This Week in Union College Hockey - November 12
Weekly Storyline
Union Heads Into Exam Week as ECAC Hockey’s Top Ranked Team – After a weekend split at Harvard (W, 6-2) and Dartmouth (L, 2-3), Union climbed one spot to No. 7 in the latest USCHO.com Poll released on Monday. Union, the highest-ranked ECAC Hockey team in the rankings, received 665 points in the poll. The Dutchmen are one of five ECAC Hockey teams ranked joining No. 10 Cornell, No. 12 Dartmouth, No. 16 St. Lawrence and No. 17 Harvard. Union has appeared in the USCHO.com Poll for 70 consecutive weeks since the Dec. 7, 2009 rankings, extending a school record. The Dutchmen are idle this weekend as Union enters exam week at the conclusion of the fall term on Tuesday.
Must Read/See/Hear Material
USCHO.com: November 12 – Division I Men’s Poll
USCHO.com: Big Green walk the walk
USCHO.com: Ciampini’s three points propel Union to rout of Harvard
College Hockey News: Union’s Grosenick injured in win
College Hockey News: The Takeaway: Dartmouth Remains Undefeated
Albany Times-Union: Union’s rally falls short vs. Green
Schenectady Daily Gazette: Dartmouth holds off Union rally, 3-2
NOTE OF THE WEEK
Dutchmen Scoring in Bunches – Union has scored four or more goals in six games this season and has received great depth in scoring with contributions from 14 different goal-scorers. Union is one of seven teams in Division I college hockey with 14 or more goal-scorers (Michigan and Merrimack lead the country with 15 different goal scorers). Senior forward Wayne Simpson (six goals) leads the group and has a six game goal-scoring streak snapped at Dartmouth on Saturday.
FIVE MORE NOTES NO MEDIA PERSON SHOULD BE WITHOUT
Jooris Gets An “A” – With junior defenseman Mat Bodie out (week-to-week) with an upper body injury, junior forward Josh Jooris will be wearing an “A” on his jersey as Union’s third captain, joining senior forward Kyle Bodie and senior defenseman Greg Coburn.
Union in ECAC Hockey Play -Union, the defending Cleary Cup and Whitelaw Cup champions, has won three of its first four ECAC Hockey contests this season. Union has picked up 32 of a possible 42 points in its last 21 league games (14-3-4) dating back to Nov. 12, 2011, when the Dutchmen fell 4-0 at home against Yale last season.
Shorthanded Scoring Binge - Union leads the nation with five shorthanded goals in nine games this season after junior forward Matt Hatch’s shorthanded goal on Saturday against Dartmouth.
On Oct. 12, in a 5-3 win at Bowling Green, the Dutchmen scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill in the third period, as Kyle Bodie scored at 6:22 and junior defenseman Mat Bodie notched another goal at 6:21 to give Union a 5-2 lead.
It was just the fourth time since Nov. 30, 2002 that Union has scored two shorthanded goals in a game, and the first time since Jan. 14, 2012 in a 5-1 win over RPI.
Dutchmen Heating Up on the Man Advantage - Union has been especially hot on the power play of late, notching a power play goal in seven of the last eight games. Union, which has the nation’s No. 1 PP, is 14-for-39 (35.0%) during that stretch, including four games in which the team has scored two or more power play goals. Last Saturday against RPI, Union recorded a season high four power play goals (4-for-8) en route to a 7-3 win over the Engineers.
Off To a Great Start – At 6-2-1, Union has matched the best second best start in program history, as the Dutchmen were 6-2-1 through eight games in 2003-04. Union’s best start came in 2000-01, when the Dutchmen went 6-1-2.
