Union-RPI 2009 Thanksgiving Classic

I tried my best to find a video of a Turkey playing hockey while wearing an ECAC Hockey's team jersey, but couldn't find one. So, here's the best I could've done:

These videos are from one of the craziest games I've ever seen. It took place in the 2009 RPI Holiday Tournament.

The Dutchmen earned a bid to the championship game vs. RPI after beating Lake Superior State in a shootout (game finished 0-0) the night before. Union took an early 3-0 lead in the contest with three first period goals. But, the host team fought back to cut Union's lead to 4-3 with about three minutes left in regulation. A Dutchmen player then took a penalty with 30 seconds to play, putting RPI on the power-play. Coach Appert then proceeded to pull the goaltender for a 6-on-4 advantage.

Then, a miracle happened:


But, then all of a sudden, it became a disaster for the Engineers:



Now wasn't that exciting! [Full Box Score]


Hope everyone out there has a great Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Nov. 3rd, 2012: Union 7, RPI 3

After a 6 Goal Second Period, Union Defeats RPI 7-3 at Home

This game was by far the most intense, exhilarating, over the top hockey games I've ever been to. The rivalry is well and alive and after this game, I expect things to get more wild in future match-ups. Bottom line, the Dutchmen stuck to their game and to quote RPI's head coach Seth Appert after Friday's loss, the Engineers played with a complete lack of maturity.

1st Period

The game's pace to begin the first period was fast and mean. RPI defensemen Dolan was called for interference about a minute and a half into the game and before two minutes in the period had passed, Carr put one in past RPI goalie Bryce Merriam. 1-0 Union. The speed of the period continued after the goal--this was extremely evident when (Cole) Ikkala/Roy/Sullivan line was out. Cole-train is a force to be reckon with. The intensity got the better of Sullivan and he was called with roughing, however, nothing came of this PP for RPI. Troy Grosenick made several key saves during this PP to keep RPI scoreless. The Dutchmen and the Engineers traded sustained pressure for the bulk of the middle of the period. At 12:50, an offensive zone faceoff win for RPI resulted in Jacob Laliberte feeding Ryan Haggerty, who made no mistakes about putting the puck top shelf on a one-timer. 1-1 Tie. The rest of the period consisted of a pitiful Union PP and an overall drop in the speed of the game.

(The) 2nd Period

Not to give anything away, but this is 20 minutes of hockey I plan to tell my kids about. 

More after the jump:

The first bit of noteworthy information came when Gros made a tremendous glove save (one of his many on the night) on a skipping puck through traffic. I don't imagine you will see that save on a highlight reel, but to see it in person and to see the ease in which he made the save was really impressive. Here begins the déjà vu... On a shot from Coburn, Daniel Caimpini deflected the puck past the RPI goaltender, exactly like the night before. More
later... 2-1 Union.

Read the rest of the exhilarating recap, and some must see points on UHB. They also recapped Friday's game.

Video: Route 7 Rivalry

Check out this great video highlighting the Route 7 Rivalry from Union's perspective (RPI fans will probably not like this).

The video was made by Union's video coordinator Phil Cohn. Click here to see more of this awesome work.

Game Time: Union at RPI

BFBS-Miami Heat Style

Notes:

RPI dresses in black tonight for its annual "black Friday" game. What Paul Lukas of Uni Watch calls BFBS (black for black's sake), the Engineers will roll out a new incarnation of their BFBSweaters. (Like that?) A fun compendium of their jerseys here, even for the most vehement Engineer haters. They are surprisingly successful in their black digs: 6-0-1, including thisinfuriating thrilling 4-3 OT win against the Dutchmen. Long story short, the Dutchmen will be uncharacteristically clad in white on the road.

My favorite BFBS RPI sweater? The 2009-2010 version. But don't despair, Union fans: these threads were the far-and-away favorite of last year's iteration of Union sweaters as voted on by fans on this site. /end aesthetic obsession.

Kyle Bodie, ECAC player of the week, looks to keep pace with his previous success. So far on the young season, the assistant captain leads the team with 8 points in 5 games (3G, 5A). Wayne Simpson, his linemate, isn't far behind, with 3 goals and 4 assists. 

This will be Nick Cruice's 4th game, Matt Wilkins's 6th game, Sebastien Gingras's 6th, and David Roy's 4th. Coach Bennett's mixing-and-matching will continue, but he may have found some flow: Gingras has looked outstanding from the blue line, while Cruice and Wilkins may be poised to play an even bigger role. 

The biggest, and most encouraging news from the Union front: Gostisbehere is back in the lineup. Good for Shayne, and good for the Dutchmen. And most importantly, for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, all of us here at UHB hope you are safe, sound, and warm. If you can, give blood, volunteer, or give.

Read the complete post on UHB.

Mid-week Bits and Points

via Times Union

A succinct recap of what happened last weekend, what has gone on this week, and what is to come in the weekend ahead.

Mid-week Bits and Points

The Dutchmen's 8-0 victory over AIC included a 4 point night from Kyle Bodie (2g, 2a), and a 25 save shutout from Colin Stevens.

• Goals from: Matt Hatch, Nick Cruice, Wayne Simpson, Kyle Bodie(2), Josh Jooris, Sam Coatta, and Max Novak
• Assists from: Kyle Bodie(2), Matt Wilkins(2), Josh Jooris(2), Wayne Simpson(2), Greg Coburn, Shayne Goshisbehere, Cole Ikkala, Kevin Sullivan, Sebastien Gingras

The Dutchmen's 2-2 tie with UConn was, from what I heard, not a let down given the team's play. Wayne Simpson and Greg Coburn both scored. This was The Dutchmen's 4th straight game with a pp conversion.

• Shayne Goshisbehere received a lower body injury as he attempted to go coast to coast from behind the net. Those AHA teams may not have the silkiest dangles but they'll hit the snot out of you. No word yet on his return.

The Dutchwomen lost to both Clarkson and St. Lawrence, conceding 6 goals each night. Courtney Turner scored her third on the year against St. Lawrence, her 3rd in 3 games.

Monday practice was canceled on Monday afternoon given the weather.

The special teams are looking solid with 8 PPGs in the past 4 games and 2 goals allowed on the PP this year.

I'm sure you'd like to check out the last point on UHB.

Video of the Week: Union-RPI Rivalry

The Dutchmen and Engineers renew the Route 7 Rivalry this weekend with Friday's game in Troy and Saturday's game in Schenectady. While Union has had the upper-hand recently, each game has been extremely close and hostile. Having attended many of these recent matchups, it is obvious that the two teams and their fans don't like each other. Many feel that this rivalry is currently the best in the ECAC and one of the most hostile in Eastern college hockey.

This video is from last year's ECAC Quarterfinal matchup between the two teams, and features beat writers, coaches, and players from both sides.

 

Monday Bits and Points

What do you think of the new Union uni's? (Concordy)

Though Union's mens team did not participate in any games this weekend doesn't mean there is nothing to talk about. (cue theme song music for...)

Monday Bits and Points

• The Dutchmen rank in at no. 8 in both national polls, falling one place from last week in USA Today/Hockey Magazine. They even corralled a #1 vote! 
• The ECAC generally had a great week (-RPI, and I'm sure none of you are going to cry about that) with Harvard stomping McGill, St. Lawrence scoring 10 goals while only surrendering 1 goal in back to back games at Maine, Quinnipiac grabbing a tie and a win against Ohio State, and Dartmouth winning against McGill and Norwich. What this does for the ECAC is show the rest of the country that we're a tough division. Top to bottom, we're certainly the tightest.
• Union will be on the road this weekend against AIC on Friday and UConn on Saturday. Union is 14-0-3 in its last 17 games against Atlantic Hockey competition, dating back to 2009-10.

See what else Mike has to say on the Union Hockey Blog.

Video of the Week: Union College Hockey - The Dream Season

I know last season is done with, but I thought this was a cool documentary on Union's great 2011-12 campaign. Even though the Dutchmen didn't get off to a good start this past weekend, they hope to build on last season's success.