Tonight marks the return of one of the most heated rivalries in the ECAC
as Union takes the bus up Route 7 to Troy to take on RPI.
 
Since moving to Division I, Union has only beaten RPI twice. A 4-3
victory in the first game of the 1994 ECAC quarterfinals was the first
one. This game is the one that opened a lot of eyes around the ECAC.
The second was last season. Union dominated RPI in a thorough 5-2
defeat of the Engineers.
 
Many in the Albany area have not yet accepted Union as a strong presence
in this rivalry. A 2-9 record against RPI in the past 4 years
probably hasn't helped, but Union has been playing much better hockey
in the past two years. Their late-season run that propelled them into
6th place in the ECAC in 1994 showed a lot of the college hockey
world that Union is here to play. Yes, they have disappointed as of
late, but the heart is still there.
 
The game tonight is being labelled as a "bragging rights" game for
RPI. An article in today's Alany Times Union says that RPI needs this
game to keep a hold on those rights. Should RPI win, they probably will
keep those bragging rights. Should Union win, talk of "changing of the
guard" is circulating around the area.
 
A Union win will increase their confidence for the stretch run. An RPI
win will hurt the Dutchmen. This is a game Union has been looking
forward to for months (at least I've been looking forward to it for
months!). The last matchup between these two was, by far, Union's
best performance since I've been following the team. - can you back
me up Jim? If they can duplicate that performance and keep it for
the next two weeks, Union should make even more noise in the last
two months of the regular season.
 
I'm looking for a close, tight-checking game. Union has more
upperclassmen than RPI, thus a little more experience in this rivalry.
If Union can stay out of the penalty box and keep RPI from putting
a lot of pressure on Trevor Koenig, we may see a Union victory.
I don't think Union can rely on Trevor to stand on his head like
he has a few times this year. They have to create a lot of offense
against the young defense of RPI, which is the key for RPI. If the
Engineers can stifle Union's offense and keep the puck away from
Mike Tamburro, this will be a big advantage for them. Whoever stays
out of the penalty box more will probably come away the winner.
 
Then we will see who will obtain a stranglehold on the bragging rights
of the Capital District.
 
Andy
 
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+                                                                     +
+  Andy Weise           Let's Go Tech!                                +
+  SUNY Potsdam '93                     [log in to unmask]       +
+  Union College '95    Let's Go U!                                   +
+                                                                     +
+  Performance Systems International, Inc. (PSI)                      +
+                                                                     +
+  "If you think nobody cares you're alive, try missing a couple of   +
+   car payments."                                                    +
+                                                                     +
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