The Price of Winning
The following article appeared in the April 28 issue of the Concordiensis.
By Dan Greene
The 2010-2011 hockey season was the most historic one in the history of Union College. The Dutchmen broke many individual and program records, won their first Cleary Cup and made their first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament. But now, Union must pay the price: the price for winning, that is.
Last week, the Dutchmen’s backbone and architect left the program for bigger and better things within a five-day span. On Monday, sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid announced that he will forgo his final two years of eligibility and sign an entry level pro contract with the New Jersey Devils. Then on Friday, head coach Nate Leaman announced that he will be leaving Union after eight seasons to take the same position at Providence College of the Hockey East conference. His replacement is Union’s associate head coach Rick Bennett, who after 11 years of being an assistant coach is finally achieving his goal of becoming the head honcho.
So, in the blink of an eye, the Dutchmen lost a 2011 First Team All-American goaltender and the 2011 Spencer Penrose Award winner (college hockey’s Division I Coach of the Year). Both Kinkaid and Leaman were also named the top goaltender and coach, respectively, in the ECAC this season.
