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

[Rolevio]

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

Just catching it now, but INCH had a Q&A session with Shreiber for this weekend: http://insidecollegehockey.com/inch/...-up-schreiber/

[MarkEagleUSA]

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

Congrats to Union on a great season that came up just a bit short. Nothing at all to be ashamed of.

[achillesrink-3-7-5]

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

A disappointing end to a great season. Congratulations to the players and coaches for taking this program to a new level. It's hard to get so close then come up short, but think where the program spent so many of these last 19 years and this is sure a lot more fun.

The better team doesn't always win, but they did tonight. Cornell is tough, especially Scrivens.

[Wholin1]

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

Well the end left a lot to be desired but the disappointment will in no way diminish what has been a dream season. Union exceeded expectations in almost every regard and achieved what a few short years ago seemed unattainable. Thanks go out to the entire Union community-coaches, players, staff and fans. Best wishes to the seniors who provided so many thrills and have left their indelible imprint on the program. Go U!

[TimU]

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

I think our teams wore each other out on Friday. But even though Union may have been tired, they skated hard and put up a good effort.

You guys had a great season, and I'm a little scared of what you might do next year.

Oh, and I have a question for you. During the anthem, you always yell "Oh say can U see . . ."

Why don't you yell "Oh say can UC . . ."?

Just wondering.

[FlagDUDE08]

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

I think our teams wore each other out on Friday. But even though Union may have been tired, they skated hard and put up a good effort.

You guys had a great season, and I'm a little scared of what you might do next year.

Oh, and I have a question for you. During the anthem, you always yell "Oh say can U see . . ."

Why don't you yell "Oh say can UC . . ."?

Just wondering.

If there's any consolation, there's confusion between some RPI fans as to when to, although quite inappropriate, yell "sucks". Some do it after you, and some do it after see.

Here's to making the capital district the toughest weekend next year.

[Red Cloud]

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

If there's any consolation, there's confusion between some RPI fans as to when to, although quite inappropriate, yell "sucks". Some do it after you, and some do it after see.

Some don't do it at all because it's freaking stupid.

[Wholin1]

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

As we close the books on Union's most magnificent season in its D-1 or possibly for that matter its entire hockey history I figured it's never too early to get the juices flowing with an off season thread.

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.ph...00#post4712300

[aweise]

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

Tough way to end the season, but I have nothing to complain about. Too many penalties is not the way to play against the brick wall that is Cornell.

It almost brought a tear to my eye when the entire crowd was encouraged to salute the Dutchmen players after the game was over...and did so for a good 20-30 seconds.

Final 09-10 thoughts...

I think it's easy to say that not many of us would have thought this team would make the ECAC championship game, but after a good playoff run in '09, my expectations were certainly higher than before. The boys didn't disappoint.

I can't say that I'm going to miss anyone more than Mario Valery-Trabucco, Jason Walters, and Mike Schreiber, but I like the future. Keith Kinkaid will be an elite goaltender in this league and guys like Brock Matheson, Greg Coburn, Nolan Julseth-White, and Ryan Forgaard will lead a solid group of defensemen. Kelly Zajac, Jeremy Welsh, the Simpson brothers, and Adam Presizniuk are now the main offensive forces.

Congratulations to everyone in this program on their best D-1 season ever. I don't think anyone in the country will look at Union as a doormat anymore. We're finally on the map!

[Wholin1]

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

Something I meant to mention about last night's game. Was anyone else a bit surprised that we didn't go empty net down 2-0 when on the PP with about 4:00 minutes remaining? I know it's a tough call, but I was guessing that we would give it a try in that situation.

[OsecnUC]

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

I think our teams wore each other out on Friday. But even though Union may have been tired, they skated hard and put up a good effort.

You guys had a great season, and I'm a little scared of what you might do next year.

Oh, and I have a question for you. During the anthem, you always yell "Oh say can U see . . ."

Why don't you yell "Oh say can UC . . ."?

Just wondering.

I thinking it's due to the fact that the faithful refer to the school more often as "Union" or just plain "U" without mention of college. Fans will yell "let's go U," "come on U," or the like during a game. Short and sweet, but it is a bit questionable during the National Anthem while not nearly as offensive/disrespectful as adding in words related to vacuums. I, for one, chose to hold off on these types of cheers during this time as I hold the value of the song near and dear...this coming from a fan with the handle OsecnUC

[TimU]

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

I thinking it's due to the fact that the faithful refer to the school more often as "Union" or just plain "U" without mention of college. Fans will yell "let's go U," "come on U," or the like during a game. Short and sweet, but it is a bit questionable during the National Anthem while not nearly as offensive/disrespectful as adding in words related to vacuums. I, for one, chose to hold off on these types of cheers during this time as I hold the value of the song near and dear...this coming from a fan with the handle OsecnUC

Thanks. I don't like the yelling either. It just occurred to me UC was an obvious fit.

[ADK11]

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

Been letting the emotions of the weekend sink in.. lots of positives from the weekend and certainly no shame losing to an outstanding Cornell team, but feel bad for the seniors reaching the end of their college careers at U. Mostly though I have to say
Thank-You
Than-You
Thank-You
to all the players, coaches, support staff and FANS for such a fabulous season!!

It really is incredible how far the program as a whole has come in the last 3-4 years and this year in particular. The seniors should be VERY VERY PROUD of their achievements. There is now a completely different attitude and respect from within and outside the program for what Union College hockey teams can accomplish. Winning the RPI tourny, being ranked since November, top 4 finish, 20+ wins, all-league/COTY honors, one win from a league championship & NCAA berth - these were all things that seemed practically impossible when this group of seniors were freshmen. And for us fans that endured the mostly futile 15 previous years in D-1 this was nothing short of a cathartic experience. The on-ice celebration after the Quinnipiac series win still gets me choked up just typing this and the ovation after the championship game was right up there too. Its really been honor to see this group of young men evolve into a cohesive, excellent hockey team that plays the game the right way, while also being good students and an integral part of the Union student body. I for one had my doubts that I would ever see it happen but am ecstatic to have been proven wrong!

Now that the bar has been raised, hopefully we as fans can avoid being cynical and overly critical when the team doesn't go to league finals, NCAAs etc. - though maybe that isn't such a bad problem to have .

[UnionHockeyManiac]

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

I never got to comment on this weekend and give my general thoughts on the season because as soon as I got home from my capital district trip on Sunday, I learned that my home was still without internet access from the storm a week ago. Anyway, we are still without cable and internet but I'm at the public library now so I figured I'd get this in.

I don't think I have ever had such a bittersweet feeling after a sports season. When I made this thread ("Albany? This is the year"), I have to admit that although I wanted it to happen, I was skeptical as to whether or not it was more fantasy or more reality. As soon as I saw the team play that first weekend against Maine and after speaking with a lot of the players and the coach, I truly believed that this was going to be a special year. I say bittersweet instead of just sweet because I think this team was good enough to reach the national tournament and to come so close leaves a bitter taste. I can confidently say that I will never step foot in Fort Wayne, Indiana but I wanted to be there (or St. Paul, Albany, Worcester) so badly this weekend. After we beat St. Lawrence, I started to look at airfares to St. Paul and Fort Wayne. As early as November, I was even looking at hotels in those locations but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. However, looking back on the season as a whole and seeing what this team accomplished, it is very sweet.

To Schreibz, Waks, Mario, Wally, Lareau, Shaffer, Christo, and Pudge: It was a helluva run over these last four years. I remember going to games our freshman year and sitting in the front of section Q (I moved to the back starting sophomore year ) and thinking how tough it was going to be rooting for such a terrible team. Then every year after that. The school went farther than any year in history. In 2008, Union managed to get the 4th seed and the first round bye before being swept in the 2nd round. In 2009, Union managed to barely get home ice before winning a playoff series for the first time and then taking Princeton to 3 games in the ECAC Quarterfinals. This year, the team reached new heights. The highlights of the season for me include the first weekend sweep of Maine, the win over RPI on January 16th where Messa was well overcapacity (that night, Union reached #7 in the PWR!), Senior Night victory over Quinny 7-3 (LET'S GO SENIORS DA DA DADADA), the entire playoff series vs. Quinny (5 OTs then coming back to win the next two), and then the win over St. Lawrence in the ECAC Semi-Finals. In the finals, Cornell was just too strong and I felt like we never got any momentum going. After all, with 8(?) penalties being called against us, that was kind of tough to get anything going.

Anyway, I think the future of the team is bright despite losing so many talented players this season. We still have Keith and Corey in goal. We still have Brock, Coburn, Stu, Juice, Forgaard, Reid, and JS on D. We still have Prezzy, Boileau, Luke, Zajac, Welsh, Bootsy, Kelly, John and Wayne Simpson, Yanovitch, Pallos, and Bodie on offense. It will be tough for me to be as big a fan and for me to go to as many games since I will be 150 miles away from Messa Rink as opposed to 150 yards from Messa Rink but I will do my best to stay up to date.

It has been a great run and it has been great talking Union hockey with all of you.

LET'S GO UNION DA DA DADADA...for life.