ITHACA, NY -- With a first-round bye already secure, the 15th-ranked Union College men's ice hockey team will be gunning for the top spot in ECAC Hockey when it travels to ninth-ranked Cornell on Friday, Feb. 26 and to Colgate on Saturday, Feb. 27. Both contests are slated for 7 p.m. Yale currently sits in first place in the league with a 14-4-2 record (30 pts.), but Union is only two points back with a 12-4-4 mark (28 pts.). The Big Red is also in second place with a 13-5-2 record (28 pts.), meaning the winner of the Union-Cornell game will finish no lower than second place. Colgate, which is in war for fourth place and the final first round bye, enters the weekend at 10-8-2 (22 pts.)
Union fans can keep tabs on the Dutchmen this weekend by listening to Matt Dubrey and Brian Unger '93 on WRUC 89.7 FM or online at Teamline.cc. Live stats and video for the Cornell contest can be found at
CornellBigRed.com, while both features for the Colgate outing can be seen at
GoColgateRaiders.com. Scoring updates will be provided on Twitter at
@UnionHockey.
Union has produced 18 wins this season – the second most in the program's Division I history. Last season, the Dutchmen finished with a program-best 19 wins. All-time, Union has reached 20 or more wins twice. The team went 22-9-1 in 1984-85 and 22-3-1 in 1976-77.
With a weekend sweep of Princeton and Quinnipiac, the Dutchmen earned their 12th conference win of the season – the most ever in program history. Previously, Union had an 11-8-3 record in 1996-97.
Individually, senior defenseman
Mike Schreiber is setting records. His 28 points are the most by a Union defenseman ever, while his 20 assists are tied with Reid Simonton's total during the 1993-94 season. Schreiber is only one goal away from tying
Brendan Milnamow (2008-09) for most goals by a defenseman in a season of nine.
>> Scouting Cornell
Cornell joins Union as one of three teams within striking distance of the first-place spot in ECAC Hockey. With 28 points, Cornell and Union are tied for second and two points behind Yale.
The Big Red is coming off a 5-4 setback at Dartmouth, a day after knocking off Harvard 3-0.
Senior Blake Gallagher leads the team with 17 goals and 32 points and he is third with 15 assists. His 10 power-play goals are tied for sixth most in the nation.
Ottawa Senator prospect, Colin Greening is second on the team with 30 points, registering 13 goals and 17 assists.
As usual senior Ben Scrivens has been the man in net for Cornell. In 27 games, he has posted a 16-8-3 record with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
>> The Union-Cornell Series
On Feb. 22, 1992 the Dutchmen earned their first victory, 6-4, against the Ithaca, NY team. Cornell owns the all-time series lead with a 27-12-6 mark and a 22-12-5 Division I record. The Dutchmen's last victory came in the form of a 3-2 win at Cornell on Feb. 15, 2008.
Cornell owns a 4-0-1 record against Union in the last five games and a 6-2-2 in the last 10 meetings.
Union is 5-15-3 all-time at Cornell.
>> Scouting Colgate
The Raiders are in the hunt for the fourth spot in the ECAC Hockey ranks, which would earn them a bye in the first round of the playoffs. With 22 points they are tied with RPI.
Colgate is 2-2-1 in its last five meetings and is coming off a 4-2 win at Harvard on Saturday. The night before they tied Dartmouth, 6-6.
Sophomore Austin Smith, a Dallas Stars prospect, leads the team with 37 points thanks to 13 goals and a team-high tying 24 assists. Junior Brian Day, who is third on the team with 33 points, leads Colgate with 20 goals. Senior David McIntyre is second on the team with 34 points, including 24 assists.
Sophomore Alex Evin has been Colgate's main man in net this season with an 8-7-3 record. He has posted a 3.07 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. Despite being chased at Dartmouth, he responded with 38 stops at Harvard.
>> The Union-Colgate Series
Saturday's meeting will be the 51st all-time between the two schools and Colgate leads 34-15-2 and 24-12-2 in Division I action. The programs first squared off on Feb. 15, 1929 and Union claimed a 3-1 win.
In the last five outings, Union has gone 3-1-1; however, Colgate is 5-4-11 in the last 10.
Union is 1-20-1 all-time playing at Colgate.
