Hello hockey fans!  My good friend and fellow classmate here at Union did a
good job telling what happened this past weekend. However, I was at the games
and I have a few more things to add. Ingalls Rink at Yale is a great place to
see a game and an architechtual wonder, but hey folks, they need some better
seating. The wooden benches did have backs to them, but they were positioned
in a bad way. Instead of being level, the whole bench was tilted forward,
which meant that one had to brace himself against the bench ahead of him
in order to not slip off the bench. This made for interesting sitting
positions during the game, which I spent hunched over on my knees to be
comfortable. Other than that inconvenience, it was a great game. This was
the best that I have ever seen the Union team play. Yale is an incredible team
with some really fast forwards, but we scored when we had to and we shut Yale
down when needed as well, or at least when we needed to stay tied. I can
imagine that the Bulldogs will be "licking their chops" come Feb. 28/29 when
they make the trip up to Union. Its not very pleasing to be tied against
the cellar-dwellers on home ice.
    The next game was over at Baker Rink. Princeton has a beautiful campus.
The Union schedule had said that game time was to be at 3PM, so we arrived at
2PM only to find that the game was really at 7PM. So, we watched the game that
was being played, the Princeton women were playing the women from R.I.T.
The LAdy Tigers from Princeton defeated the Lady Tigers from R.I.T. 6-1 in a
blowout. Its apparently difficult to get women hockey players since Princeton
had only three full lines and RIT had only TWO!!!!! There were some very
weary women at the end of the game. Even though the women's game isn't as
fast and furious as the men's, there was still a lot of action and a lot
of hustle. If you ever get the chance to check out a women's game, I recommend
that you do. But on to business. Baker Rink was a great place to watch a game
as well. But both rinks were small in capacity as compared to Achilles here
at Union. Union started slow in the game and, as it turned out, it cost them
the game. The Tigers were all over the ice, skating fast and checking hard.
Most  of the period's play was in the Union zone. Since we were being beaten,
we needed to take short-cuts to get even, which usually means a few trips to
the box. This game was no exception. Union spent a lot of time in the box in
first period and the Tigers cashed in getting 2 PP goals and three all together
in the period. To this Union fan, it was looking like another weekend with
Central New York teams i.e. a big blowout! But, with under a minute to play
in the period, I think Scott Whitney fired a clean pass to a streaking Tim
Cregan for a breakaway. Cregan buried a low shot to the stick side past the
goaltender, who got stuck to close to his net and was forced to attempt a save
right next to the pipes. We all know how much scoring a goal in the final
minute of play can make a difference. In the second, Union was a different
squad. Given a 5-3 chance, the Dutchmen cashed in quick. Winning a faceoff, the
puck was sent to the high slot, where the Union man drilled a shot towards the
Princeton goal. I don't know whether the goal was clean or if it was deflected,
but regardless, it was a PP goal and an opportunity capitalized on, which Union
has had difficulty doing in their first season of ECAC play. The last Union
goal also came on the power play when Rick Clifford skated out of the corner
and towards the faceoff dot looking to shoot. The Union faithful were screaming
at CLifford to shoot, but he was hovering, waiting for something. What he was
waiting for was a wide open Jayson Flowers on the opposite side. the pass was
made and Flowers had nothing but net. He redirected the puck into the net for
the score. This made the score 4-3. There would be no more scoring for either
club the rest of the game. Once again, the Union problem was playing great
hockey for 2 periods, while playing bad for one.
     All in all, the road trip was satisfying. Union achieved a non-loss during
the weekend and learned some more about this thing called D One. Next on the
docket for the Dutchmen is an away trip to Dartmouth next weekend, and, the
following weekend, the rematch with RPI at Achilles. Have a good week.
 
 
Keith   [log in to unmask]   [log in to unmask]