Team Notes: Union Returns Home

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union men’s ice hockey team, ranked 18th in the nation, returns home from its trip to the Last Frontier as Niagara visits Messa Rink tomorrow night for a 7:00 PM game. On Saturday night, the Dutchmen host RIT at 7:30 PM.  The Tigers are coming off a visit to the 2010 Frozen Four and were picked to finish first in the preseason Atlantic Hockey Coaches poll. 

The team  is currently tied for third in the country in scoring with 5.25 goals-per-game. The Dutchmen are also tied for seventh in the country in team defense, allowing just 2.00 goals-per-game. Sophomore forward Jeremy Welsh is riding a four-game goal scoring streak and was named ECAC Player of the Week on Tuesday. 

Union Sweeps ECAC Weekly Awards
Three members of the men’s ice hockey team were honored with ECAC weekly awards, the conference announced Tuesday. Sophomore forward Jeremy Welsh was named MLX Skates Player of the Week, while freshman forward Daniel Carr earned Rookie of the Week honors. Sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid was named Goaltender of the Week to round out a Union sweep of the weekly awards.

Dutchmen Make First Trip to Alaska in Program History
The Union College men’s ice hockey team took to the road for its longest road trip in program history, to Fairbanks, Alaska for the Brice Alaska Goal Rush. Union fell in a tight contest against host No. 14 Alaska-Fairbanks, falling 2-1. Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Dutchmen secured a victory against Alaska-Anchorage when junior forward Kelly Zajac broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period to give Union the lead. Keith Kinkaid made 18 saves in the third period help the Dutchmen hold on to a 4-3 win.

The Freshmen Can Play
Union freshmen Josh Jooris and Daniel Carr have certainly made waves in their first four Division I games. Jooris became the first Union freshman in the Division I era to score a hat trick in his debut, adding an assist for a four-point night against Sacred Heart on Oct. 8. Jooris has points in each of Union’s first four games. Carr also had four points in his debut, and had a goal and an assist in Union’s 4-3 win against Alaska-Anchorage.

Union Ranked No. 18
The Union College men’s ice hockey team were ranked for a school-record 16th consecutive week in the top-20 in the USCHO.com poll, coming in at 18th in the rankings that were released on Oct 18. The Dutchmen received 236 points coming off a weekend split in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush

Scouting Niagara
The Niagara University men’s ice hockey team, in its 15th season at the Division I level, has had its fair share of success in the past decade. Head coach Dave Burkholder has led the Purple Eagles to two NCAA Tournament appearances and two regular season conference championships during his ten-year tenure at the school.

With the CHA dissolved, Niagara joins the 12-team Atlantic Hockey Association, where it was picked to finish fourth in the preseason polls. The Purple Eagles have had an impressive start to the 2010-11 season, tying Hockey East’s Merrimack and UMass-Lowell in its first two contests.

Senior defenseman Ryan Annesley leads the team in scoring with four points (one goal, three assists), while senior forward Paul Zanette leads the team with two goals.

Freshman goaltender Carson Chubak and junior goaltender Chris Noonan split the first two games in net, with Chubak making his first career start most recently against UMass-Lowell. In that contest, Chubak made 39 saves in a 2-2 tie.

Scouting RIT
RIT men’s ice hockey is looking for its first win of the season, after skating to a 4-4 tie against UMass Lowell on Oct. 16. RIT led 4-3 until Lowell tied the game with 1.3 seconds left in regulation. Tyler Brenner led RIT with two third period goals and added an assist. Adam Hartley scored a goal and an assist, while Andrew Favot recorded two assists. Goaltender Shane Madolora stopped 24 shots. The Tigers scored two power-play goals in six chances, while killing off all seven Lowell power-play attempts, including 1:46 of a two-man advantage in the second period.

Brenner and Favot each lead the team with four points. Brenner has a team-high three goals, while Favot leads the squad with three assists. RIT has six players with at least a two points. The Tigers, coming off the school’s first trip to the Frozen Four in 2010, are receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls.

The Union-Niagara Series
Union’s last game against Niagara was on Nov. 11, 2003, when they defeated the Purple Eagles, 4-2, at Niagara.

Union is 4-0-1 in the all-time series.

The Union-RIT Series
The Dutchmen and Tigers last met on Nov. 14, 2006 at Messa Rink as the two teams played to a 2-2 overtime draw. In that contest, Union outshot RIT 49-27, but Tigers goaltender Jocelyn Guimond made 47 saves, inlcuding 15 in the third period. T.J. Fox and Augie DiMarzo scored for Union in that contest.

RIT is 12-3-4 in the all-time series, but Union has not lost to the Tigers since Feb. 26, 1991, when they fell 6-3 at RIT.