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The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots Podcast.
Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shots. Thank you, Scott Geezy, and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. We have another great show for you. Of course, Mike McAdam will lead things off with his at the Track with Mack segment as we get you set for Saturday's Traverse Stakes. Only five horses running in the race.
Sovereignty is the favorite in the race, so Mack will talk about that. Also, he'll look back at the last Saturday's Alabama won by Nitrogen. And also Thorpedo Anna, the 2024 Horse of the year is going to race Saturday in the Personal Ensign. So Mike, be here to talk about that.
Last Thursday was the ribbon cutting ceremony for the M and T Bank center, the new home of Union College men's and women's hockey. I was over there and got a tour of it. We'll talk a little bit about that. I also have interviews with athletic director Jim McLaughlin and union women's hockey coach Tony Macy. Going to do double duty with Tony Macy. I spoke with him Tuesday.
The Union women's recruit class came out. Eight members of that class. We'll talk about that and break that down for you. So a lot of great stuff coming up here on the podcast. In the dog days of summer here in August and high school sports just around the corner. They start up workouts on Monday, so it's getting back to the grind here at the Daily Gazette sports department. So coming up, Mike McAdam with us at the Track with Max segment as we get you set for the Traverse Stakes. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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You're listening to Parting Shots podcast with the Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
Welcome back to the podcast and It's Travers Day on Saturday at Saratoga Racetrack. A lot of great races coming up this week, including on the weekend. And our man at the track at the track with Mack, Mike McAdam joins us now from Saratoga. And Mike, how are things going? How's your preparation going for the Traverse?
[00:03:10] Speaker B: Pretty good.
The preparation for the race itself is pretty light this year with only five horses in there. I mean, we really could run a feature on every horse in the field this week and still have a day left over.
So preparation wise, you got to look at all the other races too, because there's, they just have a great menu of graded stakes on the card, especially Saturday. There's some other stuff going on during the week, but you know, they really roll it out on Traverse Day. There's four other Grade one stakes besides the big ones, so.
So there's a lot to look at besides the Travers themselves, as usual.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll get into that just a little bit. But let's look back at last weekend before the Alabama on Saturday was won by Nitrogen. Pretty good race.
[00:04:03] Speaker B: Yeah, it really was an interesting storyline considering for the first time in 10 career starts, nitrogen was scheduled to run on the dirt. She had been just an absolute star on the turf and, but she was entered in the Wonder again, which was supposed to be on the turf two starts back and it would rain like hell that day all morning. And so they took all the turf racing off and put it on the main track. And trainer Mark Cassidy was like, you know what, we could scratch, but here's, here's another idea. Let's, let's run in this thing and see what happens.
And she winds up winning by 17 lengths and then she got beat a nose in the Belmont Oaks Invitational. But by then he had already been seriously considering running her in the Alabama, which he did and did not disappoint. She won by a length and a half over Good Cheer, who was having a phenomenal season on the dirt. And so Nitrogen just clearly elevated herself to the top of the three year old Philly class with that Grade one Alabama win on the dirt.
And now he has to consider, you know, what to do for the Breeders Cup. Are you going to run in the distaff on the dirt or are you going to run in the mile on the turf or, you know, so he's got a couple interesting options. I think ultimately they'll stay with the dirt.
We'll see what, you know, where he goes in his. He'll get one more start into her before the Breeders cup in November, but she clearly established herself as the leader of the division.
You know, she. She won four graded stakes on the turf before this, and now she's got a grade one on the dirt, and she beat some pretty good horses in there, too. So pretty interesting results. And just kind of the backstory, the whole turf to dirt thing, you don't.
[00:05:54] Speaker A: See that very often in watching that race. Mike here in the office, Nitrogen was, like, all over the place coming down the stretch. How does. How did she manage to win that race the way she was coming down the stretch?
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Just by being better than Good Cheer.
Now, Jose Ortiz said the jockey said going into the first turn, he wanted to get her outside, and she relaxed for him on the back stretch. But she's a horse who likes to run after a target, meaning if there's a horse in front of her, she'll go get that horse. But she got the lead pretty early in the stretch, and he said she was wandering around looking for somebody to run against. And so that kind of explained that, you know, rather erratic path she took to the winner's circle. But he knew he was sitting on much the best horse in the race. So it wasn't like, you know, even. Even though she ran some extra yardage there that everybody. Anybody else who was running in a straight line, she was so much the best that, you know, it wasn't really a threatening, you know. You know, it wasn't opening the door for Good Cheer to come get her. It was just her looking around for somebody to go get or run against, and they weren't there. So she.
It did look.
It didn't look pretty. It wasn't aesthetically beautiful, but the result surely was first place.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: It doesn't matter. We'll get the win. That's. That's all that matters. Right?
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Looks like a one in the. On the chart to me.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: Well, besides the Travers on Saturday, there are four other Grade 1 stakes, and Saratoga fans will get a Chance to see 20, 24 Horse of the earth, Torpedo Anna for the first time this year in the Personal Ensign. Besides her, who are some of the top horses lined up on the Travers undercard?
[00:07:40] Speaker B: Well, starting with her and the Personal Ensign in recent years had been run on Friday, and they moved it back to Traverse Day, which is kind of a little bit of a disappointment just because it would be kind of cool to have Torpedo Anna have the spotlight to herself, you know, like being the feature on Friday.
But she's coming off a win in the Fleur de Lis after having finished seventh with a really troubled trip in The La Troyenne in May, where, you know, she got beat up pretty good going into the first turn, but she kind of redeemed herself in the last one. So she's six to five in the personal incident. Rightfully so.
It's interesting that also in the field, we have Randomized and Raging C from trainer Chad Brown, who have been kind of like the. The twin towers of the older Philly division for his barn the last couple years. In fact, Raging Sea won the personal Ensign last year and Randomized won the Alabama a couple years ago. So they know Saratoga racetrack pretty well and will pose a, you know, an interesting kind of double punch challenging Torpedo Anna. We also have the Alan Jerkins, which I'm glad I don't have to handicap all of the races like our guys do, because this race is just an absolute bear. I don't know what to make of it.
I kind of have an idea who I. Who I would pick on top, but kind of the favorite here. I mean, the fact that the favorite, Patch Adams, is only three to one, tells you everything you need to know about how deep and balanced this field is.
Our old buddy, Chancer McPatrick, who won the Hopeful last year, is in here at 5 to 1 coming off a win in the curling, which was kind of a little bit of a surprise for Chad Brown, who was thinking Strategic Focus would clean up that race and head straight to the Traverse. He's still in the Traverse, but it's kind of interesting that the one who wasn't supposed to win won the Curlin last time out. That's Chancellor McPatrick.
Trainer Bob Baffert has three of the eight horses in this field, including Barnes, who's named after his longtime assistant, Jimmy Barnes.
That horse bombed out in the Santa Anita Derby when they were trying to get him to the. To the Kentucky Derby, and he hasn't raced since.
So he's. He's in there. He's got another lightly raced one named Midland Money, who actually came to Saratoga early from California and had a workout on Sunday.
And then his other one. Let's see, where is he? He's on another page.
Oh. Baffert also has Maddok Road, who.
Who finished second in the Pac Bay Mile, is coming off a second to Patch Adams in the. In the Woody Stevens at Saratoga. So Baffert's kind of locked and loaded for this race.
And then we also have the Ballerina, which is sprint for older Phillies and mares, and the Forego, which is a sprint for, you know, males. It's not restricted to males. But that's all you're going to get in there with the Ballerina. Kind of the same race, one for the Phillies and one for the males.
Ballerina. The favorite is Sila Skill. I'm not even sure how to pronounce it, even though she's run here a million times.
She's five to two coming off the third in the honorable Miss here. Belina's Forte was kind of an upset winner of that race and she's in here as well.
And as far as the four go, kind of an interesting mix of.
You got Mullikin, who, who won this by five and three quarter lengths last year. He's seven to two.
But the favorite eight to five is Bookham Dano, who's coming off wins in the AG Vanderbilt and the True north, both at Saratoga.
So Bookham Daniel will be a horse to watch in the floor. Go.
And then we got the big one, the Travers, right after that.
[00:11:43] Speaker A: Yes, of course, that's the biggest race of the meet, but a really small feel for the Travers. Just five horses highlighted by Sovereignty, the overwhelming favorite at 2 to 5.
Is it simply a matter of horsemen avoiding Sovereignty?
[00:11:58] Speaker B: Apparently it is. Which is, you know, embarrassing is a little too strong of a word for it probably. But it's certainly disappointing that they only got five horses for this race.
And, you know, I've seen an unofficial list of the candidates for the Pennsylvania Derby, which is September 20th down at Parks in Philadelphia, outside of Philadelphia.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: Ben Salem.
[00:12:22] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: I know, I just, I do on Street Road.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: But it looks like they're, they're going to get as many as 10 for that race.
We still don't know what's going on with journalism, but he's not running in the Travers. The Preakness winner, who finished second to Sovereignty in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He just worked on Sunday and his connections were just non committal. They, they, you know, they don't have to say anything. Nominations close for the the Pacific Classic at Del Mar against older horses is going to be run on August 30, which looks like a spot for journalism. But the nominations close on Thursday, so they don't really have to pull the trigger on entering him until, until then.
But they just refuse to say anything about, you know, everything, everything is pure speculation about where that horse is going to run next. I think he's going to run in the Pacific Classic, but the Pennsylvania Derby still out there. There's a race called the Goodwood out in California that is September 27th, so who knows what they're gonna, you know where they're gonna run that horse? I kind of think they're gonna go Pacific Classic, especially because the Breeder Cups at Del Mar this year as well.
But as far as the. The five that we have lined up for the Travers Sovereignty towers over this field. He's 2. 5 favorite and rightfully so. He ran great in the Gym Dandy. He only won by a length over Baezo, Very good horse who finished third in both the Derby and Preakness.
The one length margin looks small, but the way he won it was so commanding. And Junior Alvarado, like, basically could push the button anytime he wanted to. And, you know, just really for such a small margin of victory, you could almost say he toyed with that field that day.
So he breaks from the number 4 post.
The rest of the field is Magnitude, Bracket Buster, Strategic Focus, and on the outside, we got McAfee.
Magnitude is kind of interesting, and he's 2 to 1 on the morning line.
He won the great two risen star back in February and looked like a Kentucky Derby candidate, one by nine and three quarters lengths. Then he had a small, like, ankle injury that just took him off the Triple Crown trail and came back on July 5th and destroyed, you know, I don't know who he was really running against, but he destroyed the field in the Iowa Derby by nine and a quarter lengths. So we'll see what he has to offer. He'll probably be right out on the lead right out of the starting gate, which is how he. He's won his last two starts.
I'm writing about Bracket Buster. Fun story that guys might want to look for in Wednesday's paper. Local owner Brendan o', Brien, who was a star basketball player at Troy High, then he went to play for Manhattan, and now he's in horse ownership side of things. And two weeks ago, his group, BBN Racing, which is named after Big Blue Nation, University of Kentucky basketball program, they won the grade one test two weeks ago with horse named Kilwin, who's named, of course, after the ice cream shop up on Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
Strategic Focus, who I already mentioned with Chad Brown, that horse, like, went to the lead at the top of the stretch in the Curlin. And Chad said afterwards, he said, I've got my Traverse horse. And then he just didn't finish the job and got beat by Chancellor McPatrick and finished third. So. But he's, he's Chad's Traverse horse. Anyway, Strategic Focus trying to give Chad Brown the first Traverse victory of his career, which you can also say about hall of Famer Bill Mott, who trained Sovereignty. Amazingly, this is like the only big race in North America that he's never won.
And if he doesn't win it this year, he's got to be thinking, I will. If I live to be 120 years old, I'm never going to win this race because he. I don't. He has never had a better shot than this to win his first traverse of his career.
So disappointingly small field, but we get another chance to watch Sovereignty, which is a privilege unto itself. The horse is that good. You know, he's a generational talent. They're going to be talking about this horse, you know, till the end of time. So again, it's small field, which, you know, you kind of wish it, you know, wasn't the case. But any chance you get to see Sovereignty races is, you know, it's kind of a privilege from just from a fan standpoint.
[00:16:59] Speaker A: Oh, the four horses going up against Sovereignty, which one could beat them?
[00:17:06] Speaker B: I think if Magnitude gets away with soft, you know, slowish early fractions, he could maybe take them all the way.
I will say that they don't really have mile and a quarter experience in this field.
Sovereignty, of course he does because he won the Kentucky Derby. There was one other one, I thought, let me look here.
No, really, nobody has run longer than a mile and an eighth in this field. So that's always a big question mark when you get to this time of year with the traverse mile and a quarter, that extra eighth of a mile could catch up to Magnitude even if he does get slow early fractions.
Strategic Focus, I would. Chad Brown's horse, I would almost call him an X factor just because he is so lightly raced.
He's adding blinkers to his equipment this time to get him to kind of run, you know, pay attention to what he's supposed to be doing a little better, you know, and then the two long shots. Bracket Buster has never won a graded stakes and, and McAfee is also 20 to 1.
I don't give him much of a shot. He's. He has placed in three straight graded races, but, you know, finishing second in the West Virginia Derby doesn't engender a lot of confidence that he's going to win the drivers. So, you know, I mean, it's a no brainer to say Magnitude and Strategic Focus, but to answer your question, I think Magnitude might be a little more appealing from a.
Just a prediction, handicapping, you know, standpoint.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: So who are you picking or are you going to wait till your Saturday's Mac up?
[00:18:42] Speaker B: You're gonna have to wait for Saturday's paper to find out who. I'm not. I'm picking Socrates. But yeah, in fact, I'm gonna relish how easy and quickly that, that my pick that I do every, every day that there's racing. This, this will. I'll slam this one out. It's faster than any other one I've. There will no be no deliberation. Let's put it that way.
[00:19:06] Speaker A: Okay, so Sovereignty is the pick for Mike McGowan. And Mike have always appreciated, gosh, after this one more week of racing. How about that?
[00:19:17] Speaker B: How about that is right.
But you know, that final week is there's a big flurry of activities because there's a bunch of, you know, graded stakes, including Jockey Club Gold cup, where we'll finally get to see Mind Frame come out of Todd Pletcher's bar.
Considered, you know, after Sovereignty. You know, if you look at the National Thoroughbred Racing association weekly poll, Mind Frame has been in second place behind Sovereignty for about a month now at least.
So we finally get to see him run a Jockey Club Gold Cup. And then of course, you got the two big two year old dirt races, the Spin away for Phillies and then the Hopeful on closing day. Those races are always fun.
Who knows, maybe this year's Hopeful will produce a horse like Chancellor McPatrick last year who's, you know, running in the Alan Jerkins this year.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: Okay, well, and you can follow max coverage on X at mikemcaddam. Of course, his articles in the print edition of Daily Gazette and
[email protected] Mike, enjoy the weekend. That was probably the biggest weekend of the year. And you'll. You always come through for us.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you. It's always Travis is always fun because they get a big crowd. People are really into it. They've been waiting the whole meet for this big moment and we get to see we get a double shot on Saturday. Sovereignty and Torpedo Anna. There's nothing wrong with that.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Not at all. So Mac, appreciate it. We'll talk soon.
[00:20:38] Speaker B: All right, thanks, Ken. See you.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: That's Mike McGann. Coming up, we're going to have interviews from last Thursday's ribbon cutting ceremonies at the M and T Bank center, the new home of the Union College men's and women's hockey teams. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:21:16] Speaker B: Is Colin Stevens of the 2014 National.
[00:21:18] Speaker D: Championship Union College Men's Hawk.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:21:25] Speaker E: Sports over there.
[00:21:25] Speaker B: Catch up.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: Welcome back to the podcast. And last Thursday was the opening of the M and T Bank center of Urban Cutting ceremony to politicians and a lot of people were there. It was a great afternoon to have it. Governor Kathy Hochul was there along with Schecting Mayor Gary McCarthy Angelo Santa Barbara representative who helped get the funding. He was also there. Like I said, it was a great event. Get a chance to also tour the arena. I did get a tour back in March.
We were going to put a video together but we never got around putting that together, Stan Houdy and I. But Amir Deesh helped us out on Thursday with some video and I tell you what, and if you go to my Facebook page, Kenshot, I put some pictures and video up and I'm going to tell you right now it's going to be a fun place to watch a hockey game. The sight lines are great of course, you know, for me personally, the press box on the side, great view there. 29 years of being in the end zone at the messenger rink was not fun.
But yeah, it was a chance to tour into the locker rooms. The locker rooms look great.
Of course the main thing I think for fans will be concession stands and more of them.
Also a lot more room on the concourse and more importantly more bathroom space. There's no more going to be waiting in line in the lobby like he did in Mezerink between periods waiting to go to the bathroom. Hopefully you didn't miss the start of the period. But yeah, so I just, I can't wait to to see what's there's going to be like to see games in there. The ice was down but it was covered. They were having an event later in the day last Thursday, so we didn't get a chance to see the ice. Union men's hockey will be holding a camp next week starting Monday. So we'll get to see the ice a little bit there.
But it was a fun event and I'll start my 30th year covering union College hockey and I, I've never been as excited as I am now because obviously the championship years with the winning national championship and all that stuff. But this is a different kind of excitement because you spent 29 years for me in one rink covering Union home games and Messi and I've said this before Mess was a nice place play, but it was past it, past its life. It passed its being a useful rank and so it was time. I know there's still some people out there thinking, well, it's off campus. You know what, get over it. Just get over that. That's off campus.
I don't get that. And of course there's going to be a lot more parking. Don't forget that you have parking issues at Mesa back in the day. So I had a chance to speak with athletic director, Union athletic director Jim McLaughlin and also union Women's hockey coach Tony Macy. First, let's hear from Jim McLaughlin.
[00:24:36] Speaker F: Jim, how excited are you that this is now a reality?
[00:24:39] Speaker C: Yeah, this was certainly a long time coming and so many contributors to this project. And I couldn't be more excited for today and for the future of Union Hockey and quite frankly Schenectady as well too.
[00:24:54] Speaker F: What does it mean for the program to have this kind of facility? What does it mean future wise as far as attracting potential student athletes?
[00:25:01] Speaker C: Yeah, facilities matter. Right. And we have incredible academic facilities on our campus that are second to none. And with something like this, it gives us a first class athletic facility for our hockey players and it helps in the recruiting piece it does.
It's also going to help our other teams with the the increased strength and conditioning space that we have.
And it also allows us to convert Mesa Ring to an indoor turf facility, which will be incredibly beneficial to our teams practicing early spring sports in the January and February months.
[00:25:34] Speaker F: How's that coming along?
[00:25:35] Speaker C: Right now we're just about to release the contractor and we hope to have this done by December 1, 2025, 1-1-26, the latest.
[00:25:47] Speaker F: For the players to have a lot more space than what they had at Mesa. How does that help them prepare and win hockey games?
[00:25:55] Speaker C: Yeah, it's important. You know, hockey games aren't won on the night of the game itself. It's all the preparation that goes into it. We've got a great strength and conditioning staff, a great strength and conditioning room that is going to be really helpful to us. There's going to be larger areas for recovery as well too with the tubs that we have in place and the other recovery equipment. So these pieces are important to overall success.
[00:26:20] Speaker F: As far as concession stands, the bathroom, that was always a major concern at Mesa. This was the one concession stand behind the stands on the second level behind the players benches. And the bathroom was always a line out in the lobby waiting to go between periods. You have more concession stands, more Bathrooms. Now, how much does that really help the fans and not have to basically wait in line?
[00:26:46] Speaker C: Listen, Mesa Rink was a special place. It really was. The atmosphere in there was second to none. And it's part of the reason we kept the facility this size because we wanted to maintain the atmosphere that we have. But the amenities that the fans will have here, the ease of experience, the joy, just the parking, getting to their seats and the concessions opportunities that they have, it'll be just a great night out for a family to see union versus great teams in the ECAC. For a $20 ticket.
[00:27:17] Speaker F: How many bathrooms are there? From two men to women?
[00:27:20] Speaker C: Is that there's multiple.
[00:27:24] Speaker F: And multiple concession stands.
[00:27:26] Speaker C: There's multiple concession stands. There'll be kiosks around the building as well, too. There's a full service bar as well, too.
[00:27:32] Speaker F: To have that wider space out there as opposed to what you had at Mesa, what does that mean to maybe standing room only fans?
[00:27:42] Speaker C: Yeah. So I'll tell you, the sight line in every single seat here is phenomenal.
There'll be additional space for standing room only, which we're certainly going to utilize for some of our games.
But I just love what they did with the design, with the suites, the student seating and other things like that.
[00:28:01] Speaker F: When the talk of this started, when Angela Santa Barbara got the funding, did you ever think there was going to be a hiccup along the way?
[00:28:10] Speaker C: There's always the potential for that, but I actually believed in the Gillesi group. I believed in Union College leadership and the board of trustees, and I believe in the city of Schenectady. This is something that all of us wanted. And it was a true team effort in getting to where we are today.
[00:28:27] Speaker F: How pleased are you? I mean, how much excitement? I know we're about six, seven weeks away from the first game here with the Union women playing Franklin Pierce. I mean, and how much excitement is the excitement building as we get there?
[00:28:39] Speaker C: Yeah, there's a tremendous amount of buzz. Right. That I hear from our season ticket holders, our fans, our Garnet Blade members, many of our alumni. And, you know, really looking forward to the opening events that we're having here for games.
I'm looking forward to our opening skills competition with the men and the women that is going to take place on September 4th. That we're going to open the building up for fans to get a perspective and see the team on the ice. And I think that'll be really exciting.
[00:29:06] Speaker F: How excited are you? May I throw?
[00:29:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:09] Speaker C: This beyond. You know, I'm happy for our college I'm happy for our student athletes. And you know, as I said in the beginning, facilities matter and this is a really, really special one.
[00:29:21] Speaker F: And you being alum of Union College, I mean there has to be a special place in your heart for Mesa, but having this facility is like you got to be smiling ear to earth.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: Yeah, there's just a tremendous sense of pride and an appreciation right. For, for all the parties that came together.
[00:29:39] Speaker A: Tony Macy begins his second season as Union women's head hockey coach. Here's what he had to say about his new home at the bank, as I like to call it now the nickname of M and T Bank Center.
[00:29:53] Speaker F: Tony, you're beginning year two, but you get, you know, you got to end your first season at Mesa now this place.
How happy are you to get a new building?
[00:30:04] Speaker D: Oh, this is incredible. You know, I think that, you know, what they've done is even more than what we were expecting. You know, we've been in it now for almost a week and every time you walk in you're in awe.
You know, we've already brought some recruits through as well and it's made a huge difference on the recruiting side.
[00:30:23] Speaker F: Ask how much is that going to really be a factor?
[00:30:25] Speaker D: Oh, it's been, it's been really good for us. You know, we've been able to land some high end recruits for years down the road here and you know, I think we're starting to have a little bit of buzz with just having the arena being starting next year.
[00:30:39] Speaker F: As far as the locker rooms, me.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: How much more space do you have.
[00:30:42] Speaker F: Than what you had at Messle?
[00:30:43] Speaker D: Almost quadruple. So, you know, that's the biggest thing is that we wanted a space here that all the players wanted to make sure they wanted to be in all the time. Right. So we've got spaces for them to do homework, hang out, spaces for them to, you know, deal with their nutrition. We've got all the, the, the food in there as well.
You know, the group here that's going to be using the catering so they'll have all their food in there.
So everything's housed right here. We've got our own weight room now strictly for the two hockey teams. So all that's just a massive improvement.
[00:31:21] Speaker F: And in fact, you know, you're off. Obviously you had a tiny space there. That's the. Rick, what's, what's it like now for you?
[00:31:28] Speaker D: Oh, it's, it's nice. I got a window to the outside which is rather fresh air. So.
No, it's, it's up on the concourse. You know, Josh has the same one.
So we're just again happy to be in a new space that is very high end.
[00:31:42] Speaker F: Are the assistants near you now too? Maybe they weren't back in, back in the old place.
[00:31:46] Speaker D: We're downstairs with the assistants, so we have ours up on the concourse and then all of the assistant coaches will be down there. Josh and I have already said we'll probably be down with them more than we are in our own offices.
[00:31:57] Speaker F: Just looking around, just the amenities, the concession stand, the bathrooms. I mean, how much will the fans enjoy having more space to, you know, roam around and go have people waiting in line in the Carter or the lobby there?
[00:32:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:15] Speaker D: And this group has already talked about fan engagement and how they're upping that the again, more of a pro style.
You know, we've already had meetings that I know hadn't happened in the past, which has been awesome.
You know, they're really stepping up and, and taking us to the next level. And that's what we want. We want to be, you know, seen as one of the top programs in the country and this is a good headed that way.
[00:32:39] Speaker F: And you got the first 10 games of your schedule now thanks to the change of schedule with Merrimack there. So how excited are you to have 10 games in a row to start the season here?
[00:32:48] Speaker D: Well, I think, I think it's good for sure. I think it'll get us, you know, in a right frame of mind, we can get comfortable.
Would have liked to have at least one on the road just to get one under our feet. But, you know, we'll take as many home games this first year as we can because I think it's going to be a great venue that people are going to want to come to.
[00:33:05] Speaker F: I know we're about five, six weeks away from the first game. And is the anticipation getting there for that game against Franklin Pierce on 26 September?
[00:33:14] Speaker D: It's been going since the girls left campus. So, you know, I think throughout the course of the summer I've been updating them. I haven't shown them anything but just keeping them chomping at the bed. They're ready to be back here.
[00:33:27] Speaker F: Are you ready to get going too?
[00:33:29] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. Ready to get on the ice.
[00:33:31] Speaker F: You finally, I think now you finally moved in the area.
[00:33:34] Speaker D: We're almost so end of the month here. We'll be up near Ballston's ball.
[00:33:39] Speaker F: How much of that is a relief for you? Because I know traveling up to the north country.
[00:33:44] Speaker D: Yeah, my, my Family's really happy about that. So we're still kind of back and forth a little bit up to the cottage, but by the end of the.
[00:33:52] Speaker B: Month we'll be down there.
[00:33:56] Speaker A: Union men's head hockey coach Josh Hauge was not at Thursday's ceremony. He had a planned vacation with his family. The announcement of the ribbon cutting ceremony came on a Monday, so like three days before the ceremony. So Josh is already out of town with his family. But I did get a quote from him via text message. Josh is, what he said, absolutely thrilled with the way it's turned out. The new facility is a game changer for our program. The new space means more opportunities, opportunity for training, recovery and for team connection. It gives us the tools to raise our standard every day. I'm excited for our players to take pride in it, use it the right way and put it, put in the work that matches the space we have been provided. So that's from Josh Haugy from a text message I received from him on last Thursday. So. Well, with Tony Mason, we're not done with him just yet. We're going to talk more with him this time about the eight person recruit class they just announced on Tuesday. So stick around here on the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:35:12] Speaker B: If you really want to know what's going on in your community, you have to read the Daily Gazette. We don't take a side. We're right down the middle and we're gonna get to the truth.
[00:35:21] Speaker A: Our reporters and photographers are out in.
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[00:35:51] Speaker A: Welcome back to the podcast.
Union Women's Hockey has eight new players on the team for the 2025, 26 season. Six of them are freshmen and two are transfers that came out of the transfer portal.
Union course coming off their most successful season in their Division 1 history. Tony Macy, who led the team last year in his first year behind the bench, led them to ninth place finish in ECAC Hockey tournament Regular or ECA Hockey regular season play. And then in the postseason they beat Brown 2 nothing to win their first ever ECAC hockey tournament game and they nearly took Cornell to a third game in the quarterfinals. Cornell eventually winning the ECAC Hockey tournament title, but they were about ready to, you know, get them to a third game. But Cornell rallied late in game two to win that series.
So here are the eight players that are joining the Garner Chargers.
There are four forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender. The forward is forwards are Natalie Andalova who played at Gilmore Academy.
Megan Duplenty, There was a forward from the the Connecticut Polar Bears. She also did a postgraduate year at Loomis Chaffee School.
Haley Kelleher is a transfer from Clarkson, a player that Tony recruited while he was the associate head coach at Clarkson. And the other forward is Raina Loberg. She comes to Union from the Edmonton Junior Oilers.
Defensemen are Peyton o', Neill, another transfer from Long Island University, Isabelle Powers, defenseman from Lovell Academy and Caitlin Toner who comes from the Toronto Junior Arrows. The one goaltender is Emma Raum and the last name may sound familiar, but no, she's not related to Manuel Rayom who was a pioneer in goaltending in 1992. Became the first female to play in a men's league in any men's league, professional league where she suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game in 1992. But Tony Macy said not a. No relation to Emma Ramon, not related. So. Well, let's hear from Tony Macy what he had to say about his new eight. Eight new players coming to Union.
Well, Tony, this is your second year.
[00:38:31] Speaker F: As the Union women's head coach, but your first really big recruiting class obviously came in sort of late last, last year.
So how was the recruiting process in your first year as a head coach going into the second season?
[00:38:48] Speaker E: Yeah, we're excited about it. You know, I think we've got some good talent coming in, some people that can help us on both ends of the ice as well as between the pipes. You know, we, we lost some pretty good players with graduation that played well for us last year. So you know, through our recruiting process we wanted to make sure that we were bringing in players that are going to keep moving us forward and we feel like this group's going to do that. We've got, you know, a good mix of, you know, defenders as well as some offensive talent and then in, in the net, you know, an older freshman who's played a lot of games, play a lot of high end games and you know, I think can, can push our goaltending group.
[00:39:40] Speaker F: How important was it that you know, what we look at anything specifically to that the needs that needed to be filled.
[00:39:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:48] Speaker E: So, you know, when we go out recruiting, obviously the first thing we look for Is skating. I think that's the biggest thing. So, you know, I think that everybody in our, in our class here can get up and down the ice like we want to.
You know, the other thing is, is can they, can they play when times are tough? Can they play when it's got to be gritty? And I think that that's a group that, you know, we kind of honed in on in our recruiting group, making sure that we, we can still play with that grip, but then also have some talent in order to produce offensively. You know, I think last year we, you know, we did okay, we upped our numbers, but I think that the big thing is now taking that next step and, you know, really pushing to either spread games out a little bit when we do get leads or keep us in games and not have to keep things, you know, to a one goal, you know, one nothing or even a two, one game.
You know, we can, we can score and produce when we, when we need to.
[00:40:50] Speaker F: Yeah, well, that was. Let's start with Natalie and of low Andalova looking. She had, according to the stats here, 29 goals and 31 assists this past season. MVP of her team in the schools, Gilmore Academy most valuable female athlete is a senior. What does she bring?
[00:41:09] Speaker E: Well, she brings a good head for the game. You know, her rocky sense is probably her biggest asset. She, she does a good job of finding areas to produce. I think she makes players around her better by moving pucks and distributing things.
And she's got the offensive talent in order to put pucks in the back of the net.
So, you know, we expect her to be able to, you know, come in and, you know, not make it seamless, but, you know, take it, take a good step this year and help us.
[00:41:40] Speaker F: Produce on the offensive end, another forward, Megan Duplanti, coming from the Connecticut Polar Bears. In a postgraduate year at Loomis, Chaffee helped lead the team to the NEP SAC title this past season, 15 goals and 8 assists. With Loomis Chaffee, uh, what does she bring?
[00:42:02] Speaker E: Yeah, so she's gonna help us down the middle.
You know, she's a hard working, gonna bring pucks harder than that type of player. She plays with a lot of speed, plays with a lot of grit. I think that, you know, she's another one that can produce, you know, and I think the big thing for her is she's probably one of the better 200 foot players that we've seen. So, you know, for us, we want our middle to be strong and I think she's going to add to that.
[00:42:30] Speaker F: Well, the first of two transfers coming in from the transfer portal. Haley Kelleher, she was at Clarkson last season.
Did not play for Clarkson. But looking at her stats Prior to Clarkson, 80 goals and 76 assists in two seasons with a Lovel Academy.
Did you recruit her at Clarkson to go to Clarkson?
[00:42:54] Speaker E: I did, I did. So yeah, I know Haley, Haley's got a knack for finding, finding the net and, you know, putting up points and again, we're trying to find, you know, those extra times and we can do that, you know, and we're, we lost some, some players that stepped up into that last year, so we're hoping that she can do the same for us this year. You know, I know she was in a, a different spot at Clarkson with how deep they were, so she's looking for a fresh start. And I think, you know, she put in the work over the summer to take the next step and, you know, step into her first official year playing college.
[00:43:36] Speaker F: Another forward, Rihanna Loberg, coming from the Edmonton Junior Oilers out in Western Canada. Canada.
15 goals. Sorry, 6 goal, 15 assists.
Last season with the Oilers named the team's best defensive player. So is she more of a defensive forward?
[00:43:56] Speaker E: I wish she'd be a 200 foot player, you know, center, similar to the planty. You know, she plays hard. She, her big asset too is her, her speed and her, her grit.
You know, she's the type of player that's not afraid to bring a puck to the net and go through whatever's in front.
So, you know, we, we expect her to, you know, play on both sides of the puck and be defensively responsible. But she also can produce on the offensive side as well.
[00:44:28] Speaker F: Well, the first defenseman we're going to mention is also a player that came out of the transfer portal. Peyton o' Neill played at Long island this past season, played in 22 games, had a couple of assists.
What, what does she bring to the team?
[00:44:44] Speaker E: So Peyton's a player that plays with speed defensively, can close on people quickly, can get up the ice. I think that she's looking for and again, a fresh start.
And I've, I've known Peyton for a while now as well, just through recruiting processes and, you know, I think she's going to bring a good depth to our team, but she also is good at, you know, making first passes, getting out of zones, playing hard. She played for the Mission prior to coming to or going to liu and the Mission in the United States is typically one of the top teams in that and she was always in the their top nd, so, you know, I expect her to, to come in and contribute right away and, and be somebody that we can count on.
[00:45:37] Speaker F: Another defenseman, Isabel Powers, coming from a level academy, she, you know, before that she played for the Pittsburgh Penguins elite program and had 50 points in 80. She had 50 points in 80 games, had nine goals and 41 assists.
You know, what is she bringing? She gonna bring a little bit of offense?
[00:45:59] Speaker E: Yeah, I think so.
Isabel's the daughter of Greg Powers at Arizona State.
[00:46:05] Speaker F: Okay.
[00:46:07] Speaker E: So she's got some hockey knowledge background and you know, I think last year she took good steps to improve her offensive game. I think before that she was very sound defensively.
But then last year, stepping into a team that was in the national tournament with Lovell and kind of running their, their power plays and gaining points that way, she's definitely somebody that I think can, can add to our offensive. From the back end.
[00:46:37] Speaker F: Your goaltender, Emma Raum.
Any relation?
[00:46:43] Speaker E: No.
[00:46:43] Speaker F: No. Okay.
[00:46:45] Speaker E: No, I know Manon, so yeah, I know Manon really well, so it's no relation there.
But yeah, no, she's older, coming in as a 20 year old, has been through, you know, a really good team in, in Quebec. And Limalu, who produces players all the time, you know, notably the last goaltender I recruited from there, Marie Pierre cologne up at Clarkson, who held a lot of records up there, as well as, you know, Elizabeth Shakir, who won the Patty cast back in 2019, so.
Or, sorry, 2020, so that she comes from a program that, you know, does a great job developing players.
The big thing with her is she's a very calming influence in the net.
You know, she's patient, she doesn't overreact, but she is athletic within her, her position as well. So when she needs to make those highlight reel saves, that's what she can do.
[00:47:57] Speaker F: And finally, with the defenseman, Caitlin Toner coming from the Toronto Junior Arrows, what does she bring?
[00:48:08] Speaker E: Yeah, Keelan's, you know, gonna give us some size on the back end. She can be one of our taller players. She can get up and down the ice well, moves pucks up to, to the, her teammates well, can get pucks through. She, she can rip a puck pretty good, so she's able to get those through on that. So we're hoping for her, you know, to play like she normally does, strong defensively, hard to play against, and then, you know, chip in on the offensive side.
[00:48:36] Speaker F: So overall, pretty happy with the, with the class because, you know, I look at it, you lost Seven to graduation. Two to the portal.
So you're pretty happy?
[00:48:46] Speaker E: Yeah, I really happy with this group coming in. I think again, we're taking steps in the right direction. I think a lot of it is, you know, getting our, our pace quicker and I think this group does that. It allows us to put. They're going to allow us to play us with some more pace.
And then, you know, I think that we're, we're filling some, some holes that were left by some people that played some big minutes for us last year.
So I think this group's going to be able to help start that. It's also our first group that we can, you know, look towards the future and kind of build off of.
You know, we've got this class and then the, the following Class 26 group is, is already done as well.
And we're rounding out our 27 class already. So, you know, looking into the future, I think that there's, this group's going to be one that can help us propel into those next few classes.
[00:49:40] Speaker F: How nice is it to have classes beyond this coming season? Like you said, your, your 26, 27 classes done. I mean, how good is it to have that so far done in advance?
[00:49:53] Speaker E: Well, it's good because we were allowed to now, you know, get them acclimated to us. Right. Like, they're really excited about the new rink as everybody else.
So that's been a huge help.
And then, you know, just seeing where they feel the program's going has been a huge for recruiting as well. You know, they can definitely see the improvements we made last year and want to be a part of what we're looking to do in the future.
[00:50:21] Speaker F: I'll be back to wrap up the.
[00:50:22] Speaker A: Podcast and have the latest winners in the Daily Gazette's off racing contest in just a moment.
[00:50:40] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Stan.
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[00:51:09] Speaker A: Hi, this is Mark Kestiser, the voice of the NBA on ESPN Radio and college football on ESPN Radio. I grew up in Gilderland. I'm a proud member of, of the 518 and I go back over 30 years with Ken Shot. And when I'm not listening to his Schottsky Radio, I'm listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott. Here's Ken back to wrap up the podcast. The Week 26 winner in the Daily Gazette's auto racing contest was Charles Crahoula of Schenectady. With 35 points. Charles wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations, Charles. The VIP winner was Nick Platel Grand Premier tires with 30 points.
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That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots podcast. I want to thank Mike McAdam, Jim McLaughlin and Tony Macy for being a part of the show.
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The views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Daily Gazette Company. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Daily Gazette Company. I'm Daily Gazette Sports editor Ken Schott. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good sports.
