Team Notes: No. 11/12 Union Set for Key Series Against Colgate, Cornell

SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 11/12 Union men's ice hockey (15-6-6, 9-3-3 ECAC Hockey) opens the month of February with two key games in ECAC Hockey play against No. 20/RV Colgate (14-9-3, 8-5-1 ECAC Hockey) and No. 14/14 Cornell (11-6-4, 8-3-3 ECAC Hockey). Union moved into first place in the ECAC Hockey standings with 21 points, two ahead of Cornell and four ahead of Colgate, though each have a game in hand on the Dutchmen. Union is 7-1-3 in its last 11 ECAC Hockey contests, and 4-0-1 at Messa Rink during that span. Union swept both regular season series against Colgate and Cornell last season, but lost a memorable 2011 ECAC Quarterfinal series to the Raiders at Messa Rink. Colgate is coming off its first two-game sweep against Cornell since the 2003-04 season, while the Big Red suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this year.
 
»Pacing the Dutchmen                                                            
Senior forward Kelly Zajac, who leads the Dutchmen in scoring with 31 points (six goals, 25 assists) has a career long nine-game point streak (two goals, 11 assists). Sophomore forward Daniel Carr has points in five straight games (goal, four assists) and 11 of his last 12 games (six goals, seven assists). Junior forward Jeremy Welsh has 12 goals in his last 16 games. Welsh leads the team with 18 goals and enters the weekend as one of seven players in the nation with 18 or more goals. Sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie has goals in five of the last eight games.
 
»Zajac Nears School Assists Record                                                                       
Senior forward Kelly Zajac leads the Dutchmen in scoring with six goals and 25 assists. With 117 points (35 goals, 82 assists), Zajac is currently in sole possession of second place on the Union scoring list in the Division I era and trails Adam Presizniuk '11 by one for the assists record in the DI era.  He is 14 points shy of the Division I scoring mark, also held by Presizniuk. With an assist against Clarkson on Nov. 5, Zajac became the 20th member of the Union College Century Club (100 career points), and just the seventh Union student-athlete in the Division I era to accomplish that feat.
 
»Grosenick Leading the Nation in Net                                                              
Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick, who entered the season with just one career start, is off to a fantastic start in net for the Dutchmen in 2011-12. Grosenick, who has started 22 of 27 games in net for Union, leads the nation in goals-against average (1.58), is second in save percentage (.940), fifth in winning percentage (.738) and is tied for fifth in shutouts (4).
 
»On a Roll in ECAC Play                                                           
Union has picked up 17 of a possible 22 points in its last 11 league games (7-1-3) dating back to Nov. 12, when the Dutchmen fell 4-0 at home against Yale.  Union had an eight game ECAC Hockey unbeaten streak (5-0-3) from November to January and has now had an unbeaten league stretch of eight games or longer in each of the past three seasons.
 
»The Union-Colgate Series           
Friday's meeting will be the 58th all-time between the two schools and Colgate leads 35-17-2 and 26-12-2 in the Division I era. The programs first squared off on Feb. 15, 1929 and Union claimed a 3-1 win. Union is 6-3-1 in the last 10 regular season meetings against the Raiders, and 4-1-0 in the last five regular season games at Messa Rink.
 
Scouting Colgate
Fresh off its first home and home sweep of Cornell since the 2003-04 season, No. 20 Colgate (14-9-3, 8-5-1 ECAC Hockey) arrives at Messa Rink full of confidence. With the two wins over the Big Red, Colgate snapped a six game winless streak (0-5-1) and moved into third place in the ECAC Hockey standings.
 
Colgate senior forward Austin Smith has been the story thus far for the Raiders. Smith leads the nation in points (41), goals (26) and shorthanded goals (6) and is a strong candidate for the Hobey Baker Award. Sophomore forward Chris Wagner, the center on Smith's line, is also in the midst of a career season with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists). Senior defenseman Kevin McNamara leads an experienced defensive corps with five upperclassmen among the six regular starters. Sophomore goaltender Eric Mihalik (10-7-2, 2.85 GAA, .897 save pct.) has seen most of the action in net.
 
Colgate is 14th in the nation in scoring offense at 3.12 goals/game, and 25th in scoring defense at 2.69 goals allowed/game. The Raiders are 18.9% (27th NCAA) on the power play and 80.2% (42nd NCAA) on the penalty kill.

»The Last Meeting                  
On March 18, 2011, Colgate's Wade Poplawski scored at 12:52 of overtime to lift Colgate to a 4-3 win over No. 4/4 Union in the deciding game of an ECAC Quarterfinal series.

Poplawski picked up the puck on a broken play and fired a wrist shot over the glove of sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid for the game-winner, sending Colgate to Atlantic City for ECAC Hockey's Championship weekend.
 
The Dutchmen held leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2, but were unable to close out the Raiders. Union took a 3-2 lead in the third period after a goal at 3:13 by Kelly Zajac, who took a rebound off a shot from Adam Presizniuk and found an open net with Colgate goaltender Eric Mihalik out of position. Later in the frame, Colgate's Francois Brisebois fired a shot that deflected off a Union defenseman in front of the net, past Kinkaid at 17:33 to send the contest into overtime.
 
The Dutchmen took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Justin Pallos fed Mat Bodie at the point. Bodie fired a low shot that Mihalik stopped, but Andrew Buote was there to convert the rebound at 12:02 to give Union the lead. Colgate evened the score on a power play early in the second period. With Daniel Carr in the penalty box for interference, Colgate's Austin Smith scooped a backhander over the shoulder of Kinkaid at 2:59 to tie the score at 1-1. Just over two minutes later, Union would regain the lead on a power play of their own. Josh Jooris fed Jeremy Welsh for a one-timer which beat Mihalik at 5:15. Colgate's Kurtis Bartiff answered at 13:01 on another power play for the Raiders, beating Kinkaid in the slot to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the third period.

»The Union-Cornell Series           
The two teams first met on Feb. 12, 1928 and Cornell skated away with a 7-4 victory, propelling them to a 6-0-1 record against Union in the first seven meetings. On Feb. 22, 1992, Union earned its first victory over Cornell. The Big Red own the all-time series lead at 29-14-6, and a 24-14-5 Division I record. Union swept Cornell last season for the fourth time in school history.
 
»Scouting Cornell
No. 14 Cornell (11-6-4, 8-3-3 ECAC Hockey) enters the weekend smarting from back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Two losses to rival Colgate snapped a seven game unbeaten streak (4-0-3) and helped Union gain the top spot in the ECAC Hockey standings.
 
Cornell features a balanced scoring attack  led by three players with 18 points. Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino leads Cornell wih eight goals to go along with 10 assists, and has six power play goals as the point man on the Big Red power play unit. Junior forward Greg Miller (seven goals, 11 assists) and freshman forward Brian Ferlin (seven goals, 11 assists) play on the same line and have proven to be a formidable duo. Cornell's defense has been strong once again, allowing just 2.24 goals/game (6th NCAA). D'Agostino and freshman defenseman Joakim Ryan (six goals, five assists) are the top D-pair for the Big Red, and seniors Keir Ross and Sean Whitney have provided experience and depth on the backline.
 
Cornell is 20.5% (17th NCAA) on the power play and 75.0% (53rd NCAA) on the penalty kill.

»The Last Meeting                        
Matt Hatch scored twice, as No. 9 Union held Cornell to just nine shots on goal en route to a 4-0 win in front of 2,226 fans at Messa Rink.

Daniel Carr and Kevin Sullivan also scored for Union and goaltender Keith Kinkaid stopped all nine shots for his third shutout of the year and 20th win of the season, a new school single-season record.
 
The Dutchmen outshot Cornell 36-9 for the night, the fewest shots Union has allowed in a game in the Division I era, breaking the previous record of 12 shots allowed set on Dec. 30, 2005 against Canisius at Messa Rink. Union jumped out to an early lead on their first power play of the night, with Cornell's Dan Nicholls in the penalty box for roughing. Jeremy Welsh fed Carr in the slot, who fired a wrist shot past Cornell goaltender Mike Garman (32 saves) for an early lead at 2:50 of the first period.
 
The Dutchmen would tack on another goal minutes later, as Hatch struck for his first score of the night. Adam Presizniuk fired a shot from the circle that trickled underneath Garman. Hatch skated in and poked the puck across the goal line at 5:52 for a 2-0 Union lead. Union outshot Cornell 12-2 in both the first and second periods for a 24-4 shot advantage after two periods of play. The two shots in each period set a new mark for fewest shots allowed in a period by Union this season. The Dutchmen maintained a 2-0 lead heading into the third period, when Sullivan struck at 1:36, crashing the net on a rebound in the slot for his third goal of the season, and fourth point (two goals, two assists) in two games against Cornell this season. Hatch added an empty net goal at 14:11 for his second two-goal game of the season.

»What a Month of January!                                                                      
Over the past two seasons, Union has made a habit of playing their best hockey in January and February, when Union traditionally has a lengthy stretch of ECAC Hockey contests. Union finished the month of January with a 6-1-1 record in eight games, the team's best month since finishing February 2011 with a record of 7-0-1. In 2010-11 and 2009-10 combined, the Dutchmen compiled a 13-3-1 record in January and February at Messa Rink in ECAC Hockey contests.
 
»Grosenick Earns ECAC Monthly Award          
Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick earned ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month honors for his stellar performance in eight games during the month of January. He posted a record of 6-1-1 with a 1.37 goals-against average and .951 save percentage, posting shutouts against Harvard on Jan. 13 at Fenway Park, and at home against St. Lawrence on Jan. 28. He made a season-high 39 saves in a 5-1 win against Rensselaer on Jan. 14. Grosenick allowed a goal or less and had a save percentage of .967 or better in five of eight starts leading the Dutchmen to first-place in the league standings.
 
»Home Is Where The Heart Is
Dating back to the beginning of last season, the Dutchmen have an impressive record (21-4-5) in their last 30 regular season home games at Messa Rink. Not including exhibition contests, the Dutchmen are 145-137-45 all-time at home in the Division I era.

»Starting Off Strong                                                                            
Union has scored in the first period of 22 of its first 27 games this season and has a 14-3-5 record in those contests. The Dutchmen have scored their opposition 43-16 in the opening frame and have scored first in eight straight games. Union has scored a goal in the first 10:00 of the first period in 13 contests this season (9-1-3) and scored in the first minute of games three times this season (10/22 vs. RIT, 11/11 vs. Brown, and 1/21 at Brown).

»That's always a Plus                            
Union has four players among the top 10 in ECAC Hockey plus-minus leaders. Sophomore forward Matt Hatch leads the team and is tied for third in the league with a plus-14 rating. Sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie leads all ECAC Hockey defensemen and is tied for fifth overall with a plus-13 rating. Junior forward Wayne Simpson is tied for seventh with a plus-12 rating, and senior forward Kelly Zajac is tied for ninth with a plus-11 rating.
 
»Bodie Nears Own Record                            
Sophomore defensmean Mat Bodie set a school record for points by a defenseman in the Division I era last season, recording 32 points (six goals, 26 assists) in 40 games played. This season, Bodie is on pace to break his own record, with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 25 games played.
 
»Double Digit Scorers               
Union's balanced offensive attack features 10 student-athletes in double-digits for points. Union set a school record with 16 double-digit scorers last season, and is on pace to come close to that number this season. Senior forward Kelly Zajac (6g-25a) leads the team with 31 points, while sophomore forward Daniel Carr (12g-13a) is second with 25 points.
 
Carr's linemate, junior forwad Jeremy Welsh (18g-6a) has 24 points, while classmate Wayne Simpson (13g-9a) has 22 points. Sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie (7g-15a) has 22 points, while older brother Kyle Bodie (3g-14a) has 17 points. Sophomore forward Josh Jooris (3g-12a) has 15 points and classmate Matt Hatch (5g-7a) has 12 points. Freshmen Shayne Gostisbehere(3g-8a) and Max Novak (5g-5a) are recent additions to the list.
 
»Bennett's Impact                         
Since stepping foot on the Union College campus, Rick Bennett has helped mold the Dutchmen into one of the top defensive teams in ECAC Hockey. The 2011-12 team continues to show evidence of Bennett's impact on the program.
 
Through 26 games, Union leads in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 1.85 goals/game. The Dutchmen have allowed just 48 goals in 27 games played, one year after setting a school record by allowing just 82 goals in 40 games played.