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

[Chefvad]

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

I remember Union being ranked 11th in December about 5 years ago. This, however, is a bit more exciting. Congrats, boys, and keep it up!

[Wholin1]

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

Hey guys, just a reminder that the Hobey Baker voting is going on right now. As most of you know, Union has two nominees: Mario Valery-Trabucco and Mike Schreiber. Schreibz, who is having a great season for Union, only has 20 votes. However, Mario has 1,574 votes and currently sits in 8th place in the voting. He is only 25 votes behind number 6. The top ten make it to the final round of voting so vote as many times as you can! http://www.hobeybaker.com/voting/

The way I read the rules, the fan vote only counts for 1% at each phase. Nonetheless Mario and Mike deserve our support.

[Wholin1]

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

I remember Union being ranked 11th in December about 5 years ago. This, however, is a bit more exciting. Congrats, boys, and keep it up!

According to Ken Schott, Union was last in the top 15 when ranked 12th in December 2000, how time does fly! Things obviously went downhill from there (for 9 years ). Let's hope for a better end to this season.

http://dailygazette.com/weblogs/scho...hotts-week-13/

[ADK11]

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

Union was ranked #11 in late November 2000, which appears to be the highest U has ever been. Of course, polls mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in college hockey. The Pairwise Ranking (PWR) does mean something (though only when you get to March), as it is used to pick teams for the NCAA tourny. The PWR is based largely on how well a team does against the top 25 teams in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which ranks teams based on strength of schedule & winning percentage. These 25 teams are called Teams Under Consideration (TUCs) and this list changes as teams do better & worse. As an example, U beat Quinny, who was a ranked TUC team so would have expected U's PWR to go up a couple notches. However, since Qpac lost both games on the weekend they fell out of the TUC so U's PWR stayed roughly the same. Bottom line is that the PWR doesn't mean squat until the end of the regular season.

Which does not mean that I am not ecstatic about how well the team has been doing. If anyone had told me that at this point in the season U would be ranked by every poll higher than Michigan, Notre Dame, BU, Minnesota, & UNH I would have said they were beyond crazy! Of course, you only have to look at Qpac to see how quickly winning streaks, high rankings, 1st place, etc. can go up in smoke. But I've liked what I've seen from the team so far, especially the very good defensive effort in the last game. This team is finding different ways to win every night and if they keep it up good things will continue to happen.

[UnionHockeyRadio]

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

My two cents on the polls and such:

Obviously, in terms of playing and X's and O's, the polls don't mean anything. However, behind the scenes - It has a big effect. Bigger community support, bigger media attention, something for the coaches to talk about, something for recruits and their families to notice (And something for pro scouts to notice too). In addition, it has to be fulfilling on some level for the coaches and staff as far as knowing the program is progressing, their recruiting is working well, and what they are doing is showing results on the ice.

So it means relatively little for the season at hand, but this sort of success this late in the season is going to benefit the program in the future as well - and that's why things like first place, high rankings and such are exciting and important to a program.

So while I understand the "Polls aren't anything to get excited about" mentality, the reality is Polls/First Place ARE something the fans and community should get excited about. It's good for the team now, and will be good for the team in the future. And hey, sometimes it's just fun to brag and be excited. I look at the ECAC standings and see Union at the top spot and look at the calendar and it puts a smile on my face every day. Not to mention I am simply proud of the effort being put forth every game and from what I see from the guys. They are good kids and they are working hard and playing well. It's fun to watch and be a part of.

So as long as you know that it doesn't assure success, it's more than ok to have some fun and be excited about the program and where it is and be proud of the progress that's been made. You're not going to win the championship every year, but things like this come up more often and there's no reason not to be excited about them We haven't won anything yet, but it's still good to be here!

[ADK11]

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

..and an update on the recruits.

- Daniel Carr is settling in nicely with Powell River in the BCHL after getting traded from the AJHL just before New Year's. He was held pointless in his first game, but has 7 points in the next 5. Prior to leaving the AJHL he was a unanimous selection to the league all-star team, was selected to play in the CJHL Prospects games where he had 2 points, and led the league in PPG with 54 points in 30 games.
- Defenseman Mat Bodie continues to play well at Powell River too and was recently named to the league all-star team. He currently has 18 points in 35 games and is reportedly a terrific skater and passer.
- Josh Jooris is leading the CCHL (Ontario) in scoring and is putting up numbers at a cartoon pace with a current line of 41-24-78-102-36. He also has an other-worldly plus/minus of +57, so appears he has a decent defensive game too. Josh was recently named to participate in the Battle of Ontario game, which is an all-star game between the CCHL and COJHL. Here's a recent article on Josh's commitment to U. http://thecchl.com/view/cchl/cchl-news/news_9341
- Kevin Sullivan of Berkshire Academy, hot off a 3 goal/1 assist effort at Albany Academy yesterday, is currently tied for 5th in NE Preps scoring with 36 points in 14 games. And actually, he can probably be considered the top D-1 scorer in NE Preps, as the players above him have not played the same level of competition (D-II merged with D-1).
- Dman Mike Ingoldsby of Oakville in the OJAHL was recently named to the league all-star team and has a 36-3-23-26-17 which is good for 12th in league scoring by defensemen.
- Forward Matt Hatch of Alberni in the BCHL has been putting up more points of late and has a 46-13-24-37-47 line. In an interesting game last Friday, Alberni played Powell River so there were 3 Union recruits on the ice at the same time. Alberni won 4-1 and Hatch had 2 assists , while Carr scored Powell's only goal and Bodie got a game DQ for hitting from behind .

This is a very important class having to replace IMO 3 of the most skilled players Union has ever had in Trabucco, Walters & Schreiber. I would say mission accomplished in nabbing Carr, Jooris, Sullivan and Bodie. Hatch may end up more of a role player, but he does have good size and put up big points in NE Preps so there may be more offensive upside than he is showing right now. Ingoldsby looks like a good, steady d-man who you can never have too many of.

Given the current roster, would expect to see a goalie added to replace Sillery. Will be interesting to see if they go after someone who can step into the backup/rotation role after Milan leaves next year or if they go for more of a bench warmer. A goalie prospect to keep in mind is Colin Stevens of Niskayuna who is currently playing for the Junior Bruins Empire League team. He has been putting up impressive stats and was recently called up to the USNDP team on an emergency basis (article below). Its been reported that Union, as well as RPI and several of schools, are interested in him. He is a 93' DOB so would have to be an '11 recruit at earliest.
http://www.bostonjuniorbruins.com/story5.html

[Wholin1]

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

A few comments on the last 2 posts from UHR and ADK.

It's been a long time coming so I am certainly going to savor U's being in first and our national ranking for as ever long as it may last. It's been a long time coming so let's enjoy it while we can, and hope for the best.

Thanks to ADK for the informative recruit update. It sounds like some more skilled reinforcements are on the way.

[unionbob]

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

from the TU website...

Let’s face it, the ECAC is pretty weak and there is no dominant team in this league. However, this parity also makes for exciting and tight games. Saturday should be fun, just wish it wasn’t being played in that antique they call Messa!

Comment by RPIgrad96 — January 14th, 2010 @ 9:11 am


..I say you got to be kidding me...

[Ralph Baer]

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

Recent article about Union recruit Josh Jooris http://www.burlingtonpost.com/sports/article/291496.

[Wicked Slappaahs]

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

Recent article about Union recruit Josh Jooris http://www.burlingtonpost.com/sports/article/291496.

I know Mark has spent some of his time as a coach specializing in teaching faceoff techniques. U backers should expect Josh to be pretty good inside the circle, if asked to do so.

[AnthonySaxe]

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

Union stays alone in 1st place!!! Congrats boys.

[ADK11]

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

A great night to be a Union College hockey fan .. not only did the men do an excellent job to stay in 1st place, but the women's team shutout Brown 3-0 to win their first ECAC since 2004 . Big congrats to both teams and coaches!!!!

..oh and all that crap I said earlier about rankings not meaning anything.. well with tonight's win Union is now up to freaking #7 in the PairWise.. AWESOME!!!!!!

Gooooooooooooooooooooooo U!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rolevio]

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

A great night to be a Union College hockey fan .. not only did the men do an excellent job to stay in 1st place, but the women's team shutout Brown 3-0 to win their first ECAC since 2004 . Big congrats to both teams and coaches!!!!

..oh and all that crap I said earlier about rankings not meaning anything.. well with tonight's win Union is now up to freaking #6 in the PairWise.. AWESOME!!!!!!

Gooooooooooooooooooooooo U!!!!!!!!!!!

7th when I looked, a late game must of pushed someone up.

[Wholin1]

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

Huge anxiety factor last night as I was certainly feeling the pressure and I think maybe the team was feeling it a bit as well at least in the first period. When I saw the the women had won earlier v. Brown I was thinking that maybe the Union hockey karma supply had been exhausted for the day.

A few observations. First, the house was really rocking and a great atmosphere. I was surprised there was no RPI band but I'm guessing they are still on semester break. Second, U has given up the first goal in each of its last 4 games and still come back to win. Not so many seasons ago, that would have been inconceivable. Nonetheless, I don't think that can go on forever. Second, I love / hate Polacek. What a huge talent in a little package. At least now the rest of the league can worry about dealing with him. I thought D'Amigo was a bit of a nonfactor but not for lack of effort on his part. I also thought he skated off a bit gimpy at one point. He'll be back to plague us though. Third, I think the turning point was Kinkaid's huge stop on CP's second short handed breakaway in the second period. I also thought at the time that U's failure to convert on the long 5 on 3 might also have been a turning point, but fortunately, it wasn't. Third, another great personal moment for Luke Cain, no one on the team has more heart. I really admire that kid and I would guess he may have earned a regular starting position.

Congratulations to all involved including the team, coaches and yes the fans. Let's hope for more of the same.

On a closing note, the place was packed last night which was great, but it also highlighted the inadequacies of the facility. Parking issues, squashed in seating, long lines at the rest rooms particularly for the women, and it was hotter than heck, at least where I was sitting. I think the administration should start thinking about a major facility upgrade or even a new one though I realize it may just be wishful thinking. Just throwing it out there for discussion.

[UnionHockeyManiac]

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

Was last night fun or was last night fun? Seeing the student section completely filled by 6:15 was a dream come true for me. Ever since being a freshman, I hoped and prayed for a student section like we had last night. No one had to be asked to stand. No one had to be asked to cheer. No one left early (except 4 ladies who were sitting in the row in front of me). The energy before the game was like a playoff atmosphere. Students at Union are finally taking note that we have one of the best hockey teams in the country. The facebook event group I started got forwarded to more than half the campus and over 500 had confirmed that they were going to the game. Unfortunately, they could only let 300 students in so hundreds were shut out.

As for the game, I thought we came out completely flat in the first period. I was very worried and I thought we were fortunate to escape only down one goal. Our play improved as the game went on though. It's amazing that during this winning streak, it seems like we always go down 1-0 but show the perseverance to come back and win the game. RPI has some really talented players on this team and it great to see the players get amped up for this game. Like someone said earlier, it is a truly great time to be a Union College hockey fan.

To see us at #7 in the PWR is incredible. If the national tournament started today, we'd be a 2 seed. That being said, we still have 12 games remaining (all ECAC) so we have a long way to go.