Team Notes: No. 12 Union Returns to Road to Face Yale, Brown

SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 12/12 Union men's ice hockey (12-5-6, 6-2-3 ECAC Hockey) carries a four game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) into play this weekend at Yale (8-7-2, 5-4-1 ECAC Hockey) and Brown (7-7-3, 4-4-2 ECAC Hockey). The Dutchmen are 4-0-3 in their last seven conference games and are 9-0-2 in their last 11 ECAC Hockey road contests, an unbeaten stretch that dates back to the second half of the 2010-11 season. Union is set to face the two ECAC Hockey teams that have beaten the Dutchmen this season as Brown earned a 2-1 win on Nov. 11, while Yale won 4-0 on Nov. 12, both games at Messa Rink. On Sunday, Yale fell 5-4 at Clarkson, as the Bulldogs surrendered three power play goals, including the game-winner in overtime by Clarkson's Sam Labrecque, while Brown capped off a three point North Country weekend with a 4-1 win at St. Lawrence.
 
»Road Warriors
Union has established itself as one of college hockey's toughest road teams over the past two seasons. The Dutchmen are 8-3-3 on the road this season. Union is 26-13-6 in road contests over the past two-plus years, including a current 21-game stretch (15-3-3) that includes the final seven (7-0-0) road games of the 2010-11 season. Union's recent eight-game stretch away from Messa Rink, ending at Colorado College on Dec. 31, marked the longest stretch of games away from Schenectady for Union since the 2004-05 season, when the Dutchmen played nine consecutive contests at road/neutral sites from Nov. 19, 2004-Jan. 2, 2005.
 
»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 18 of 23 games in net for Union, leads the nation in goals-against average (1.60) and save percentage (.939), and tied for fifth in shutouts (3).
 
»Pacing the Dutchmen
Junior forward Jeremy Welsh has 13 points (10 goals, three assists) in the last 12 games and has scored a goal in eight of his last 12 contests. Welsh leads the team with 16 goals and enters the weekend as one of six players in the nation with 16 or more goals. Sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie(four goals, 15 assists), who had a goal against Rensselaer, has points in seven of his last eight games (three goals, five assists). Sophomore forward Daniel Carr has points in seven of his last eight games (five goals, four assists). Senior forward Kelly Zajac, who had five points (one goal, four assists) last weekend, has points in five straight games (goal, seven assists).
 
»Grosenick, Zajac Honored by ECAC Hockey
Senior forward Kelly Zajac and sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick each earned ECAC Hockey weekly awards, the league announced Tuesday. Zajac earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors, while Grosenick was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week for the third time this season. Zajac had a hand in five of Union's seven goals on the weekend, leading the Dutchmen to wins against Harvard (2-0) and Rensselaer (5-1). Grosenick had another solid weekend in net for the Dutchmen, recording his third shutout of the season with 18 saves against Harvard and followed that with a 39 save performance against Rensselaer on Saturday night.
 
»The Union-Yale Series
In a series that dates back to Jan. 10, 1992, the Bulldogs own a 23-16-4 advantage over the Dutchmen. In the last five outings, Yale has a 3-1-1 record. The last time these two teams met in November, the Dutchmen were shutout at home for the first time since Feb. 27, 2009, when they fell 2-0 to St. Lawrence. On Jan. 28, 2011, Union defeated No. 1 Yale, 3-2 at Messa Rink to earn its first win over a top-ranked team in program history. The two teams took part in the second-longest game in NCAA history when Yale defeated Union in a five overtime game, 3-2, during the 2006 ECAC Hockey Playoffs.
 
»Scouting Yale
Yale, which came away with one out of a possible four points in a trip to the North Country, outshot last weekend's opposition by a combined 79-57 while playing a pair of overtime contests. The Elis went 2-for-13 with the man-advantage, and allowed four power-play scores in 11 chances, including the game-winner in a 5-4 OT loss at Clarkson on Sunday.
 
Senior Brian O'Neill leads the team with 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) and junior Andrew Miller is also dangerous with four goals and 16 assists. Miller currently ranks fourth in Division I with 1.0 assists per game. Junior Jeff Malcolm has started every game this season and has all eight wins. Malcolm has a 2.63 GAA (36th in Division I) with a .914 SP (37th) this year. Yale ranks seventh in scoring offense (3.53) and 35th in defense (2.88). The Bulldog penalty-kill is eighth (87.5) in the country and its power play unit is fifth (26.6).
 
»The Union-Brown Series
Saturday's contest will mark the 42nd meeting all time between the two schools and the 41st since Union went to Division I in 1991. Brown leads all-time series 20-12-10 and 19-12-10 in DI play. The Dutchmen are 2-1-2 in their last five games against Brown, and 5-10-5 all-time at Meehan Auditorium.
 
»Scouting Brown
Brown has proven to be one of the most dangerous teams in ECAC Hockey this season, with wins over each of the top three teams (Cornell, Union, and Quinnipiac) in the ECAC Hockey standings as of Jan. 18. The Bears are 4-1-2 in their last seven games, including non-conference wins at New Hampshire and Providence. Brown earned three out of four points in the North Country trip, with a 4-1 win at St. Lawrence on Sunday to cap off the weekend.
 
Senior Jack Maclellan, a preseason All-ECAC Hockey first team member, is the team leader in scoring with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 17 games played. Freshman Ryan Jacobson is off to a great start for the Bears and is second on the team in points (15) and goals (eight). Senior forward Bobby Farnham (five points, eight assists) is also one of Brown's impact players up front and had a goal and two assists against St. Lawrence. Senior goaltender Mike Clemente has seen most of the action in net and is 6-7-1 with a 2.43 GAA and .911 save pct.

Brown is 11 for 79 (13.9%) on the power play (47th NCAA) and 68 for 80 (85.0%) on the penalty kill. (11th NCAA).
 
»A Night to Remember at Fenway
Last night, Union played its first outdoor game in nearly 63 years at historic Fenway Park, earning a 2-0 win over Harvard in front of 8,981 fans. Union's first outdoor game since Feb. 12, 1949 was a success, as the team wore eye black to combat the glare of the lights and commemorative jerseys with a similar design to those worn in 1949, when the Dutchmen fell 2-0 at Vermont. Sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie scored with 3.6 seconds left in the second period to break a scoreless tie, and senior forwardKelly Zajac added a third period goal for the Dutchmen. Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick made 18 saves for his third shutout of the seaosn. Union played varsity intercollegiate hockey outdoors from 1919 to 1949. Union's last win in an outdoor game came on Jan. 3, 1948, when the Dutchmen beat Lehigh at a tournament hosted by Hamilton College in Clinton, NY.
 
»Shorthanded Breakthrough
On Jan. 14 against RPI, the Dutchmen notched their first two shorthanded goals of the season in rapid succession. SophomoresMat Bodie and Matt Hatch scored shorthanded just over four minutes apart in the first period of a 5-1 win over the Engineers. For Union, it marked the first time since March 7, 2009 against Clarkson that the Dutchmen scored two shorthanded goals in a game, and the third time in the past decade (Nov. 30, 2002 at Brown) that Union accomplished that feat.
 
»On a Roll in ECAC Hockey Play
Union is in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten streak in league play (4-0-3) dating back to Nov. 12, when the Dutchmen fell 4-0 at home against Yale. This marks Union's longest unbeaten stretch in league play since the team finished the 2010-11 regular season 10-0-1 in its final 11 ECAC Hockey games. Union has now had an unbeaten league stretch of seven games or longer in each of the past three seasons, including an 7-0-3 start to league play in the 2009-10 season.