoyed the Stanley Cup Finals this past week. What a win for the Bruins, huh? First Cup in 39 years. I dont think many people expected them to get passed Vancouver. I was in downtown Boston last night to celebrate with fans, and I will most certainly be there on Saturday for the parade.

But in other news, Union College just recently announced their schedule for next season. On paper, this looks like a very challenging schedule, but I think the Dutchmen will definitely rise to the occasion. I am very excited to see them matchup against University of Michigan, University of New Hampshire, Merrimack, Denver, and Colorado College - all of which made the NCAA tournament this past spring.

I am also excited to see a Tuesday night game in Troy against RPI. Wouldn't that be a hoot to bus students from Union over to RPI to see the game? What else is there to do on a Tuesday night in October?

Below is the 2011-2012 schedule:

10/8 @ Army

10/14 vs. Western Michigan
10/15 vs. Western Michigan

10/21 @ Niagara
10/22 @ R.I.T.

10/28 @ University of New Hampshire
10/29 vs. A.I.C

11/4 @ St. Lawrence
11/5 @ Clarkson


11/11 vs. Brown
11/12 vs. Yale

11/15 @ RPI

11/27 @ University of Michigan

12/2 @ Quinnipiac
12/3 @ Princeton

12/10 vs. RPI (in Lake Placid)

12/17 @ Merrimack

12/30 @ University of Denver
12/31 @ Colorado College

1/6 vs. Harvard
1/7 vs. Dartmouth

1/13 @ Harvard
1/14 vs. RPI

1/20 @ Yale
1/21 @ Brown

1/27 vs. Clarkson
1/28 vs. St. Lawrence

2/3 vs. Colgate
2/4 vs. Cornell

2/10 @ Dartmouth

2/17 vs. Princeton
2/18 vs. Quinnipiac

2/24 @ Cornell
2/25 @ Colgate

So plan ahead, clear your weekend schedules, and come see the Dutchmen!

-JZ

Union's Tentative 2011-12 ECAC Schedule

So, RPI's season ticket brochures for next season have been released. It contains next season's schedule in it, and since Union is travel partners with RPI we now have an idea at what the bulk of Union's schedule will look like next year.

Here it is:



Messa Rink

 November
Fri. 4 - at St. Lawrence
Sat. 5 - at Clarkson
Fri. 11 - Yale
Sat. 12 - Brown

December
Fri. 2 - at Quinnipiac
Sat. 3 - at Princeton
Sat. 10 - at RPI

January
Fri. 6 - Harvard
Sat. 7 - Dartmouth
Sat. 14 - RPI
Fri. 20 - at Brown
Sat. 21 - at Yale
Fri. 28 - Clarkson
Sat. 29 - St. Lawrence

Februrary
Fri. 3 - Colgate
Sat. 4 - Cornell
Fri. 10 - at Dartmouth
Sat. 11 - at Harvard
Fri. 17 - Princeton
Sat. 18 - Quinnipiac
Fri. 24 - at Cornell
Sat. 25 - at Colgate

Also, RIT will be playing at RPI on November 25, so maybe the Tigers will be coming to Schenectady the following night.

My only complaint about this schedule is that Union will be playing at RPI when Union students are on break. It's so much better when the students travel, and the RPI game is really the only time students do so.

I'll see what I can do to find out about what non-league games Union will be playing in next season.

Union Loses Mariucci Classic Championship Game

Matt Read scored twice for the Beavers

After Friday night's big win against Minnesota, the Dutchmen followed it up with a disappointing 3-1 loss against the Bemidji State Beavers in the tournament championship game. This is a pretty disappointing way to end the out of conference schedule and head into the winter term.

Here is what Union has done in OOC games this season:
vs. Sacred Heart - W, 9-0
vs. Sacred Heart - W, 7-3
at. Alaska-Fairbanks - L, 1-2 (Brice Alaska Goal Rush)
at Alaska-Anchorage - W, 4-3 (Brice Alaska Goal Rush)
vs. Niagara - W, 6-1
vs. RIT - W, 7-2
vs. UConn - T, 3-3
vs. RPI - T, 3-3 (Lake Placid - Halloween Faceoff)
vs. AIC - W, 8-1
vs. Army - W, 6-2
at Western Michigan - L, 1-2
at Western Michigan - L, 1-3
at Minnesota - W, 3-2 (OT) (Mariucci Classic)
at Bemidji - L, 1-3 (Mariucci Classic)

So Union went 8-4-2 in non-ECAC play, which looks pretty good but when you analyze it they really didn't do so great. Against Atlantic Hockey opponents (some of the weakest teams in NCAA Division I hockey) the Dutchmen went 6-0-1, outscoring their opponents 46-12. This means they went 2-4-1 against stronger OOC opponents where they were outscored 11-15 (I am not counting the RPI game since they are in the ECAC). So, this shows that Union has trouble competing against some of the tougher teams in college hockey, while they beat up on weaker opponents. One should also realize that these "tougher" OOC opponents are not ranked higher than the Dutchmen in the USCHO national rankings. Besides the win over Minnesota, Union has not proven that they are a legitimate contender for a national tournament berth.

Presizniuk is just one point away from breaking Union's
all-time points record. He currently tied with Jason Walters
at 115 points.

The problem behind this struggle against these tougher teams is the lack of offense. In the seven games against these "tough" teams the Dutchmen averaged just 1.57 goals per game. That is not a formula for success. Maybe the absence of Adam Presizniuk is a reason to why this has happened. The defense on the other hand has done their part as they have only allowed 2.14 goals per game in these seven games.

To be brutally honest, I really think that at this moment Union is very overrated. They have not proven to be the #12 team in the country. Beating up on the cellar dwellers is nice, but if you can't pull out wins against tough opponents on the road you will not be making the national tournament. Hopefully, they can step their game up in ECAC play, climb the standings, and make a run in the league playoffs. There are plenty of big games against good opponents in the ECAC to play (Yale, Clarkson, Princeton, Dartmouth), so Union still has the chance to prove that they are a legitimate Top 16 team. As of this moment Union is tied for 14th in the PWR, which is good for a NCAA tournament berth.

I will be back on campus tomorrow as classes start up for the winter term on Monday.

Here are some links about the game against Bemidji:
Union Athletics.com
USCHO
CHN
BSU Beavers.com

Union In The Polls

Union did not play last week and are off this weekend as well:

- The Dutchmen move up one spot to #13 in the USCHO poll.

- The INCH Poll keeps Union at #10.

Here is Union's schedule for the Winter Break:

12/3 at Brown
12/5 at Yale (on ESPNU)
12/10 vs. AIC
12/11 vs. Army
12/18 at Western Michigan
12/19 at Western Michigan
12/31 vs. Minnesota (Dodge Holiday Classic, Minnesota)
1/1 vs. Bemidji (Dodge Holiday Classic, Minnesota)

Dutchmen officially release 2010-2011 schedule

Toady Coach Leaman and the Union College Dutchmen officially announced thier schedule for this upcoming season. If you have been following the blog lately there should be no surprises. As I reported earlier, Union will be playing in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, the Dodge Holiday Classic hosted by Minnesota, and at Lake Placid to take on RPI. Also, they will be playing out of conference games against Niagara, RIT, and Western Michigan.

What I did miss were other OOC games. Union will open the season at home with a weekend series against Sacred Heart, who came into Schenectady last season and shocked the Dutchmen with a 6-5 win in overtime in one of the most exciting games of the season. They will also welcome in Atlantic Hockey foes UConn, AIC, and Army.

I have mixed feelings on the schedule. When it comes to the tournaments, Leaman and the Dutchmen did a great job scheduling competitive tournaments. Last season Union played in the RPI tournament and UConn tournament where they played Lake Superior State, RPI, UMass, and UConn, which makes up a pretty weak group of opponents. This year things are different. In the BAGR and DHC the Dutchmen are scheduled to play Alaska-Fairbanks, Alaska-Anchorage, Minnesota, and Bemidji. Alaska-Fairbanks finished in the Top 20 last season, Minnesota is consistently a national contender, and Bemidji made the Frozen Four two years ago and are on the rise. These tournaments will be great tests for the Dutchmen.

But, when it comes to the non-tournament out of conference schedule Union's schedule looks weak. These opponents are SHU, RIT, UConn, AIC, and Army of Atlantic Hockey, and Niagara of College Hockey America. Besides RIT, who made the Frozen Four this past season, these are all pretty weak opponents. Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America are consistently the worst conferences in college hockey, and AIC and UConn are usually two of the worst teams in all of college hockey. Where are the Hockey East opponents? I guess they spent all the travel money on the tournaments to Alaska and Minnesota. RPI has games against Northeastern and Boston University. While the Terriers are playing RPI in Troy, the Dutchmen will be playing Army just down the road. Even though this part of the schedule is weak, it's always good to have some "easy" games on the schedule so some of the players that don't play much can play.

For more on the schedule check out Union Athletics.com.

More on the 10-11 Schedule

Last night I spoke with a person in the Union College Athletic Department. While he would not give me the schedule for next season he told me a few things:

1. Union will be playing in the Minnesota Holiday Tournament

2. They will also be playing in the Alaska Goal Rush Tourney (as reported earlier)

3. The RIT Tigers will be traveling to Schenectady

4. The Dutchmen will travel out to Western Michigan to take on the Broncos for a weekend series

5. Union and RPI will play each other three times this season. The non-conference matchup is going to be at a neutral site and is supposed to be some kind of "big surprise."

6. The official also said that the schedule should be released on Tuesday.

That should be all for the non-conference schedule. We will see what the rest of the schedule looks like soon.

Notes about Union's 2010-2011 schedule

After surfing the web and the message boards I have come across some games that should pop-up on Union's schedule once it is released (which should be pretty soon).

According to Gopher Puck Live.com the Dutchmen will be playing in the Dodge Holiday Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota. The teams taking part in the tournament along with Union will be the Gophers, Bemidji State, and Ferris State. This will be a great opportunity for the Dutchmen to prove themselves against national powerhouses that have contended for the national championship in the past decade (Minnesota and Bemidji). I'm not sure who Union is playing, but if I had to guess I'd say the Gophers since they are the host and Union is the only team not from Minnesota. The tournament will take place during New Years Eve and New Years Day.

Also, word on the RIT message boards (Post #106) is that the Tigers will be visiting Union along with RPI early in the season. This makes sense since RIT is on the rise as they made the Frozen Four this past season. There is also the possibility that RIT could move to the ECAC since they are by far the best team in Atlantic Hockey. Another sign of their moving to the ECAC is that they are moving to the Liberty League. The Liberty League is a Division III conference that has many ECAC Hockey teams in it (Union, RPI, St. Lawrence, Clarkson). RIT is similar to Union in that they cannot offer athletic scholarships.

This is basically all I got for now. I will post any other things I find. Hopefully the schedule comes out soon.

Union-Colgate game was "uninspiring"

In Ken Schott's post-game thoughts he harps on how dead the Union faithful were tonight and how it carried over to the ice. I can just picture Mr. Schott right now standing in the press box being absolutely livid when no one sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" with him.

Here's Ken Schott's feelings on the game from his blog: http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/schott/2009/dec/05/union-colgate-postgame-report/

Stephane Boileau blamed the lack of energy to overconfidence, but I know from experience that it is hard to get pumped up for a game in your own building when no one is there or excited. And the reason why there was no energy or excitement tonight was because of the Union students being on winter break. The students truly are the "7th Man" and get the Union players amped. I'm sure the only student dedicated enough to make the trek to Schenectady during their winter break was the team's #1 fan Will Friedman. So, this bring up the question of who and why schedule an ECAC home weekend during the school's winter break? I'm sure it wasn't Coach Leaman's doing because he has said in many conversations that I've had with him how much his team responds to the student section and how they have played their best hockey at home in front of a loud and energetic crowd. This is the first time in recent memory (or at least since I've been at Union) that there was an ECAC game at Messa Rink during the winter break.

I almost feel bad that I did not attend the game, but not that bad considering I went to Nets-Bobcats game where the Nets won their first game of the season. The crowd was really into it and the tickets that I bought were 75 cents (so can you really blame me?). But, I will be making the trek up to Troy on Wednesday to see the Dutchmen take on the Engineers for the third time this season.

This scheduling problem also brings up the question of why is the Union-RPI game at RPI that counts towards league standings on a Wednesday night? This makes no sense to me considering it's a rivalry game. What would be the problem with putting this game in the same weekend when RPI travels to Schenectady on Saturday, Janurary 16th? It's the only game the Dutchmen and the Engineers have that weekend. Someone in the ECAC scheduling office has some explaining to do.

BLOG 40: It's Early, But Ferris Softball Schedule Taking Shape With Early Trip To Alabama

BIG RAPIDS - The 2010 softball season seems an awfully long time away, but the schedule is now beginning to come into focus.

In addition to their traditional trip to Florida (March 6-14), the Bulldogs have a tentative date in Alabama for a pre-Florida tournament against some good Division II competition at an event hosted by the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

The three-day Alabama-Huntsville Tournament would have Ferris in heavy competition with two games a day (Feb. 19-21).

Feb. 19
The Bulldogs take on Augusta State (Ga.) and Missouri-St. Louis

Feb. 20
The Bulldogs face Indianapolis and Alabama-Huntsville

Feb. 21
The Bulldogs face North Georgia and Southern Indiana

For the tentative Ferris softball schedule, visit: http://www.ferris.edu/sports/softball/2010sked.htm