sk8tronthepond
Registered User
Re: 2013-2014 Union Dutchmen - Can U Three Peat? (Part II)
Unfortunately, nothing is available at the Best Western Adirondack Inn!
Unfortunately, nothing is available at the Best Western Adirondack Inn!
Shameless Plug Dept. For those who have game 3 Dartmouth tickets, consider donating the value of them to the Garnet Blades. The other options are refund or credit against next year's tickets. I think you have until next week to act.
QU is about 30 min from Bridgeport and 90 min from Worcester. If Union and QU are the only ECAC teams to make the NCAA I wouldn't doubt that QU is sent to Worcester to keep the only 2 ECAC teams out of the same bracket.
This link mentions the ticket refund options. I mailed mine to the Union College Athletics Office, 807 Union St., Schenectady 12308, Att: Kathee Natole. http://www.unionathletics.com/news/2014/3/4/MICE_0304143610.aspx?path=mhockey#Refund The deadline is March 28th. On behalf of the Blades, thank you!Who do we tell what to do with our ticket? I'd like to donate to the Blades, so I want to be sure it happens.
Cornell head coach Mike Schafer said today that forward Dustin Mowrey is out for the year. He had 6 goals and 14 assists in 23 games. Mowrey last played March 1 vs Harvard.
I know that exams are this week. Anyone know when the team is heading up to Lake Placid?
Good summary.. as usual, I'm worried (but hopeful) about this game. Beating a team like Cornell 3 times in a season is not easy, especially in a big game like this, and the boys better not be overconfident for this one. There has been plenty of talk about U being so much faster and will do better on the big ice like they did at SCSU and UNH. The radio guys were saying this as soon as the Dartmouth series was over and that U would have an advantage over Cornell/Clarkson. This ignores that two keys to doing well on the big ice are 1) maintaining puck possession, and 2) defensive discipline covering in front of your net. Cornell is VERY good at both of these aspects of the game. Unlike SCSU & UNH they don't often take wild shots that can rebound back and cause a quick break the other way. They like to cycle the puck endlessly and grind down the defense, which actually can be easier to do on the bigger ice since is not as easy to pin them in a corner or along the boards, and they are tough to take the puck away from in open ice. Not saying that U can't and shouldn't be able to use their speed to open up the ice and get good scoring chances, but the supposed advantage may not be that great and the boys will need to bring serious A-game.Cornell will be very tough. They are physically the biggest team in College Hockey in both height and weight. The last time we played them we needed stretcher bearers to carry off our dead and wounded during the ceasefire. I think we lost three starters from that game. It was very costly. Cornell is well disciplined, always follows through on their checks and has been a "top 10" on team defense (8th currently) in College hockey. That defense is anchored by one of the premier college hockey goalies, Andy Iles. It is very hard to get shots by him as Clarkson recently found out. Early in the year their power play led the nation. They are ahead of us on the penalty kill.
Most troubling of all, Cornell always plays at another level when in tournaments or big games. We saw this two years ago when they upset Michigan in the NCAA's. One of the reasons is that they are so well coached. Make no mistake about that. We are also going up against one of the best coaches in College hockey. If there is a way for Cornell to win, he will have it figured.
We have several positives on our side and I think we all know what they are but as Coach Bennett said in one of the news conferences, the team that wants it the most, when the puck drops .....
It was to our advantage to play a very big and tough and physical Dartmouth team as preparation.
The magic number for us on this segment of the quest is 2. Are we still hungry? I know our seniors are ....
If we manage a win against Cornell ..... the hero's are going to be The Captain and Ghost and Stevens. With the big ice we need to take away the added time and space from the Cornell forwards. Win or lose, I hope our causally count is not high.
I am driving from Boston Friday morning. Hope to see you all there.
Go Dutchmen !!!!!
I think I mentioned the "Union Coach" connection somewhere earlier but forgot about the Riga aspect. It's a small fraternity of D-1 coaches, but that is still amazing. I guess if a coach can be successful at Union with all of it's limitations, then that translates well elsewhere.BTW, I do find it interesting that the last couple USCHO Bracketology predictions have the "Bracket of Union Coaches" with U, Providence (Leaman, Barr), UVM (Sneddon), and Quinnipiac (Riga).
I think I mentioned the "Union Coach" connection somewhere earlier but forgot about the Riga aspect. It's a small fraternity of D-1 coaches, but that is still amazing. I guess if a coach can be successful at Union with all of it's limitations, then that translates well elsewhere.
I am also anxious about the upcoming weekend. It is inconceivable to me that any team, and particularly Union's could take Cornell lightly, for all of the reasons stated above. They will be a very, very tough opponents regardless of whether they are playing on a regulation, Olympic size rink or outside on Mirror Lake. I do believe that Ghost could be the wild card here. I think his past few games have been a bit inconsistent and he displayed some lack of discipline in taking some bad penalties against Dartmouth. Still, with his skills and vision of the ice he can be extremely dangerous, IF he plays smart and under control, much as he did at SCSU.
Hard work pays off! Also, congrats to Ciampini and VechECAC FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
http://ecachockey.com/men/2013-14/News/20142003_All-Conf_All_Rook_Team
Forward Greg Carey, St. Lawrence
Forward Daniel Carr, Union
Forward Ryan Haggerty, Rensselaer
Defense Shayne Gostisbehere, Union
Defense Mat Bodie, Union
Goaltender Colin Stevens, Union
AWESOME !!!!!