Union Earns Regular-Season Sweep of Rival RPI

Final	1	2	3	Final
Rensselaer (4-17-1, 1-8-1 ECAC)	0	0	1	1
Union (12-5-6, 6-2-3 ECAC)	3	1	1	5

Scoring Summary
1st - 04:15	PP - Welsh, Jeremy (Union)
1st - 08:41	SH - Bodie, Mat (Union)
1st - 12:49	SH - Hatch, Matt (Union)
2nd - 14:38	PP - Welsh, Jeremy (Union)
3rd - 14:06	SH - Bailen, Nick (Rensselaer)
3rd - 17:43	EN - Simpson, Wayne (Union)

Rensselaer	Union
G: Nick Bailen - 1 A: 2 Players (#21, #23 - 1) Sh: Ryan Haggerty - 8 Sv: Scott Diebold - 35	G: Jeremy Welsh - 2 A: Kelly Zajac - 3 Sh: Jeremy Welsh - 9 Sv: Troy Grosenick - 39

TEAM STATISTICS	Rensselaer	Union
Power Plays	0 for 4	2 for 8
Shorthanded Goals	1	2
Penalties (min)	8 (16)	4 (8)
Shots on Goal	40	40
Face Offs Won	26	42

full stats

SCHENECTADY, NY – Sophomore forward Matt Hatch had a shorthanded goal and two assists, and junior forward Jeremy Welsh added two power play goals to lead No. 14/13 Union (12-5-6, 6-2-3 ECAC Hockey) to a 5-1 win over Rensselaer (4-17-1, 1-8-1 ECAC Hockey) in front of 2,273 fans at Messa Rink.

The Dutchmen picked up their third win against the Engineers this season, the second time in program history that Union has won three games in a year against RPI.

Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick made 39 saves to improve his nation-leading goals-against average to 1.60, while RPI goaltender Scott Diebold stopped 35 shots in net for the Engineers.
The Dutchmen used special teams play to earn the victory, scoring two power play goals, and two shorthanded goals in the first and second periods to build a comfortable 4-0 lead.

Welsh, who regained the team lead with nine power play goals on the season, scored his first of the game on the man advantage at 4:15 of the first period. With RPI’s Curtis Leonard in the penalty box for holding, Welsh took a pass from senior forward Kelly Zajac (three assists) and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Diebold to put Union up 1-0 at 4:15.

Union, which entered the contest without a shorthanded goal on the season, scored two in the span of 4:08 midway through the period. With junior defenseman Greg Coburn in the penalty box for cross-checking, sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie took a lead pass from Hatch, skated across the middle and beat Diebold high at 8:41.

Hatch would score a shorthanded goal of his own on a play created by Zajac, who forced a turnover in the RPI zone to gain possession of the puck. Zajac fed Hatch, who beat Diebold low from five feet out to give Union a 3-0 lead at 12:49.

Welsh scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season, and second power play goal of the night at 14:38 of the second period with RPI’s Brock Higgs in the penalty box for roughing. On the opening faceoff of the man advantage, Welsh controlled the puck and fired quickly on net, beating Diebold over the shoulder just four seconds into the power play.

The goal was Welsh’s 21st on the man advantage in his collegiate career, moving him into sole possession of second on the Union’s Division 1 power play goal list, one shy of Jordan Webb ’05 for the school record. Union finished the night 2-for-8 on the power play and improved to 8-0-3 this season when they score two or more power play goals in a game.

Grosenick nearly earned his second consecutive shutout, withstanding a surge of RPI chanced early in the third period. With senior defenseman Taylor Reid in the penalty box for interference at 6:24, Grosenick made two impressive saves in succession on the ensuing power play, a sprawling save on RPI’s Ryan Haggerty and a stop on Marty O’Grady’s shot from the circle. Union finished the night a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Higgs would end the shutout bid at 14:06 of the third period, scoring from in close to end Grosenick’s shutout streak at 118:07, dating back to the third period against Dartmouth on Jan. 7.

Junior forward Wayne Simpson would add an empty net goal, his 10th of the season, at 17:43.
Union will travel to Ingalls Rink to face Yale next Friday in a contest that begins at 7:00 p.m.