Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

[DMA]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

For an interesting and in-depth analysis of the RPI game, see Dan Greene's blog at http://unionhockeyblog.blogspot.com/

[Wholin1]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

The exhibition with USA Under 18 should be entertaining. The game presents somewhat of a dilemma. I know the coaching staff would like to be the first ECAC team to win against this very talented team, but on the other hand coming 2 days after a draining effort against RPI, I'm sure they would like to rest some starters even with a break in the schedule coming up and maybe see what some of the players who haven't seen much ice time can do. I don't think a loss would be a buzzkill however. Remember to bring your toys!

[UnionFan36]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Union wins 4-1 over the USA U18 Team. Mario had 1-1 assists
Team looked amazing and looked like they wanted to make a statement

[Rolevio]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Union up to 16th in INCH's Power Rankings

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/5...polls_0812.htm

Teams Union have or will face this year also ranked are Cornell (#3), Yale (#6), Quinnipiac (#9), Massachusetts (#13), Maine (#19), St. Cloud State (#20), and Colgate and LSSU are on the bubble.

So Union is 2-1-3 so far against INCH ranked teams, 3-1-4 if you count the two bubble teams.

[Union93]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

The Dutch creep up to #18 in the latest USCHO poll.


http://www.uscho.com/rankings/

[OsecnUC]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

The Dutch creep up to #18 in the latest USCHO poll.


http://www.uscho.com/rankings/

who's the "Dutch Creep?"

[Wholin1]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Just thought I'd mention that U looked pretty good v. USA Under 18 team on Friday night. Not surprisingly, the US was a skilled and fast team but Union's physical game made it look like boys against men, which in a sense it was. Milan looked quite sharp in my view. Nice to see Cain get a goal and of course MVT continued his effective play. Got a brief glimpse of Bergeron on a few shifts and he looked OK I guess, but still no Ekstrom or Reid. Unfortunate in some respects to have a one-month hiatus from league play when Union is hitting on all cylinders. Hopefully the nonleague games after Xmas will keep them sharp.

[Rolevio]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Mario Valery-Trabucco is named ECAC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.

[UnionHockeyManiac]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

I just got back from Vegas and I couldn't be happier with Union's comeback win against RPI. This team shows heart and determination. I can't believe we haven't lost since October!

16th in the INCH Power Rankings!
18th in the USCHO Poll!

VERY impressive. Let's hope we can continue against Massachusetts after the break.

[OsecnUC]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

these long breaks always worry me. you just don't know what you'll get when the boys play their next game. particularly bothersome when the team is playing well. oh well.

we've jumped up onto the pages of the USCHO poll. polls are polls, but they are interesting. for our historians...what is the highest level that U has climbed in this poll? we're thinking this might be one of the finest teams that U has turned out, so just curious if this goes hand in hand. perhaps Ralph will be lurking on this page and have some way of pulling out this meaningless stat.

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

According to recent articles in the TU and Gazette, Union was ranked #12 in December 2000. That team started off winning 6 of their first 8 games including a sweep of Cornell/Colgate and win over RPI.. of course from there on the wheels came off and had only 6 more wins the whole season. I don't remember U being ranked during the 96-97 season, which was probably the only other time it might have happened.. but I doubt they were ever above #12. I could have swore U got some rankings love in 04-05 when they got off to the 6 win start in the league, but I could be wrong.. and again that was a team that took a nosedive after the quick start.

I think I can definitely say this is the latest in the season that U has been ranked and is the most deserved ranking the program has garnered. However, it's still pretty early in the season and it would not surprise me to see programs like Notre Dame, Michigan, Minnesota and BU make big rebounds in the second half and get back in the rankings. If U is ranked in mid-March, we'll have something to talk about.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

these long breaks always worry me. you just don't know what you'll get when the boys play their next game. particularly bothersome when the team is playing well. oh well.

we've jumped up onto the pages of the USCHO poll. polls are polls, but they are interesting. for our historians...what is the highest level that U has climbed in this poll? we're thinking this might be one of the finest teams that U has turned out, so just curious if this goes hand in hand. perhaps Ralph will be lurking on this page and have some way of pulling out this meaningless stat.

I do lurk here, but I don't keep track of that. Feel free to look through them yourself: http://www.uscho.com/rankings/archive.php.

[Rolevio]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

According to recent articles in the TU and Gazette, Union was ranked #12 in December 2000. That team started off winning 6 of their first 8 games including a sweep of Cornell/Colgate and win over RPI.. of course from there on the wheels came off and had only 6 more wins the whole season. I don't remember U being ranked during the 96-97 season, which was probably the only other time it might have happened.. but I doubt they were ever above #12. I could have swore U got some rankings love in 04-05 when they got off to the 6 win start in the league, but I could be wrong.. and again that was a team that took a nosedive after the quick start.

I think I can definitely say this is the latest in the season that U has been ranked and is the most deserved ranking the program has garnered. However, it's still pretty early in the season and it would not surprise me to see programs like Notre Dame, Michigan, Minnesota and BU make big rebounds in the second half and get back in the rankings. If U is ranked in mid-March, we'll have something to talk about.

And if I recall right it was the games during fall finals week that killed both early streaks in 2000 and 2004. I know 2000 for sure. Thankfully the school no longer schedules games during that week.

[aweise]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

And if I recall right it was the games during fall finals week that killed both early streaks in 2000 and 2004. I know 2000 for sure. Thankfully the school no longer schedules games during that week.

The 2004 league season started with wins over SLU, Clarkson, RPI (twice), Princeton, & Yale. Then they hit fall finals and went downhill. Four of those 5 teams finished below Union in the standings (9-12) and SLU finished 1 slot ahead of them in 7th. While it was a good start, it seemed that they just beat the bottom feeders of the league.

Polls are indeed polls and don't mean much, but it's nice to see the recognition. However, we've seen this movie before...Union has a great start to the season, gets ranked in the polls, then somehow falls apart in January and is fighting for 8th place and home ice by the time late February comes.

I'll be very interested to see how they perform in the UConn tournament, especially since their first game is against fellow-top-20 opponent UMass. But more important will be how they come out into the ECAC schedule in mid-January. Two tough road games at Princeton & Quinnipiac will tell me something.

[ECACHL writer]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Just a quick note: I'll be hosting a Q&A at 4 p.m. (EST) this afternoon to discuss the front-page commentary, ECAC Hockey and anything else people want to throw at me.