Team Notes: No. 11 Union Travels South to Take on No. 19 Princeton, Quinnipiac

SCHENECTADY, NY - Union opens the month of February with two road ECAC Hockey tests at No. 19 Princeton (14-6-1, 9-4-1 ECAC Hockey) and at Quinnipiac (13-10-4, 6-6-3 ECAC Hockey), the only two ECAC squads they have yet to face this season. Princeton has won four games in a row and nine of its last 11 games (9-1-1). In their last four games, the Tigers are averaging 5.25 goals per game, outscoring Colgate, Sacred Heart, St. Lawrence and Clarkson by a combined score of 21-11. The Dutchmen will take on a ranked opponent for the third straight weekend, and are 3-4-1 against ranked competition this season. On Saturday night, Union will take on Quinnipiac for the first time since the two teams met in an ECAC Quarterfinal series last season in which the Dutchmen prevailed in three games. Five of the last 11 meetings between the Dutchmen and the Bobcats have gone to overtime, including an NCAA-record breaking 5OT game on March 12, 2010, which the Bobcats won 3-2.

Union Ranked In USCHO.com Poll for 29 Straight Weeks
The Union men's ice hockey team, coming off a 4-2 victory against Harvard on Saturday night, was ranked No. 11 in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, both released Monday. The Dutchmen earned 507 points in the USCHO.com poll and 189 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. This marks the 29th consecutive week the Dutchmen have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll, extending a school record. Union has been ranked for 14 consecutive weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.

The Defense Holds Strong
Union's defense has held its opponents to two or fewer goals 18 times this season, placing the team No. 2 in the country with a 2.04 goals-against average. The Dutchmen, who have outscored opponents 99-57, have held the competition to less than 30 shots 23 times, including eight games with less than 20 shots.

Finding the Back of the Net
Seventeen times this season the Dutchmen, who are tied for eighth in the nation in scoring, have registered three or more goals, resulting in an 14-1-2 record. Union has amassed 99 goals so far this season – the second most through 28 games in program history

Scouting Princeton
Princeton's two wins last weekend on the road ran the Princeton  win streak to four games and the Tigers are now 9-1-1 in the last 11 games. Princeton has gone 14-3-1 in its last 18 games after starting the season with three consecutive losses. In Princeton's current four-game run, the Tigers have averaged more than five goals per game in wins over Colgate, Sacred Heart, St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

Last weekend the Tigers won their eighth and ninth league contests by sweeping in the North Country for just the third time since the travel partner schedules began.

The Tigers have the nation's fifth best power play (23.7%) and seventh best penalty kill (86.7%). Princeton is allowing just 2.19 goals per game, which is eighth best in the nation. Princeotn ranks third in the nation with an average of 37.14 shots per game. Freshman forward Andrew Calof, the ECAC Rookie of the Week, leads the team in scoring with 22 points (four goals, 18 assists), while freshman goaltender Sean Bonar has also been impressive (6-2-0, 1.50 GAA, .938 Save %)

The Series
Union is 5-5-0 in the last 10 meetings with Princeton, and 12-7-1 in the last 20.

Friday's contest will be the 47th all-time between the two schools and 43nd in Union's DI history. Princeton holds a 22-20-4 advantage all-time and 20-19-4 DI lead. Union is 10-14-1 all-time against Princeton at Hobey Baker Rink.

Last Meeting
Mario Valery-Trabucco recorded his school-record 39th point of the season and the 16th-ranked Union College men's ice hockey team earned a first round bye in ECAC Hockey with a 4-1 win against Princeton on Feb 20, 2010.

Trabucco's historic moment came at 4:10 of the second period, as the right winger corralled the bouncing puck and sniped a wrist shot glove side to give Union a 1-0 advantage.Following Trabucco's goal, the Tigers put forth a furious five minute onslaught which freshman goaltender Keith Kinkaid and the rest of the Dutchman were able to endure. Kinkaid turned away 34 shots on the night and improving his season record to 10-4-3 and 8-2-2 in ECACH play.

John Simpson and Stephane Boileau contributed to a Jeremy Welsh goal at 12:50, the second goal of the period for the Dutchmen. Down 2-0, Princeton remained aggressive in the third period, yet at 9:07 freshman Kyle Bodie (4 goals this season) skated around the net and ripped a shot that beat Princeton's senior goaltender Zane Kalemba. Andrew Buote registered his seventh assist of the season.

Union's fourth goal was netted by sophomore Kelly Zajac, who recorded his 10th goal this season at 17:06 on an empty net goal. He was assisted by sophomore Luke Cain and Welsh. The Tigers' goal came at 14:43 of the third off the stick of Kevin Lohry; assisted by Will MacDonald.

Scouting Quinnipiac
Jeremy Langlois currently leads the Bobcats in goals (13) and points (18) while second-year defenseman Loren Barron leads all Quinnipiac skaters with 13 assists. Scott Zurevinski checks in behind Langlois (11-6-17), followed by freshmen twins Connor (7-9-16) and Kellen Jones (5-11--16).
The Bobcats' five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) is their longest since November of last season.

Quinnipiac has had success against ranked opponents this season. The Bobcats are 4-3-1 in eight games against teams ranked in the national polls.

Quinnipiac enters the weekend averaging 2.59 goals per game (38th in the nation). The Bobcats give up 2.81 goals per game (25th in the nation. Quinnipiac is No. 44 in the nation on the power play (15.0%) and No. 51 on the penalty kill (77.9%).

The Series
Saturday's game will only be the 19th all-time between Union and Quinnipiac and the Bobcats own a 9-8-1 series mark. However, last year, in five meetings between the two teams including the ECAC playoffs, Union went 4-1-0.

On Friday, Mar. 12 and into Saturday, Mar. 13 Union and Quinnipiac played the longest game in NCAA history, timing in at 150:22. The Bobcats' Greg Holt netted the game-winner at 1:03 a.m. in the fifth overtime, giving his team a 3-2 victory in the opening game of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals, a series that the Dutchmen would go on to win in three games. In the last five outings, Union is 3-1-1, and in the last 10 they are 4-5-1. Union is 3-4-0 all time in road games at Quinnipiac.

Last Meeting
On March 14, 2010 at Messa Rink, a 2-1 victory against Quinnipiac propelled the 17th-ranked Union College men's ice hockey team into the ECAC Hockey Championship weekend for the first time in the team's 19 year Division I history.

Wayne Simpson and Jeremy Welsh registered the goals for Union, which earned its 20th victory of the year. The win marked the third time in Union hockey history that the Dutchmen reached 20 wins and the first since the 1984-85 season. Union appeared to have pulled ahead, 3-0, with 13:52 remaining in the game, but the official lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle before the puck crossed the line.

With the door open and the score still at 2-0, Quinnipiac got on the board with 4:29 remaining with a defection goal by Reese Rolheiser.

The Dutchmen defense, which only allowed five goals in 270 minutes in 22 seconds in the series, stood strong the rest of the way and junior goaltender Corey Milan earned his second win in as many nights with 30 saves.

It didn't take the Dutchmen long to establish a lead as Simpson went top shelf on Quinnipiac's Dan Clarke 2:01 into the game as the two team's skated 4-on-4. The play started with senior Mike Schreiber keeping the offensive attack alive at the point. He sent a shot towards the net, but Simpson gained control of the puck and fired his sixth goal of the season. After a scoreless second period, Union used the opening moments of the third to its advantage. After sophomore Luke Cain had a shot stopped by Clarke, freshman Jeremy Welsh cleaned up the rebound behind the Bobcats goaltender.