[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to you in living color on Dell gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot. Thank you. Scott Gezion. Welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. It's our weekly visit with Union men's head hockey coach Josh Howsey. Josh, welcome back. How are things going?
[00:00:39] Speaker C: Yeah, things are going well. Big week ahead.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Yeah. The rematch is on as Union and Dartmouth meet again in the ECC Hockey Tournament, the best of three quarterfinals this weekend. Last year, the Big Green swept the Garner Chargers at Thompson arena in Hanover, New Hampshire. This time the series will be at Messerink. It will be the final games ever to be played at Mess up. Game times are 7pm Friday, 4pm Saturday and if necessary, 4pm Sunday. We talked about that there was a possibility of a fourth seed Union playing either fifth seed at Dartmouth, sixth seed at Cornell or seventh seed at Harvard. Last week's podcast but I believe you had to think the opponent was going to be Dartmouth. So I guess no surprise to you that Dartmouth beat St. Lawrence 62 last Saturday.
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Yeah, they're a really good hockey team. And you know, we kind of had done the majority of our prep work on Dartmouth. You know, obviously you want to prepare just in case you might see someone else, but it was nice to have the extra week.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: How did you spend that week last week preparing for this weekend? As far as scouting, mean, was the focus solely on Dartmouth or did you have to look at tape of Cornell and Harvard just to be on the safe side?
[00:01:43] Speaker C: You know, we looked, we looked at Cornell and Harvard as well. I mean, you know, if you're lucky enough to advance, you could see one of them. So it's, it's good to get a little prep work done and just kind of, you know, because if you make it to Lake Placid, there's a lot. So. But the majority of the focus was spent on.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Yeah, it was basically was chalk over the last last weekend with the ECA hockey first round games, all the home teams won. So I guess no surprise there. So let's talk about the matchup. It was not a great season series matchup with Dartmouth. This year for Union, the Big Green swept the season series. They won 4 nothing at Mesa on January 17th and then took a 21 victory on February 22nd at Thompson Arena. Let's start with the 4 nothing game, that was not one of Union's better games. Dartmouth dominated it. Union just seemed out of sorts in that game. Looking back on that game, what went wrong?
[00:02:31] Speaker C: Yeah, I thought, you know, they came and you know, really controlled the beginning of the game and set their, their pace and you know, give them all the credit. Like they, they outworked us that night and I thought it was, you know, we usually are the, are the team that's out working our opposition and that was a rare night where I felt like they outworked us.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. Nobody was happy after that game and just, you know, the tone was this borderline and angry. I mean the guys kept, I mean, I forget who I talked to player wise after the game. I've been Cullen, Ferguson and one other player, but just the.
I think the message was we should, we have to play better.
[00:03:10] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, you know, when you're playing a top tier team in the league, it's a hard game every night and you know, Dartmouth's a physical hockey team and you know, I just didn't think we were prepared and ready for it.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Yeah, and by we I mean the players were saying that, not me.
You know, in the rematch, that start of that game was delayed over 30 minutes because of a couple of medical emergencies in the arena. One inside the. In the arena, one just outside in the lobby. When the puck was dropped, Union came out sluggish. Not sure if the delay played a role in that. It was scoreless after one, but the Big Green got a goal in the second and one early in the third to take a two nothing lead. Colin Ferguson scored for Union, but The Garner Chargers lost 2 1.
What did you learn from that game?
[00:03:55] Speaker C: I just thought that was, you know, an awkward game for both teams. I didn't think either team had their best that night.
You know, we learned that we have to, you know, definitely take care of the puck better against them. And you know, we, we drifted outside and gave up them, you know, gave up an odd man rush and they made no mistake about it on one goal. And then, you know, just we didn't get enough going. And I mean I think that that's been the biggest difficulty for us against them is just our offense. I think we're, we're not supporting the puck well enough. So that'll be a key for us.
[00:04:27] Speaker B: Of course you came back against Cornell on that Friday, the week after that, won 4 to 1. So is that when you look at that, the lessons learned from that and you applied to that against Cornell I mean, is this the same thing you have to do again when you hit play, start on, start the series on Friday?
[00:04:44] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, you know, we've had a lot of practice right now. I think that's one thing. Usually we don't get as much time to prep for a team and, you know, really try to prepare. So we've.
I think we're all sick of practicing right now. We want to get to a game. So it's. It'll be nice to. To play here on Friday.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Just talk about what that says. This past. Last week was like, and into this week, as you said, you know. Yeah, he had the week off, which is good, but it's sort of like training camp. You're just basically, you know, banging against each other and sometimes maybe frustrations boil over. But how have the practices been leading up to what we're going to see on Friday?
[00:05:21] Speaker C: I think there's been a little bit of ups and downs in our practice and just, you know, there's been a little bit more teaching and a little bit more just try to emphasize on our detail. But you try to find a healthy balance of giving some guys some rest and making sure they're not taking a bunch of hits. But also you don't want to have, you know, it's going to be hard hockey on Friday night and we got to be prepared for that. So I think it's just trying to make sure you find the balance of competing hard and being physical, but at the same point, like taking advantage of the week and using rest as a weapon.
[00:05:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, obviously guys this time of the year are banged up and, you know, we're not going to know what kind of injuries they have. So I mean, how important is it to be able to give some guys, you know, maybe some, what they call now, maintenance days?
[00:06:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I think it's been great for us to, you know, like, we really, you know, we're able to take advantage of that and you know, especially last week, that was a, you know, gave a couple days off and you know, but again, we're able to work on, you know, some six on five stuff, some different stuff for face offs, because obviously Dartmouth is really good off of face offs, so just spend a little time in those areas.
[00:06:24] Speaker B: Besides that, is there anything specifically that's maybe concerned you that needed to be worked on? I know we've talked about the penalty kill. It seems it's gotten better as the second half of the year. We talked about the power play, especially the Cornell game where you had the Five minute major and didn't do anything with it. I mean, those kind of things, especially when you get how important the special teams will be in the postseason. Is that something you've been looking at?
[00:06:51] Speaker C: I think a little bit of what we've been trying to do is just find ways to generate more offense. And, you know, we spend time every week on special teams, so I think it's an area where we spend a lot of our practice and focus on. But for us recently, it's just been trying to find ways to create against these guys. We've only scored one goal in two games, so for us, it's a challenge to, you know, we got to make sure we're ready for. And that's to, you know, get pucks to the net. They don't give up many shots. They're a really good defensive team. So we got to find ways to generate.
[00:07:19] Speaker B: Why has Dartmouth won the last five games against Union?
[00:07:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I think that they're, you know, again, I think they're a really good hockey team and they've done a nice job just, you know, being above us and limiting our chances. So I think that's been the big key. So for us it'll be, you know, getting pucks to the net and, you know, finding ways to score.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yeah. What are your concerns about Dartmouth? Because they seem to have three offensive lines that can score.
[00:07:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I think they have good depth just like us, I think. I mean, in a lot of ways, I think their teams are fairly similar in a lot of different ways. But, you know, for us it's just been, you know, we want to win with our depth and I think, you know, that'll be key for us.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: What's going to be the key to winning this series and getting to Lake Placid again?
[00:08:01] Speaker C: I think it's just, you know, limiting their chances and us trying to generate more, you know, we have to. We have to get to the front of their net.
You know, they do a really good job boxing out and, you know, we have to find ways to get to their, you know, their goaltender.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: To this media day, media availability. And we'll hear from the Union players in a bit.
A word that kept coming up was motivation. There's a lot on the line this weekend, Josh. The winner of this series goes a Lake Placid for next weekend's championship round. Union's looking to snap that five game losing streak against Dartmouth this week and this weekend are not only the last home games of the season, but the final ones be played at Messer Rink. So motivation, how important is it you have all these goals in front of you? You know, the trip to Lake Placid to close out Messer Rink on a high note because the regular season finale against Colgate did not go well. So how important it will be this weekend to keep your focus on the goals at hand and, you know, get Dartmouth, beat Dartmouth in this series and get to Lake Placid for the first time since 2017?
[00:09:09] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that, you know, a lot of ways, like, the success of our season comes down to one weekend. You know, like, you think you're, you know, you've made a lot of really good steps, but this has been a goal for us, you know, so I think, obviously, the guys, you don't want to have that pressure on them and just let them relax and play the game and use the skill set they have because they're pretty talented when they're playing free.
But, yeah, there's tons of motivation for this weekend. It means a lot to the team and the program, but, you know, I know we'll be ready and, you know, we love the group and just excited to see what they can do here on this weekend.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: Yeah, we've. During your segment here, we've always had a massive rank memory from former players. I mean, in the three years you've been here, do you have a specific memory or is there still one yet to come?
[00:09:57] Speaker C: Well, I'm hoping that there's still one to come. I mean, it's been. It's been a place for me where my, you know, my. My family and my boys have grown up on the ice here, and it's. It's been pretty cool to, you know, experience that. And it'll be weird not having them run around the rink and, you know, just. Just everything about the building is pretty special. So. But I'm. I'm hoping we can, you know, make one last great weekend of hockey.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: Well, as you know, we like to take questions from our listeners. We have some. Several questions. Today. Mark Brockbank writes. What does it feel like to playing the same team that beat you guys last year?
[00:10:33] Speaker C: I'm sorry, what was it?
[00:10:34] Speaker B: What's it? What's it? What does it feel like to be playing the same team, like Dartmouth, the team that beat you guys last year?
[00:10:40] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, it's two different groups. I mean, so, like, obviously we have a change. You know, it's turned into a little bit of a rivalry with, you know, us and Dartmouth right now. I think, you know, they're a program on the rise and we feel like we're a program on the rise as well. So, you know, we've run into each other recruiting, we run into each other at different ranks, you know, a lot of respect for their staff and how they do their work. So I think it's fun to play against them and I think it just builds the intensity when you're playing a team again that you've played in the past.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Well, Jim Calhoun has two questions. The first one, any updates on Carter Korpi?
[00:11:12] Speaker C: Carter's still down for us right now, so at this point, at this point.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: It seems like season ending.
[00:11:18] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I hope not, but yeah, like right now it's going to be some time.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: Second question is he has, is are there any lineup changes to shake up the effort against Dartmouth?
[00:11:28] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, you know, you'll see some different guys coming in out of the lineup and you know, try to try to use our depth again in different ways to make sure that we are fresh because it, you know, it very well could be a three game series.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Finally, Ryan Fay, a regular contributor to the Questions here on the podcast asks, dartmouth has had unions numbered lately, winning the last five head to head meetings. What does union have to do to flip the script and punch a ticket to Lake Placid?
[00:11:53] Speaker C: You know, I think it's again, it's just we gotta be who we are and you know, those last five games have no bearing on this weekend other than just, you know, some good video where we can try to learn from it. So it's gonna come down to our compete. It's gonna come down to, you know, how well we have structure in our game and we have, you know, really good detail.
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Well, thanks Mark, Jim and Ryan. If you have a question for Josh, you can email them to me at shot. That's s c h o t
[email protected] or you can post them on my Facebook page, my personal page and the Parting Shots podcast page. You can also send them via bluesky X and threads lapshots. Well, Josh, ECAC hockey is slowly rolling out its awards. Four Union players have been honored so far. On Monday, freshman forward Ben Muthersbaugh was named to the all rookie team. And on Tuesday, three Union juniors, defenseman John Prokop, forward Brandon Burr and goalie Kyle Chavet were named to the all ECAC hockey third team. Your thoughts on those four garnering ecach honors?
[00:12:52] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm proud of those guys and I think they're all very, very deserving candidates and we're just excited that we're getting some recognition throughout the league.
[00:13:00] Speaker B: The one that shocked me, John being he was the first teamer last year down the third team this year maybe what, what happened. Coaches don't like him.
[00:13:08] Speaker C: I, you know, I think the expectations for him are so high that you know they looked at, you know, maybe he didn't score as many points but like in league play but I mean he's so dominant and he's such a, you know, competitor and he's so valuable to our hockey team that you know I was surprised but again it's, I, I get a vote but you can't vote for your own players. So it's. It is what it is.
[00:13:28] Speaker B: Yeah. And Brandon obviously having a great year. 19 goals on see of course the.
They look at just league stats when they're putting the all conferencing together. Although some fun sometimes maybe overall stats get factored in and you know Kyle Chauvette I think was a pleasant surprise getting third team. He's had a great season. I mean he's, he's played well. I mean throw the Colgate game side it wasn't his fault but I mean a lot of the game, the Cornell game at Cornell, the way he just, you know, frustrated at the Big Red in that game and it tells me he's really improved this year.
[00:14:00] Speaker C: He's taken such a huge step and this second half of the year he's been outstanding and just proud of all the work he puts in. He does everything the right way.
Always spending extra time with our goalie coach Brian McDonald and you know he's, you got to kick him off the ice because he always wants to be out there.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Well, some news around ECAC hockey right here in the capital region on Monday on RPI announced that Dave Smith was relieved of his head coaching duties after eight seasons, technically seven seasons. The eighth season there was a Covid year where they didn't play.
Were you surprised by the news?
[00:14:33] Speaker C: I think so. I think anytime there's a coaching change you're always surprised. But I think the, you know, the expectations, you know continue to rise as you know, programs invest more and more money into athletics and I think it just becomes a little bit of nature of the beast but really feel for him and his family and you know, you end up becoming friends with your competitors and it's hard to hear what.
[00:14:56] Speaker B: Was it like to coach again. Steve?
[00:14:57] Speaker C: Yeah, always, always enjoyed him. He's a class act. He, you know, very respectful to me and my family and you know we had some competitive games and yeah, Enjoyed it. I really, you know, get along well with their whole staff. So it was also tough to hear that, you know, Chuck Weber was let go as well. So, like, it's one of those things. You feel bad for him.
[00:15:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Another coaching news in Atlantic Hockey, and longtime Mercier's head coach Rick Godkin announced he's going to retire at the end of next season. Rick's a character, a great man. And now I got to ask you the question here. John Ronan worked on his staff there at Mercyhurst, and any chance maybe he could be a candidate for the job?
[00:15:38] Speaker C: Well, I mean, I would think so. I mean, anybody that knows Coach Ronan knows he's very deserving candidate of an opportunity. And if, you know, if they come calling, I'd be the first one to highly recommend him. I think he's outstanding. He's a great friend. Would hate to lose him. But, you know, your job as a head coach is try to move people on if they. They want opportunities.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: Yeah. So it'll be interesting to watch. Of course, big weekend this weekend and of course, other games in the ECAC with this, with the quarterfinals. Quinnipiac hosting Brown, Clarkson hosting Harvard, and Cornell will be at Colgate, obviously, you don't worry about that. But what do you like about those matchups?
[00:16:19] Speaker C: I think, you know, they're all interesting in their own way, and, I mean, it's at the point right now where really anything can happen, you know, in these series and, you know, hoping all of them go three games. And we're done on Saturday night, so.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: All right, Josh, appreciate the visit. Good luck this weekend, and we'll talk after the games.
[00:16:36] Speaker C: Thank you very much.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: All right, let's take a break here. I'll have another Messerink memory. I'll have the thoughts of union players Cullen Ferguson, Kaden Viegus and Kyle Shot on the Dartmouth series. And I also spoke with Dartmouth head coach Reed Cashman. So that'll be coming up in just a moment. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:17:05] Speaker D: It's the most historic conference in college hockey. It's a battle night in and night out. ECAC Hockey, an iconic conference, home to 12 of the most prestigious universities and programs in the world, and showcasing the.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Best student athletes in the sport.
[00:17:22] Speaker D: Top notch facilities and arenas, incomparable traditions, passionate fans, alumni who go on to become elite professionals, leaders and champions. ECAC hockey, there's no experience like it.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: If you really want to know what's.
[00:17:39] Speaker B: Going on in your community, you have.
[00:17:41] Speaker A: To read the Daily Gazette.
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[00:17:43] Speaker A: We're right down the middle and we're.
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You guys just didn't want it bad enough. That should have been an easy win. What were you doing out there? You gotta hustle. You could have made that play if you'd been open.
[00:18:19] Speaker D: On the car ride home after the game, when you think you're helping by telling me what I did wrong and what I need to work on, all I hear is that I'm not good enough. That I'm supposed to be perfect. That it's not okay to lose.
On the car ride home, all I need to hear is how much you.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: Love me and enjoy watching me play.
[00:18:45] Speaker D: That my worth isn't determined by my performance.
That even on my worst day I am worthy. That you see me learning, growing and doing my best. And that is enough.
[00:19:01] Speaker A: This message presented by NSFA and the New York State Athletic Administrators Association.
Hi, this is Union College hockey alum Rick Clifford. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: The Parting Shots podcast presents another Union Hockey Messerink memory.
[00:19:22] Speaker A: I'm Craig Ferrero. I played for Union College men's hockey from 1988 to 1992. My most vivid memory of playing in Mess arena was beating RPI in my first college hockey game ever in overtime.
[00:19:39] Speaker D: I'm Kelly Zajak. I play at the Union College men's hockey from 2008 to 2012. My most vivid memory of playing in Mesa Rink, I think, was just the atmosphere.
The small rink, the noise, the acoustics of it. Just being surrounded by the students, the fans.
[00:19:59] Speaker C: When you look back at it after.
[00:20:01] Speaker D: Your 12 years out, you just realize how special it was and how much time flies by. And just being on campus now brings back all those memories that feels like.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: Nevertheless, welcome back to the podcast. Union had its media availability on Tuesday. We had a chance to talk with senior defenseman and team captain Cullen Ferguson, senior forward and assistant captain Kaden Villegas, and junior goalie Kyle Chauvet. We asked them about the matchup with Dartmouth and here's what they had to say.
Well, gentlemen, that's rematch from last year's quarterfinals with Dartmouth. This is a team that's won five straight against you, including the two Games up there in the quarterfinals, they took the season seriously. What do you have to do to turn things around this weekend and win the series against Lake Plassa? Start with Colin.
[00:20:50] Speaker D: I think we got to be physical and then just play our game. You know, I believe in every single guy in that room. I believe in all the pieces that we have. You know, we, we got to break off for a reason. So just trust what we've been doing all year and we just need to be, I think, a bit more physical. And I think we've had like two, like slow starts against them. So just make sure we know what we're up against this weekend, that they're, they're a really good team. They're going to be, they're going to be hard, they're going to be structured, so just know what we're getting, getting ourselves into.
Yeah, they're a good team. Always tough to play against, but just.
[00:21:30] Speaker C: Worried about ourselves right now.
[00:21:31] Speaker D: And the biggest thing for us is consistency. There's a couple games this weekend and we want to get them both. So it's all about just our starts and how we come into the game and. Yeah, yeah, I agree.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: You know, I think the big thing.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: Is it comes down to our compete.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Level and our details and habits.
[00:21:49] Speaker A: So I don't think there's much more.
[00:21:51] Speaker B: To add from what they said, but I agree with all their points.
[00:21:55] Speaker D: Colin, I remember when we were talking earlier, I think before the second Dartmouth game, you had mentioned that, you know, they eliminated you guys last year, something that you remembered. So obviously there's the motivation of just advancing, but how much extra motivation is there to make sure it doesn't happen again in the same round to the same team? Yeah, I think all the motivation is really internally like, we want to get to Placid so bad.
I remember my freshman year, one of our fifth year defenseman said, I've never been to Placid and this would be, it would be nice to go this year. And that was four years ago now. So I'm sitting here saying the same thing as a senior.
I think that's as motivating as it gets. You know, it's the last two games that will ever be played in this arena. So we just want to do the best we can to show our fans that we appreciate them and we want to go out with a bang.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Obviously this is the last weekend of hockey and mess up. Is that even extra motivation besides, you know, the Lake Placid motivation? Is that extra motivation because you want to, you know, send Mess off with wins. You know, you don't want to have it sour taste in your mouth.
[00:23:02] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. Like I said before, we, we want to be there for the mess of faithful. You know, they've given me a great four years here, so the least we could do is send them off for the win.
[00:23:13] Speaker B: Kaden, your thoughts on that?
[00:23:15] Speaker D: Yeah, obviously our goal was to make.
[00:23:18] Speaker C: It to plaza this year and go as far as we could.
[00:23:21] Speaker D: So we have a chance this weekend to accomplish that. And you know, with that comes two wins here at Mesa. So that's our goal and hopefully we can get the fans what they want to.
[00:23:31] Speaker B: Is there a different mindset in a best two out of three versus a.
[00:23:34] Speaker A: One gamer on a weekend where, where.
[00:23:37] Speaker B: You want to get off to a.
[00:23:38] Speaker A: Quick start Friday, whether it's a goal or somebody delivers a big hit, to say you're setting a tone not just for one night, but two or three, potentially.
[00:23:46] Speaker D: Yeah, I think there's definitely a different mindset, but you have to go in with the, with the one game knockout mentality because you don't want to drop one game. So I think every game we play this weekend has to be like, it's our last, our last as a group.
So I think in the back of your mind you understand that it could be, you know, as a senior, your last games were in the jersey.
You put that all in the back of your mind, though. But I do think it's important to realize that if you do lose, that's a reality.
You talked about that conversation you had with the fifth year defenseman about not making it to classic. Now here you are.
[00:24:22] Speaker A: A lot of times in sports it.
[00:24:23] Speaker D: Takes kind of that one group to be the one that breaks through and then, you know, maybe that can have a kind of a ripple effect. So what kind of opportunity is this for the, for the program as well, to kind of set the stage for, you know, the years to come? Yeah, I mean, I've said many times before, I believe, I believe in the guys in that locker room, we've made some, we've made some big steps, but ultimately this is the one that we really want. I've heard so many great things about going to Lake Placid, and then when you get there, it's, anybody can win. So every single year I've been here, we have a PowerPoint and it says one of the goals is you want to win the acac. And I think that's one of the biggest steps to that.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Kyle, how important will it be to get off to good Starts, which you did in the two games this season to get started with.
[00:25:11] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I think it's important. I know guys are going to be excited on this team and you know, I'm confident in our group.
[00:25:17] Speaker D: I think that the.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: We, we have the keys and I, I think we're going to come out.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Hard and physical again, like just focusing.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: On us, sticking to our details and.
[00:25:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's going to be.
[00:25:30] Speaker A: Important, but we're gonna.
[00:25:31] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, he said it best. I think we just need to worry about ourselves. That's the most important thing this weekend. You can't control what they do.
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Okay. They have really a balanced offensive attack. So what's going to be the key to limiting their opportunities?
[00:25:44] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean they have some high skill forwards and also defense. So just play inside, play tight and.
[00:25:51] Speaker C: Stick together, stick to our detail.
[00:25:53] Speaker D: Like we've been practicing all week. So as long as we're detailing the D zone, hopefully we match up well.
[00:26:03] Speaker B: On Tuesday morning, I spoke with Dartmouth head coach Reed Cashman. His team beat St. Lawrence 62 last Saturday in the ECAC Hockey Tournament first round game and his team was looking for a return trip to Lake Placid. I asked him about the matchup, his thoughts on Dave Smith's firing and he recommended someone for the RPI job. Here is Reed Cashman.
Well, Reed, here we go again. Rematch of last year's quarterfinals. How much you looking forward to coming down to Schenectady again?
[00:26:31] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm, we're really excited. I mean it's, we have a ton of respect for, for Josh and his program and the year that unions had and our teams are obviously very familiar with each other. Our staffs are familiar with each other and I think it's fun. It's gonna be a playoff series. I think this is gonna be really two really good teams and it's gonna be evenly matched and should be great hockey then. I have, I have awesome memories at Union in my career at the eca. So to be able to play the, the last games in this rink is kind of a, kind of a cherry on top. So I'm looking forward to that.
[00:27:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I know because we had talked earlier at the, the media call back in September and you mentioned you remember Shane Gossip scoring a goal during an extra during delayed penalty.
What other memories of Messi do you have?
[00:27:23] Speaker A: I honestly like one, just how good those teams were in, in the atmosphere. Like I've always thought like it was when it was full and like there's really good hockey fans up there and when that building is full, it is, it's loud. The acoustics are great.
I just like, those are the environments that you want to go play in on the road like you want, that's what you want your home ring to be, but you want to go play in those environments and those, those years of Bodhi and gospel and Vecchion and I just remember the atmosphere and how excited our teams were to go in there to play really good hockey in a great atmosphere and know you had to play your best if you're going to get a good result.
[00:28:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Knowing that this is the final two, final two or three games of Mess's life, it's going to be jam packed. Fans are going to be in a frenzy. It's going to be loud in there, man. How do you counter that this weekend?
[00:28:21] Speaker A: I don't, I don't think you counter. I think you just, you just accept it. You get excited about it. And I think our guys are gonna, are gonna thrive in that environment because it's playoff hockey and then you're gonna have the atmosphere on top of it. It's, you know, we've been, we've been okay on the road this year. We went into Quinnipiac and played pretty well and we went into Cornell and we played pretty well. And so I don't think it's to our advantage, but I do think our guys will embrace it. We don't need to tolerate it. We just need to accept it and say, hey, there's gonna be great energy in the building and let's feed off of it.
[00:28:54] Speaker B: You've won the last five games against Union, including last year's quarterfinal games. What has been the key to beating Union the last five games?
[00:29:06] Speaker A: I think we've just, I think we've just played, made one more play. Like I, if you go back, they're all close, even the games that aren't close. It's because there's two empty netters at the end or, or whatever. And so it's a kind of a funky stat because we're about as evenly matched as two teams can be and we've just been on the other end of it.
Now. I will remind our guys this week we hadn't beat St. Lawrence in three years and that didn't, you know, we ended up winning last weekend. So that past results have very little bearing on what's going to happen this weekend.
[00:29:42] Speaker B: How would you describe your team this year? I mean, you went to the championship round Lake Placid last year, I think. I mean, I thought you Guys be challenging for first place. You got to a good start, but that was sort of an up and down year. I mean, how, how would you describe it?
[00:29:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I guess just how you, how you. I mean, it got a little bumpy there in the middle.
Although, you know, we played Quinnipiac with maybe eight games left and we were four points back of them, and we ended up giving up a goal late and losing overtime and, and then we, we dropped four or five out of that and it was just kind of a weird. So we kind of were in the mix and then all of a sudden we played ourselves out of it and tried to scramble to get back to the top four. But it's like my, my. All four years I've been here, there's been different steps. And this, this year was dealing with expectations, dealing with being ranked, dealing with getting every other team's best because of maybe what we've done or who we have on our roster. And in some games we handled it great, and some games we learned we didn't handle as well as we wanted to. So all in all, I like where we're at. We always want to play our best hockey at the end of the year and we're in a good spot. But yeah, to your point, it got a little rocky there at the end, but I think it's made us better. We've handled some adversity and now we're ready to see what we can do in a playoff series.
[00:31:12] Speaker B: Looking at your offense, I mean, it appears to be balanced. Four guys with 10 or more goals.
C.J. foley leading the team with 29 points. Is it fair to say it's a balanced offense for you guys?
[00:31:25] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. The biggest strength we got is our depth is, you know, we have a, we have a 10, 10 plus goal scorer on each of our, on our top three lines.
Our fourth line has a really strong identity. So they, they play a lot of minutes for us. Like if it's five on five, it's, it's, we go 1, 2, 3, 4 a lot. You know, that, that saves some minutes for Haynes and Chisholm and Cleaves and, and so I, I like our depth a lot. And then, you know, you talked about CJ. John Fusco's got, I think he's got close to 20 points. Yep. So we got some, some guys on the back end that are moving the puck pretty well too, for us.
[00:32:08] Speaker B: Yeah, Luke Haynes, I mean, he missed what, 11 games this year, but still has 10 goals in those. In 19 games. I mean, how has he bounced back from, you know, missing the. I think it was missed the first half of the season.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Yeah, we got him after Christmas.
You know what he scored when he came back. But there was a, you know, it was a significant injury. There was a feeling out process. We were trying to figure out our lines and chemistry and so there was kind of like our team. He was up, up and down a little bit, but. And he's playing, he's playing really good hockey for us right now. I mean he's 25 and three on draws for St. Lawrence. So he's winning draws 200ft and that, that line is with, with Cam McDonald and Cooper Flynn. There's some chemistry. They played together last year, the second half of the year. So Luki's been really good.
Probably the top free agent in college hockey and we're excited, excited to have him doing what he's doing now.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: You split the goaltending duties this year. Is that out of necessity?
[00:33:14] Speaker A: It was out of competition. It was.
They were pretty, they were, they are pretty even and they both have worked and hey, we're going to split you all year. But early on it was like, we'll get one Friday, one Saturday and let's have really healthy competition. And, and there were some injuries mixed in there. There was a suspension. So it kind of moved around a little bit. But they've been pretty even with games. Now Emmett obviously got the last two games of the regular season. He got St. Lawrence and he'll, he'll start game one as long as, as long as he's healthy for Union. But like Rowan's, Rowan's in a great spot too. So we're pretty excited about our goaltender.
[00:33:59] Speaker B: Judd, looking at Union, what concerns you about the Garner Chargers?
[00:34:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I think one. Just their. I don't concern but like if we're talking about their strengths, their strength is how competitive they are. Like it's. We know where we're for, for 60 minutes and then 100, then 120 or 180 minutes or how many games it goes there. I think their depth at forward in particular is as good as anybody.
So you give time and space to their top nine forwards. They got a lot of guys that can hurt you in different ways. Whether it's some of those guys with some really big shots or some of those guys that are going to be around the nets and so that, that time and space and then, you know, pro cop is, is elite. Elite. Elite. One of the best defensemen in college hockey. And so it's again, it's a time and space thing and we have to limit that at the end of the day, like they're going to make some plays and we'll have to make some saves, but we have to limit time and space to the best of our abilities because that's a major strength that they have of both their forward group and on the back end.
[00:35:14] Speaker B: Yeah, you've seen it. They've done that though, you know, allowing just one goal in the two games. So is that basically, you know, the same formula going into this series?
[00:35:22] Speaker A: Yeah, it's not a unique formula.
Try to be on top of other teams best players. But yeah, it's. We have to. We cannot give union on man rushes. We cannot give them extended zone time where we're tired and they're fresh because now they're going to get that time and space to make plays.
Yeah, we have to make it as hard as we can for as long as we can. And that is not an easy task.
They've gotten chances, they've hit some posts, our goalies have made some saves, but that. We'll try to continue to make it hard on them.
[00:35:58] Speaker B: Let me ask you, we had the news on Monday that RPI relieved Dave Smith of his head coach duties. Your thoughts on Dave and how disappointed are you or how sad are you for him losing his job?
[00:36:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I just think in our, in our profession it's, it's a reality of it.
But you never, you never like to see somebody lose their job because you just, you've seen it enough. I feel like I used to think I'm young. I'm not as young, I guess as I once was. And I. You've seen enough people. And it's not just the head coach. It's now affects assistant coaches and support staff and then it's wife and kids. And so I am sorry, I'm sorry to see Dave lose his job. He was always really good to me as a young head coach. I felt like he went out of his way to be supportive of me the last five years.
And so I, I hope he lands on his feet. I hope his staff lands on his feet. And you know, for, for our league, we want RPI to be as successful as possible. Right. So I, I hope they go find somebody that can, can help elevate that program to where they want. And, and I'll just tell you, like, I think Jason Tapp would be, would be an unbelievable head coach at RPI and what he's done in this league at both Union and Dartmouth and if it's somebody they're interested in. I think he'd be tremendous there.
[00:37:26] Speaker B: Speaking of Jason, does he have any thoughts about this being helping close out Mesa place where he was for many years?
[00:37:35] Speaker A: Yeah. You know what, he's pretty. I haven't asked him. So you'd have. You'd have to ask him. I haven't asked him that. I know he's got great memories. He won a national championship there. But I. We haven't gotten into the emotional part of it. He's pretty focused on I think what task at hand.
[00:37:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, Reed, appreciate a few minutes. We'll see you this weekend and we'll talk after the games.
[00:37:56] Speaker A: Okay? Sounds great, Ken.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:37:58] Speaker B: Take care.
And that will wrap up the podcast. My thanks to Josh Algae, Colin Ferguson, Caden Villegas, Kyle Chauvet and Reed Cashman for being a part of the show. Coming up on Thursday's podcast, I'll wrap up the Union women's hockey season with first year head coach Tony Macy. Dan Rubin, who covers ECAC hockey for USCHO.com joins me to preview the ECAC hockey tournament quarterfinals and we'll discuss Dave Smith firing. Please tune in.
The views expressed on the Pawning 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 hockey.
