Union first ECAC team to beat US U-18 Team

Behind a strong third period the Dutchmen were able to top the US U-18 team and become the first ECAC team to beat them... and that's basically it. This was an exhibition game, so anything that comes out of this doesn't really matter too much. But, I guess a win is better than a loss and it's nice to keep the ball rolling. It sounds like Mario was dominant again as he sniped another goal, but of course it doesn't count to his season totals. It was nice to see the Dutchmen play a strong third period, and to see Corey Milan get a start and make some saves. Personally, I would have like to seen Rich 'Pudge' Sillery play because I'm not sure if he will get a start this season, which is his final season. He has put in his time over the past four years and he deserves a chance to make his final stand. On the other hand it's great to see Jean-Sebastian Bergeron on the ice for the first time as a Dutchman. He finished +1 on the game. Justin Pallos, Nolan Julseth-White, and Luke Cain (1 goal, 1 assist) also saw some time tonight.

The team will now finally be able to enjoy their well deserved winter break and will not have another game for over two weeks. Their next game is on December 29th when they take on #15 UMass at the UConn Tournament. It's too bad that the break is coming at a time when the team is playing so well. Hopefully when they come back they can keep up the level of play that they're playing now. For a summary on tonight's game click here.

In other ECAC news, UMass-Lowell topped Princeton 4-1 and RPI came back in the third period to defeat defending national champion Boston University 5-3 in Boston . I guess all of their talk about not being affected by their loss to Union was true. It looks like it was an interesting game as RPI took a 2-1 lead after the first period while being out shot 16-5. Also, RPI did not allow any five-on-five goals as BU scored one power-play goal and two shorthanded goals. BU is definitely not as good as they were last year but they are the national champions until someone takes their title. You can read the RPI-BU game summary here.

Union takes on U.S. Under-18 team on Friday in charity exhibition game

This game is an exhibition game meaning it will not count towards the standings and will have no effect on the team's unbeaten streak or on Coach Leaman's 100th win. It should be a friendly match for a good cause (Toys for Tots). For more information on the even click here.

According to the team roster there is only one player committed to a ECAC school. This is Andy Iles a goaltender from Ithaca, New York who is committed to his home town team, Cornell. He is listed as 5' 8" so I'm guessing he relies on his quickness. All of the other players on the roster are committed to nine different schools: Cornell, Michigan, Boston University, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Boston College, and Denver. This should be a great showcase for future NCAA stars. For more info on the US U-18 Team check out their website here.

Hopefully Coach Leaman will play some guys who haven't played much or at all this season, and I expect that he will. We have still yet to see freshmen defenseman Jean-Sebastian Bergeron and redshirt freshman defenseman Carl Ekstrom in Dutchmen uniforms. I have still heard no word if Ekstrom has overcome his hip injury. It should be interesting to see what this Swede is made of. We also haven't seen sophomore defenseman Taylor Reid this season after he played four games last season.

I assume Keith Kinkaid will sit while junior Corey Milan and senior Rich Sillery will get some time in net. Sillery hasn't seen any playing time this season and only played twice (one start) last season. This should also give Leaman a chance to rest his stars before the UConn Tournament and feature players that haven't seen much ice this year like forwards Justin Pallos, Luke Cain, Jason Shaffer, and defenseman Nolan Julseth-White. These are all very effective players and I expect them to be impressive against the U-18 team. Personally, I am a huge fan of Jason Shaffer as he is one of the fastest guys on the team and flies all over the ice when he plays. All in all, this should be a fun game for a good cause.