[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
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The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots podcast. Now, here's your host, Gazette News Group sports editor Ken Shot. Thank you, Scott Geezy, and welcome to the Parting Shots podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Party Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. It's week three with Union meds head hockey coach Josh Hauge, the Garden Charger coming off a sweep of Mercy Ursa last weekend. Josh, welcome back to the podcast. How are things going?
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Yeah, going well. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:44] Speaker C: Yeah. Appreciate you coming on as usual.
I want to warn you right now, I've been battling a cold. I may be coughing a lot. I wish we had a cough, but even if we had a cough button, you'd still be picking up on the microphone there. But I'll do my best. Got my water here. So hopefully I can avoid coughing throughout this podcast. I hate, I hate having colds. It's miserable. Makes me miserable.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll be all right. We can push through anything. Hopefully you feel better.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: We're hockey guys. We, we get, we, we get, we got that. It's an upper body, upper body injury. Let's call it that. So. Well, let's look back at last weekend. Union had its first road trip of the season, going to Erie, Pennsylvania, and for the first time ever, to take on Mercyhurst for a pair of games.
In watching both games, it looked like Mercy plays in a rec arena akin to what Schenectady County Ray Rumpel Memorial Rink. The rank.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: Like, you know what, I think they, they make the best of what they can with it. It's seats on one side and one end. And, you know, from the last time I've, I've been there, I actually made some improvements. So it is, it is a little bit like a rec rink. But, you know, their, their students were gone as well, so it was, it was a, a different atmosphere.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: Students are gone already. It's.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Yeah, they had a, they had like a fall break. So wait a minute.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: They. When do they go to school? July, so. Well, Union dominated the opening period of game Friday's game. Riley Bruig opened the scoring at 11:15 in the first period and that was followed by a Brendan Miles goal nearly two minutes later. How did you like your play in that first period?
[00:02:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I thought it was, you know, what we were hoping for. We came out strong. We started on time, you know, really established the pace of the game and you know, I thought we'd get rewarded with the two goals.
[00:02:22] Speaker C: For senior defenseman Miles. That was his first collegiate goal. He transferred to Union from Michigan, which opened up the whole Michigan portal. Coming to Union with the two other players there in Felicio and Cameron Corpi.
How happy were you to see him score his first college goal?
[00:02:37] Speaker A: Yeah, really excited. He's a guy that, you know, spends a lot of extra time working on his offense and you know, has a lot of natural offensive ability. So it's a little bit of surprise that that's his first one just because he is very talented. But you know, I think that's, you know, a big one to get, is get that first goal and then just, you know, to be able to relax and keep playing.
[00:02:57] Speaker C: What kind of player has he been for you? He seems to be, he's constantly in the line. It doesn't, it doesn't expose himself out there at all. I mean he just seems to be a steady defender out there.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: Yeah, he can move pucks. He, you know, he has the ability to get up in the play and make plays so, you know, is a really good skater so can do a lot of different things for us and has been a, you know, a nice addition.
[00:03:20] Speaker C: Well, Lucas Buziel scores just over six minutes into the second period to give Union the seemingly coverable three nothing lead. But we know that what they say about the three goal lead, the worst lead in hockey.
So will Schumacher scores late in the second period for the Lakers and then Dominic Barteco pulls merciers within 32 on a goal with 837 left in the third period.
Do you think Union lit up a little bit or did Merciers get some spark for that late second period goal by Schumacher?
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Yeah, they got a spark. I also thought like we had the ability at times to really pull away and just didn't, didn't convert on our opportunities.
We were getting a lot of chances, just, just didn't get one. And then I thought we got a, you know, started cheating a little bit for offense and gave up a couple odd man rushes and the next thing you know we're, we're in a ball game.
[00:04:06] Speaker C: Yeah, well, Brandon Burr made sure that Mercers wouldn't come all the way back when he scored with 1 minute 14. Later after the Barteco's goal, Bouzill sealed the deal with his second goal of the game with 353 left. And Union wins 5 2. I mean, how big was Burr's goal?
[00:04:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I Thought it was, you know, a really veteran shift, you know, by those guys.
That whole line just to really respond when, you know, things could have went south. They just said, nope, it's not, and had a great shift and, you know, kind of sealed the game for us.
[00:04:35] Speaker C: Overall, were you pleased with the effort except maybe that Mercer was getting back within one?
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Yeah, I was really, you know, happy with the performance. We, you know, spent a lot of time talking about offensive identity and, you know, different ways to produce and the majority of our goals were guys getting to the net, being hard at the net front, and, you know, that's how we have to play.
[00:04:54] Speaker C: Well, let's look back at Saturday's game, and unlike the first game, union was a step slow starting Game 2. In fact, the Lakers took a 2 nothing lead in the first period on goals by Riley Fitzgerald and Will Schumacher. And it seemed like Mercy was winning every puck battle in that period. I can't imagine it was a happy locker room in the first intermission. What was said in the locker room and were you the only one speaking?
[00:05:16] Speaker A: No, I think our leaders do a nice job of controlling the room and making sure they know when the expectations aren't being met.
So I definitely think the leadership group was talking.
I did go in and wasn't pleased and just sort of expressed that we have a union standard and they were not meeting it.
I thought they responded really well.
[00:05:41] Speaker C: Well, at first though, it didn't get better to start a second period. Connor Pelk scores a minute 54 into the period and it's nothing. Lakers, you know, what were your thoughts after, you know, going through a talk, talking in your mission, he fall behind my three?
[00:05:54] Speaker A: Well, I think if you on that goal, Nick Young made like two or three blocks on the penalty kill where he was really sacrificing. And, you know, unfortunately we ended up turning one over and just kind of a quick, quick bounce for them and they finish it.
But I thought that that shift, even though they scored, I thought we gained momentum from that penalty kill, finding a way to kill it off, you know, really seeing someone sacrifice the way Nick did. And then, you know, we were able to, you know, regroup right away after they scored. And then, you know, I don't think we gave up a shot the rest of the period.
[00:06:26] Speaker C: Did you contemplate pulling Cameron out of the net, Word as a waco call to the team, not because of his play?
[00:06:34] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think you always kind of contemplate different things like that, but, you know, there was really nothing he could do. On that one. And I felt like if we started playing, we'd be okay and, you know, playing to the level we expect the guys to play. And that's, you know, what happened.
[00:06:49] Speaker C: Well, as I mentioned earlier, the three goal leads are the worst in hockey and Union started to play better. In fact, the Garner Chargers started to take control of the play. Brandon Burr scored the team's first power play goal of the season with nine minutes left in the second. And Union had some other great chances. But Mercier's goalie Michael Chambray turned them aside. Union out shot merciers 18 to 1 in the second. Even though you're down by two after two, could you feel the game's momentum shifting in Union's favor?
[00:07:16] Speaker A: Yeah, we felt really good about, you know, how we played in that second and you know, it's funny, you outshoot a team 18 one, but the period was still one to one. But it did feel like the tide was turning. And, you know, you went into the locker room between the second and third and there were, you know, guys seemed pretty focused and knew what was at stake. So you felt good. But at the same point, you know, you've had 40 minutes, you haven't gotten, you've only gotten one so far. So cautiously optimistic at that.
[00:07:43] Speaker C: Well, you had to be obviously more than cautiously optimistic because the Union came out in that third period firing pucks on Chambray and it paid off. Two goals in 34 seconds tied the score. Jacob Jeannette made it 3:2 at 6:09. And then Burr scores his second goal of the game at 6, 43 to tie it at 3. I mean, how are the guys feeling now? How are you feeling now?
[00:08:05] Speaker A: I think once we got the one from Jeanette, I think we all knew that we were going to win. Like, we just felt you could feel it on the bench that year. We were in control. We were getting chances, they were hanging on and it was just a matter of time before, you know, we'd get the one to tie it up. And it was, it was really quick.
But yeah, I think the one from Jeanette was the one we needed. He just, you know, he'd kind of taken a penalty that I, you know, we wish he didn't have. He was crashing the net hard. He gets one whack on the goalie and then tried to drive the, you know, drive him through the net, which is, you know, what we want to do. We want to get there, but when the whistle blows, you can't do it. And he responded really well, you know, Getting to the net and finishing at. And then.
Yeah, just you kind of sense that we were in a good spot.
[00:08:46] Speaker C: Yeah. Then Connor Smith, who had two career goals, both against Army West Point, and he scored the only goal of the Army West Point game in the opener. He breaks the tie with 8:11 to go on a spectacular rush. Smith, who won the fastest skater at the Union skills competition back in September, how impressive was that goal?
I think he picked the puck up at Union blue line, just, he just went through the defense and made a nice move to the net and beat Chambray.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's, you know, like one of those goals. It's a highlight reel goals. I think the quality of video, if it was, if it was a little bit better, it would have been on Sports Center. I mean it was a, it was a really nice play. Carter Rose found him with speed coming through the neutral zone. And when Connor got it, he just, you know, kind of inside out of their defenseman. And then, you know, nice finish, you know, a really nice goal for us.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: And then Bruick clinches a victory on an empty net goal with 59.3 seconds left. Union wins 5, 3. It was the first time since December 1, 2013 against Penn State that Union overcame a three goal deficit to win. How impressed were you with the comeback?
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Yeah, really, really impressed. I thought that gutsy effort from the guys never, you know, never quit and, you know, didn't feel sorry for themselves that they didn't start the right way and, you know, were able to bounce back.
[00:10:08] Speaker C: If that's a sign here, it was a 2013-14 season. Union won the national championship that year. Is that a sign?
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll take it if it is.
[00:10:16] Speaker C: So you mentioned the video.
I don't. Have you had a chance to watch and listen to the play by play call.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: I mean, I turned it down when I was watching it. So like I listened to it a little bit, but yeah, most of it was.
[00:10:30] Speaker C: Brandon's last name was mispronounced Bailey. Friday night he's pronouncing it B or as in like Eeyore.
And then he goes upper, Upper State, New York. And it's like, no, we're upstate in New York and he had a tough time. Francis Schenectady. I don't know the gentleman's name, but it was, I could say I've heard better.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I give a lot of credit to those guys. It's a tough one, but sometimes, you know, you're hoping they do a little more research.
[00:10:58] Speaker C: Yeah, that's why you appreciate Matt Dubreu the way you do, right?
[00:11:02] Speaker A: Yeah. We're lucky to have.
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, let's take a break. We'll talk more with Josh when we return. We'll preview Union's two game series against Niagara M and T Bank Center. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:12:39] Speaker A: Hi, this is Max novak of the 2014 National Championship Union College Men's hockey team. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
[00:12:51] Speaker C: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Gazette News Group editor Ken Shop, joined by Union men's head coach Josh Hauser. As we talk Union hockey here on the Parting Shots podcast.
The fact that you scored 10 goals in the two games and outshot Mercer's 92:36 in both games, how happy were you with the offensive output? And does this show the players what they're capable of doing?
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I think you got to be excited about the fact that you can, you know, generate as many shots as we've been generating. And, you know, being able to get the 10 in two games is a huge step for us. And I think just the guys need to see the puck cross the line there a little bit, hit the back of the net to know they can do it in college and, you know, continually do it. And I think you've Seen some guys step up, which has been nice. We've had some of our sophomores really take a good jump. So the fact that we still have really, really talented players that haven't scored as much as we're used to and we still got 10 was exciting.
[00:13:46] Speaker C: And you're generating, like I said, you had 92 shots on the weekend. You had 39 against Army West Point opening night and only just the one goal. But how important is it when you get the conference play in a couple weeks to keep that momentum going and be on the attack and not give up and take that shot, not maybe make that extra pass, which may not help.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: Yeah, we've been talking a lot about having a shooting mentality and if you have a chance, make sure you get it, you know, get it to the net and get it on net. You give yourself a chance to score and then also for your, for your teammates to get there if they're getting to the net. And, and I thought that was the most exciting thing was just to see how many goals we had right around the crease.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: Well, you did not make any lineup changes for Saturday's game. You stuck with the same lineup as you had Friday. And sometimes coaches may like to use a non conference game to get some players some ice time. What was the reasoning behind sticking with the same lineup and will the philosophy be different for this weekend's two game series against Niagara?
[00:14:43] Speaker A: You know, going into the weekend I think you have the philosophy that you're going to, you know, try to, to shuffle the lineup a little bit after Friday night.
But I just thought it was, you know, we talked about it as a staff, how good the effort was from, you know, the guys. And you know, when you do that, you want to reward guys. You don't want to pull somebody out just because. So yeah, it's one of those things that you don't really know what it's, what's right.
You know, halfway through the first period I was like, well, we probably made a mistake. We probably should have, you know, change the lineup a little bit. But I was glad we had everybody, we did, you know, as they finished the job on Saturday.
[00:15:21] Speaker C: Well, let's look ahead to the matchup with the Purple Eagles of Niagara this weekend. They're off to a 3, 0 start. They opened their season with a 5, 2 victory over St. Lawrence on October 4th. And last weekend they swept a two game series against Bowling Green by scores of two nothing and 5 to 2. What do you know about the Purple Eagles?
[00:15:39] Speaker A: Extremely hard to generate against their you know, they're defending it at a really high level.
You know, they have, you know, a pretty big turnover in roster. They lost some of their, you know, players that people would have said maybe were their top players in the transfer portal. But then we're able to go out and get some really talented players from, you know, major junior and youth sport. So a little different of a lineup than we've seen seen, you know, more major junior players this weekend and players that played Canadian University and their penalty.
[00:16:09] Speaker C: Kill right now 14 for 14. So how important will it be to get the power play going and trying to put a dent into that?
[00:16:15] Speaker A: Yeah, their penalty kill is outstanding. Their specials are really good. Their power play I think scored four against St. Lawrence. So definitely be, you know, a tough task and they're very well coached and you know, and play, play a really heavy, hard hockey game.
[00:16:32] Speaker C: Yeah. The two teams met last season for a two game series at Niagara and Union came away with victories of 4, 2 and 5, 3. In fact, Union has never lost to Niagara. I'm putting the jinx on probably here going 9, 0 and 2. How do you avoid being overconfident against a team that you have dominated?
[00:16:49] Speaker A: Well, I mean this team hasn't dominated them. You know, you look at like what they have, it's a, it's a completely different group.
You know, as we kind of talked about, they're 30 with really impressive performances. You know, you look at Bowling Green and a lot of people had them picked in the top, you know, two or three in the ccha and I thought Niagara was clearly the better team with puck possession and opportunities.
So this is going to be a really difficult, difficult matchup. Their goaltender is extremely good and they have some good depth. So this will be a nice test to see where we stand before we head into ECAC play.
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Well, both games this weekend will have late starts. Opening face off is 8pm Friday and Saturday and that's because of Union hosting the women's icebreaker tournament this weekend. Do you think the later start is going to be a problem?
[00:17:38] Speaker A: I mean, you know, for us it's whether it's 7, 8, 5. We have to adapt. We're hoping to play in the NCAA tournament this year and if you're lucky enough to make it there, you play whenever they tell you. So we know, we know our task. It's 8 o' clock on Friday night and then, you know, get that, hopefully get that done and then have a chance to do it on Saturday as well.
[00:17:59] Speaker C: Well, as I mentioned, the women's icebreaker will be at MT Bank Center Friday. Semifinals have defending national champion Wisconsin taking over Mine at 12:07pm Union meets St. Anselm at 3:37pm and the other semifinal on Saturday. The third place game is at 12:07pm and the title game is set for 3:37pm Six games in two days. It's a hockey fan's dream. I mean, how big of a weekend is this for the school?
[00:18:26] Speaker A: It's a really big weekend. You look at, you know, having the teams that are coming in on the women's program to play the women's program. It's a great opportunity for Union to showcase their new building.
I think a really, really good hockey team. Our women's program has taken a really nice step here even again this year from last year, which was a great season.
So for us, we want to be a hockey school, you know, so I think getting as many people in to see what we have to offer is important.
[00:18:55] Speaker C: Would you like to have the men's icebreaker tournament here one day?
[00:18:58] Speaker A: Yeah, it'd be great. I don't really even know how you go about it, so I'll have to ask Tony and see how he worked it.
[00:19:06] Speaker C: Big question. Do you have an update on the championship banner?
[00:19:09] Speaker A: I do not, but I do know that it's being discussed.
[00:19:13] Speaker C: I know that's still a point of contention for a lot of the alums, but we like to take questions from our listeners and Ryan Fay, our regular contributor to the Question. He he'd be interested in his your early impressions of Lucas Buziol. He was someone he. I was excited about when union. Excuse me, sorry. I knew it was going to happen.
Ryan says he was someone I was excited about when Union landed a commitment from him and he's got two goals in three games as a sophomore. Is it a possible breakout season on tap?
[00:19:46] Speaker A: Well, I thought his breakout was the playoffs last year. I thought he really elevated his game in that Dartmouth series and was probably arguably our best forward in that series.
So not really a big surprise that he's off to the start. He is. And I've just been so impressed with that line right now.
And he's one of the catalysts of that. With him, Riley Bruick and Connor Smith, those three are playing at a high level and we're going to need them to keep going to be successful all.
[00:20:18] Speaker C: Ryan, thank you for the question and if you have questions for Josh, email them to
[email protected] or you can post them on Facebook or my personal page and the Parting Shots podcast page. You can also send them via bluesky X and threadslapshots.
The Daily Gazette ECS Yockey Face off selections are back for another year. I'll post my picks usually on Wednesdays. We have another Thursday game this week, so my picks are already
[email protected] and you can send your picks to me. I'll post those picks before the first game, usually on Fridays.
So to play, send your picks to shotdailygazette.com and Josh, thanks for coming on the podcast. We'll do this again next week.
[00:21:01] Speaker A: Sounds good.
[00:21:01] Speaker C: All right. Coming up on Thursday's podcast, we'll have interviews from Tuesday's Union Hockey Media availability. On the men's side, forwards Connor Smith, Lucas Buziol and Brandon Burr and defenseman Brendan Miles. On the women's side will be head coach Tony Macy, forwards Mallory Morocco and defenseman Stephanie Bourque and Quinn Dunkle.
I also have some not so nice things to say about my Philadelphia Phillies and the Eagles. Which reminds me, Josh, your Minnesota Vikings host My Eagles on Sunday. Former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz could face his old team. Any thoughts on the game?
[00:21:33] Speaker A: Well, I think hopefully we're getting them at a good time right now. They're a little bit in disarray, so hopefully Carson's ready to go and likes can give him a man.
[00:21:41] Speaker C: Well, my son looks with his beard and all that red hair, he looks like Carson Wentz. And I'm just dreading going to the Philly Sports Bar and Grill Lounge on in Latham on Sunday and some of these Eagles fans ripping on him. I don't know. But yeah, I'm not happy with the Eagles play right now. I mean they're, you know, lucky to be 4 and 2. But let's see what happens with Carson Wentz on on Sunday. But Josh, again, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:22:05] Speaker C: Okay, thanks, Josh.
The views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Gazette News Group. The Party Shots podcast is a production of the Gazette News Group. I'm Daily Gazette News Group sports editor Ken Schott. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Party Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good hockey.
