[00:00:03] Speaker A: The following program is brought to you.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: In living color on dailygazette.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 Kesey, and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Podcast Studio in Schenectady, New York. We have a really great show for you. Of course, on Thursdays we have sound from muting hockey's media availability, both the men and women. It took place on Monday. This week they took Tuesday off because of election Day.
Of course you heard from men's head coach Josh Houje on Wednesday's podcast with his weekly visit on the show. So on Monday we getting ready to talk about Alaska Fairbanks coming to town for a pair of games Friday and Saturday.
We talked with three of the alternate captains, defenseman John Prokop and Nick Young and forward Josh Nixon. And then on the women's side, a big weekend last weekend for the women, upsetting number nine Cornell three two Atlanta Rink for the first victory there ever and they always pulled off an upside against Colgate on Saturday. They go to Clarkson and St. Lawrence this weekend, a big game Friday with the return of Tony Macy to Clarkson where he was an assistant and associate head there. And he helped win two national championships in 2017 and 2018. So we talked to him about that and we talked to players Marin Friday, Stephanie Bork and Emma Hebert. Also hockey wise, as I mentioned, Union playing Alaska Fairbanks this weekend, spoke with their head coach Eric Largin, talked about their schedule. I mean they have 25 road games, 22 of them are outside the state of Alaska. They were just for Clarkson last weekend and 1 and 1 and got a tie. So and they also beat a ranked team in Notre Dame earlier this season. So be interesting game. We'll talk to Eric about that and his friendship with Union men's head coach Josh Howje. And then Adam Schinder. The Gazette will talk area college football.
Not much to talk about there with The Union and UAlbany football teams both losing last weekend, Union getting shut out for the second straight week. So Adam and I will talk about and of course we'll talk a little bit about our Philadelphia Eagles as they get set to play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and they come off a rather uninspiring win over Jacksonville, a game that should have been a blowout, but some poor decisions by Nick Sirianni and a bad official call. Not calling Saquon Barkley down by contact on a fumble.
So just a bad, awful call by the NFL. So we'll talk union and hockey next here on the Parting Shots podcast.
The Daily Gazette has some great subscription deals happening. Sign up today at www.dailygazette.com. and as always, when credibility matters, trust the Daily Gazette.
In school sports, it's easy to see the wins, the moments that make headlines. But there's so much work that goes unseen for any of it to happen. My name is Phil Risen and I'm the executive director of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Throughout the country, athletic administrators dedicate countless hours to making life changing opportunities possible for student athletes through sports. Their sacrifice is fueled by the belief that every student can grow and deserves their time to shine.
On behalf of the niaaa, we want to thank every athletic administrator for your tireless dedication to providing 7.8 million students across the country a path to a better future.
This message presented by the niaaa, the.
[00:04:18] Speaker C: National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
[00:04:25] Speaker D: Hi, this is Union College women's hockey head coach Tony Macy. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. And now let's talk Union men's hockey. The Garner Chargers were off last weekend, but they had some good news on Monday. They made the top 20 poll. The USA Hockey the ranked live the top 20 poll. They entered that poll at number 20. They just missed out on the USCHO.com poll again getting the most votes of teams, other teams receiving votes. So some big news there as the Garner Charters get set to return to action after having a weekend by and they'll get set to play Alaska Fairbanks, a team that coming off a win and a tie at Clarkson last weekend. So this is going to be a good test for the Garner chargers in this Don Conference matchups. Games are at 7pm on Friday and 4pm on Saturday. The media availability took place on Monday. As I mentioned earlier at the top of the show that because of election day they took that day off and they had the media availability. On Monday we'll start. It's kind of interesting, you know, we were asked to what players we want to talk to and I put my submission in and it seems like the submission I make is always the one everybody goes with, so. But it was my submission with the alternate captains were John Prokop, Nick Young and Josh Nixon.
John and Nick came to the press conference. Josh was a little bit late and so we'd have Interviews first with josh and nick, and then after that was with john and nick. And then after that, we'll have josh nixon. So let's start with John prokop and nick young.
Well, guys, how was the weekend off? Sorry, nick.
[00:06:22] Speaker E: Oh, no, it was great. We got. We got some time to work on some stuff that we need to clean up and get ready for. I think came at a good time. Guys are dealing with a little bit of sickness towards the end of here. And kind of getting the guys to heal up. And, like I said, dial a few things in in our game. So I'm excited.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: John.
[00:06:38] Speaker F: It was nice. We cleaned some stuff up from the previous weekend. And basically had two full weeks to, you, know, prepare ourselves for alaska.
[00:06:47] Speaker B: So what do you think you guys needed to work on the most. During this time off with no games?
[00:06:52] Speaker F: I mean, I think there's a little bit of everything. I think that's the best part about the group Is, you know, we set a standard, and we want to, like, break that standard each day. So coming into practice, I think, you know, we need to work on everything, and that's kind of what we've been doing this past week.
[00:07:08] Speaker E: I think there's still, like, some situational stuff. That we haven't really covered up to this point. And having these two weeks, We've been able to cover more things, like four on four, three on three, all that stuff. So I like that we've kind of gathered a game plan. For some things that we haven't fully prepared for.
[00:07:25] Speaker D: Is it for either one of you? Six and one? Is it a good time for a bye week and kind of reset, get back into it this week and then ecac. Or do you think it would have been better to keep it going?
[00:07:35] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, a 6:1 start is obviously, like, good. And, like, the good and the bad.
[00:07:41] Speaker D: Right.
[00:07:41] Speaker E: Like, we're. We're rolling with what we had. And. But like I said before, I think it was good, A good time to dial some things in, get some guys completely healthy, and really just, like, focus on us right now for those two weeks and then get right back into it.
[00:07:57] Speaker F: Yeah, I thought it was, you, know, good. It's obviously nice to have a good start, but, you know, getting everybody healthy, Fixing up stuff that, you, know, make our team even that much better, you, know, carries momentum into this weekend.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: So you guys take notice of what the fairbanks did up at clarkson. The win and the tie over the golden ice. I mean, does that guys focus on this game a lot more now? Because you know, you can't take them lightly.
[00:08:22] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, we already obviously focused on them. We know they're a good hockey team, and they're coming in to our building, and we know they play structured, and, you know, you have to earn everything you get against them. So, you know, we kind of expected they were going to give Clarkson a hard time, and, you know, we've been preparing for that all week.
[00:08:40] Speaker E: So, yeah, I mean, we knew the kind of team they were, and just, like, watching they. They solidified what we knew, and we're prepared. Like, we know exactly what's coming in here, and we know exactly what we need to do to challenge them and give them a run for their money.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: So what will be the keys to getting another weekend sweep this weekend?
[00:08:59] Speaker E: I think just playing as a. As a unit, being structured, because they're a very structured team.
They don't really take a lot of risks. So I think for us to manage the puck and really just play within our structure to the best of our ability, I think we'll be able to get it done.
[00:09:14] Speaker F: Yeah, I think it's all about us. You know, we said that since day one, before we even started the season, and it's going to continue, you know, the rest of the season. And, you know, if we do our little things right and our details and our structure, you know, I think we'll be okay.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Now stepping to the microphone is union forward Josh Nixon, a senior. He caught a little heck from us. Kidding. Course. But all good spirits. So here's union forward Josh Nixon.
Josh, you're an. I see now since you were late, but how good was it having the weekend off this past weekend?
[00:09:57] Speaker G: Yeah, it was huge. For the guys that are. That were injured, they're able to get healthy, and the guys that were healthier able to get a little stronger, too. So it was huge for us. Obviously, we came off a big weekend, so we're looking to roll that into this weekend for sure. So, yeah, it's going to be a fun weekend for sure.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: What did you guys. What do you think you guys needed to work on during this time off with no games? And how important is it to work on situational things?
[00:10:26] Speaker G: I can't really pinpoint one thing that we can get better at. I think that just overall get our connections with our lines, our D pairs?
I think our practice this week was very good. I think last week was just get the pucks moving. I think that that was a big part of it, and we're definitely ready for this weekend for sure.
[00:10:48] Speaker D: I want you guys, the leadership group, how much contact do you have with the other players off the ice? Whether it's just group activities or just.
[00:10:56] Speaker G: One on one conversations, I think that the big part of us doing so well right now is our team, like bonding. I feel like we do a lot together off the ice, whether that's just going to get something to eat or just watching the football game, whatever. So I think that's a big component of what we're just having fun together. I think that's just what we're doing here. I feel like that's a big part of what we're doing.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: So well, if AirBrights comes in with after a win and the tie up at Clarkson, so does that make you guys sit up and take notice? Josh?
[00:11:28] Speaker G: I think for sure they're a little bit of a hot streak right now. So I think they're a very simple team. I think some of us watched their game a little bit this weekend, so we just got to play our way. We can't get away from what we're doing. So if we do that, we'll have a good weekend for sure.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: What's going to be the key, you think, to get another sweep, score more.
[00:11:47] Speaker G: Goals than the other team?
I don't know.
Obviously we haven't really seen Alaska too in depth right now. So right now I don't really have an answer for you.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Let's talk about Alaska Fairbanks Team 2, 5 and 1 on the year. They're independent. They had been in conferences before. They were once in the WCHA and the ccha. Them and Alaska Anchorage playing independent. It's kind of tough to play independent this day and age, but they're surviving. And Alaska Fairbanks, As I mentioned, 25 road games on the season this year and 22 of them are out of the state of Alaska. So they take some long trips. I was curious of how they managed to handle that and handle schoolwork, of course, this day and age with online stuff. I think a lot of that came out of the COVID 19 pandemic four years ago where students were taking classes online. I know my son Stephen was at UAlbany, so I guess they can manage that. It's almost like a pro schedule for the Nooks. And their coach is Eric Larson and he's good friends with Josh Howsey. We talked about that and we talked about the schedule. How did he manage to play 22 road games outside the state of Alaska and how difficult is that? Or is it difficult? Here's Alaska Fairbanks head coach Eric Larson.
All right. First of all, welcome to Schenectady. How was the trip in from Clarkson?
[00:13:23] Speaker A: Yeah, it was pretty short and sweet. So typically we're having some longer travel days, but this one was pretty easy. Went and checked out Lake Placid, went to the museum yesterday and got in and had dinner and, you know, practice today. So it's been a pretty easy travel for us. Coming in from Clarkson.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: There's a museum up in Lake Placid.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Checked out the museum and the arena and walked around downtown, had lunch there. So it was just a nice afternoon to be able to get out and spend and do something different.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: We'll talk about the travel in just a moment, but we talked with Josh Howe earlier here on Monday and he talked about he's looking forward to coaching against his good friend. What's your relationship like with Josh?
[00:14:05] Speaker A: Yeah, Josh gave me my start in the coaching, so he's been, you know, a mentor and, you know, one of my best friends and, you know, was around when, you know, his first kid was born and Tri City and everything like that too. So he has a special place in my heart and he's been someone I've learned a lot from and, yeah, looking forward to going against their team and they're having a fantastic start to the year.
[00:14:27] Speaker B: What's he like to coach with?
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Great. He's. He's really good. He gives you a, you know, different tasks to be able to do. I think he's one of the best recruiters in the game as well. And he does a great job of being able to get his players to play hard for him. And, you know, I've always had a lot of respect and usually Josh's teams are going to be teams that are going to be able to make some plays and work extremely hard.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: Yeah, you've seen what he's done here so far. Yeah, I mean, you know, first year, the second last year, you get to the quarterfinals, EECAC. This year, off to a 6 and 1 start. Does that surprise you at all that the way they're playing right now?
[00:15:00] Speaker A: No, not at all. So it's only a matter of time before he continues to send the team to the top of the ecac.
He's someone that works extremely hard. He's got a great eye for talent and he finds the right fit for guys that he wants to coach and push hard. So usually it's a mix of some big D that can make some plays and still be extremely physical and some forwards that are going to buzz around and work extremely hard. And are talented. So I think he's found his recipe for success and just a matter of bringing in his right players and template. And like I said, it's just a matter of time before they're making the NCAA tournament again.
[00:15:34] Speaker B: He also mentioned that he. You were in his. He was in your. You were in his wedding, but you couldn't. He couldn't be in your wedding because.
[00:15:41] Speaker A: Of COVID Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, otherwise he would have been in the wedding and. But yeah, unfortunately the world kind of stopped turning during that time Anna and I were getting married.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: So what would it like to be to coach against him this weekend?
[00:15:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't know. When I coach against him, I'll just be the same as normally against anybody else. Right. You're just trying to beat a really good hockey club on the other side. And we know we got our hands full and they present a lot of different challenges, not a lot of weaknesses, a lot of depth in all areas and getting good goaltending right now. So, you know, for us, I think when the points of puck drops, it's not going to be anything different. We're just trying put our best foot forward and give ourselves the best chance to win a hockey game.
[00:16:19] Speaker B: Let's get back into the travel. I mean, I was looking at your schedule this year. 20. Yeah, 25 road games. 22 of them are outside of the state of Alaska. How do you guys pull this off, you know, traveling so much? Man, you're, you know, you're at Clarkson this past weekend, you're here at Union and you come back a couple more times to the east Coast. What, what is that like trying to, you know, handle that and, you know, playing majority of your games away from Alaska?
[00:16:44] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, there, you know, there's, you know, some positives and negatives to it. You know, obviously you'd like to be in Fairbank, sleep in your own bed and, you know, be able to play in front of your fans and have the other team have to deal with the travel battle. But at the same point, I think we get to experience a lot of different things. Like we mentioned Lake Placid, planning on going over to, you know, Cooperstown as well and check that out. And you know, guys eat really well when we're on the road and travel really well when, when we're doing that and you know, we still show up and are prepared to play hockey games. I think, you know, for us too, it's opportunity to be able to see different parts and play different teams and different leagues. I Think the only drawback is just maybe a little bit on lack of ice time. You'd like a little bit more at certain points and be a little bit more skill work and that type of stuff. And guys do a good job of staying up with their studies. And you know, one of the positives about, you know, during that time with COVID was just how every. Everything shifted online. And for our university, we've been a leader in that for a while. And so, you know, a lot of guys are taking online classes and really they don't miss a beat with being away from school.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: It's almost like a pro schedule. You're just away and just to play hockey, obviously with classes. But is it kind of fun though?
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, it is. It's really fun. I mean, it's just enjoyable. We have a great group of people and we spend a lot of time together and you know, we eat all the meals together. Guys get treated really well when we're on the road. Do a bunch of different team bonding activities. Usually have a mini golf challenge throughout the course of the week as well. So it's good, it's fun. I don't think, you know, it's what you'd classify as a typical college experience, but it's a unique one and it's something that's second to none and just takes the right individual to want to have that. And, you know, we feel like we've done a good job of identifying those people.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: Of course, you and your counterparts over in Anchorage are playing independent. How difficult is that in this, this day and age, not being in a league? I mean, would you like to be. I think you guys were at WCHA one time.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Yeah, ccha, wch, wcha.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: What would it.
How important is to try to find a league, Maybe have some other hockey teams on the west coast there, get. Get involved with hockey. Would that help you guys, you know, maybe find a league somewhere?
[00:18:52] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that would be good. It's just, you know, right now there really isn't a right fit for us. You know, the CCHA isn't a great fit for us with the fallout with the WCHA and some of those different situations that occurred there. And to be honest, I don't know if that's really the right step for us. I think the NCHC would be a good fit for us right now. But you know, they them just adding Arizona State and with all the transformation stuff coming with the ncaa, I think everybody's just on hold unless you're inviting a big boy into the conference right now. So just like everything, change is inevitable. There'll be an opportunity for us at some point, and new teams going online at some point. And when that happens, we have great facilities. We probably spend more money than anybody in college hockey. So it's not a competitive thing. It's just a matter of finding the right fit, and that time will come for us at some point.
[00:19:41] Speaker B: Does that make recruiting harder, not being in a conference?
[00:19:44] Speaker A: It does, yeah. I think it just makes it a little bit more difficult. You know, there's still that, you know, that sell of, hey, we can make the tournament by, you know, winning our league. And, you know, as we both know, it's. That's a pretty difficult task in itself to try to do something like that. Right. Usually you got to still make it in there, you know, at that large bit. But, you know, at the end of the day, you know, for us, it's just continuing to recruit to our identity, find good players, and, you know, we feel like we've done that, and now it's a matter of just making sure that we're retaining some of those guys as well.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: Josh was mentioning that you probably had some opportunities to leave, maybe go somewhere else, but you've stayed loyal, and he. That's one thing he respects you about. About you, the fact that you stayed in Alaska. I think you're an Alaskan native, too.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: I am, yeah.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: So, I mean, how important is it for you to, you know, stay there and see this, you know, program be competitive and grow and maybe attract some players?
[00:20:37] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. I think for me, you know, it's always been to, you know, get us into a league and then to be able to get into the NCAA tournament. It's been a couple goals that we still haven't quite reached. We were close two years ago. Last team out and, you know, disappointing end to the season. The ECAC did us in that year, so, you know, it's one of those things where, for me, you know, I have a lot of pride. I've seen the transformation from our alumni, all the different things that this program's done for people, including myself, and I believe in it. I believe what it has to offer, not just in hockey, but in life as well. And, you know, I'd like to see this continue to grow and continue to expand and for us to be that top 20 program consistently again.
[00:21:19] Speaker B: What do you like about your team so far?
[00:21:21] Speaker A: Just the resiliency. I mean, we're 19 new guys, you know, lost a ton of our scoring from last year, starting Goalie from last year, basically Claire Decor from last year. And, you know, starting 05, it would be easy just to kind of mail it in at that point and, you know, for us to come out, have a road win against Notre Dame and, you know, have a 111 against Clarkson, just really happy with it. You know, we've gotten, you know, what you'd say is points every weekend. You know, OT loss against Penn State, OT loss against Michigan Tech at the road, you know, and then, you know, beating Notre Dame and then, you know, 1 01. I feel like the team's continuing to grow, continuing to get better. We're leading that Grabco has been phenomenal for us, you know, reason. Maybe we stole one Notre Dame, one nothing. And then, you know, the team just keeps progressing. We have to be a team that scores by committee and defends by committee and, you know, wins by committee in different ways. And so that's the way that we have to build things and do things and, you know, hopefully we just continue to grow and continue to get better each game.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Has the transfer portal hurt you guys a lot?
[00:22:17] Speaker A: Yeah, 100%. I mean, you know, to say that we haven't been hurt. You know, you look at, you know, all the guys that we've lost, you know, our top D every year to North Dakota so far and, you know, starting goalie and.
Yeah, I mean, a number of our guys have been out. You can look around college hockey and, you know, a couple guys in Omaha, a couple in Augustana. We got guys in guys. It's just, you know, one after another. So, yeah, it's hurt us for sure. But at the same point, we've also had some good guys coming back to us and we found good replacements and, you know, maybe guys that playing at bigger universities that needed a bigger role and have been good fits for our program.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Have you had a chance to watch union on table? If you have. What are you impressed with?
[00:22:55] Speaker A: Yeah, it's just. It doesn't surprise me with the way that they are. I mean, obviously that their freshman's phenomenal. They're up front and, you know, pro cop back there playing a ton of minutes. Their goaltending's been solid so far. I mean, their forwards just work and they're. They're talented and can make plays. They got good team speed up front. Their deer heavy and physical on the back end and can move pucks. They're very active in the ozone. You know, we're going to have our hands full. Right.
But at the end of the day, it's 51:49 in college hockey and you never know when you drop the puck. And we just got to have that extra 1% with us and our details and our structure and our work ethic and, you know, hopefully be able to, you know, find a little bit more on special teams right now as well.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: Let's take a break. We'll come back with Union women's hockey and what they accomplished last weekend and what they have to look forward to this weekend. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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Hi, this is Sienna women's basketball head coach Terry Prim. You're listening to the Party Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Sch.
Welcome back to the podcast. We're going to talk about Union College women's hockey now in this segment of the Parting Shots podcast. And the women's program we've known ever since they went division one in 2003, 2004, it struggled. They've had some really awful seasons and they have some seasons where they look like it's a start, they're getting going and then have a collapse in the second half of the year. We saw that the last couple years with the team and especially last year losing their final 13 games of the season. But there's something different about this women's team this year that watching some of their games. I covered the game against Dartmouth a couple weeks ago and I watched the game against Cornell last Friday. This team is doing things. I mean, they're making plays. They seem a lot more confident out there and there could be a team that possibly makes gets a first round game in the ECAC hockey tournament. Are they ready to challenge for the top four right now? The I don't know. But after beating Cornell last Friday 3 to 2 for their first ever win at line of Rinky maybe think that it's possible. And then they went to Colgate on Saturday and we're up three, two after two periods. But the Raiders came back with two third period goals to win that game four to three. But overall, yeah, you have to. I think the team has to be satisfied with what's going on right now. I mean they're in the mix right now for home whites. I know it's early in the season but yeah, they got to win the games against the teams they need to like Harvard and Darwin, which they did a couple weeks ago. I mean if they can steal some win like they did against Cornell, that's great. It's going to be a tough task. Again this weekend they go to Clarkson and St. Lawrence, two nationally ranked teams. Clarkson number six in the country and St. Lawrence is number eight. So that'll be a big test. But the big story on Friday is the return of Tony Macy to Clarkson. The union first year head coach returns to his place where he helped win a couple of national championships for the Golden Knights. In fact, Tony was just up there this past weekend.
His family is still living in Potsdam, his wife is a state trooper. And I think that Tony at his introductory press conference had mentioned that they're hoping that she can be able to transfer to the Loudonville Barracks down here. But Tony had a chance to go home for a couple days and he was at the immediate day Monday around 1:30. So let's hear from Tony Mach how much he's looking forward to returning to Clarkson this weekend.
Tony, have you had time to reflect on what you guys accomplished this past weekend?
Win at Cornell and almost pulled off a second upset Saturday at Colgate?
[00:27:41] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely had some time to think about it after each game.
I was actually able to to get back up north of the family. So had some time in the drive to kind of reflect on, you know, how the performance went each game and what we need to work on here moving forward.
[00:27:57] Speaker B: What do you think you need to work on?
[00:28:00] Speaker D: I think just pretty much what we've been talking about, managing pucks, making sure we play good defensively. When we did that, especially Friday night, you know, we were able to come on with the victory there on Saturday. Had a couple mismanaged pucks that kind of cost us in the third. So just going back looking at those and then fixing those moving forward.
[00:28:20] Speaker B: How much confidence do you think this team gained by playing so well against two top 10 ranked teams? Years past it would have had no chance in competing against the likes of a Cornell and Colgate. Yeah.
[00:28:34] Speaker D: I think it's what we've been building, right. That's part of what each week we're trying to go off of, is building towards games like that. We've had some times where we looked really good and times where, you know, hey, we're still learning how to win games. And I think that that was a good step this weekend, especially Friday, seeing like, hey, we can win these type of games and then Saturday, you know, having the league going to the third, now we got to take advantage of those times where, okay, we, we just had one fall for us, but we, we're learning how to win those type of games.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: Now you get to go on the road again against two top ranked teams in Clarkson and St. Lawrence. And of course the Clarkson game probably holds a little special place in your heart because it's your return there to Chile Arena. Your family's still up there.
What are the emotions like for you heading into this game? Because as you mentioned before we started taping, you were up in the north country this past weekend after the, you left after the Cornell game.
[00:29:33] Speaker D: Yeah, no, I think it's. Yeah, no, I, I think it's something that, you know, you look forward to going in.
You know, they know me, I know them. So it's just a matter of, you know, getting the things out of the way early and then getting right into the game and focusing in on those.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: How do you keep your emotions in check?
[00:29:54] Speaker D: Well, you know, that's just part of the whole gig, right?
You gotta make sure that you don't get over the top with things. You don't expect more than what you should and you just prepare for the game at hand.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: Josh, how did you experience this a couple years ago when he went up to Clarkson and he went up there.
Would you get a chance to talk to him before you out there how he dealt with things?
[00:30:18] Speaker D: Not yet. I'll probably do that this week. Just catch up with him. You know, they offer weekend last weekend. So, you know, he, he texted me after our game. Congrats against Cornell. And you know, we have a really good relationship that way. So we'll talk this week about things for sure.
[00:30:35] Speaker B: What will be the keys this weekend against Clarkson and St. Lawrence?
[00:30:38] Speaker D: Well, I think nothing changes from what we've, we've been doing. You know, we've got to compete hard, we've got to make sure we're managing pucks. You know, both teams have really good power plays. So we got to try and stay 5 on 5 as much as we can. And then you know, we got to just be tough to play against. We got to do things well defensively and then take advantage of our opportunities, which, you know, we've done here recently.
[00:31:05] Speaker B: And now let's hear what the players have to say. Marin. Friday, Stephanie bork and Emma bear joined me on the press conference on Monday, and they talked about what they accomplished last weekend and looking forward to what is in store for them this weekend up in the north. Country guys, reflecting on probably one of the better weekends this program has had in a long time. The win at cornell and always coming away with the win at colgate. And how happy are you guys with how you guys played over the weekend started?
[00:31:42] Speaker H: Yeah, I think we're incredibly proud of how we played. I think we went into that weekend wanting to play to our game, play to our pace and our systems that we've put together. And so I think we accomplished that, and that's why we saw the success. And so I think reflecting on this weekend, we just. We saw our potential and we saw where we can be, and I think we just want to continue elevating and go into next weekend confident in how we can play.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: Emma?
[00:32:06] Speaker I: Yeah, I agree. I think we set a standard this weekend, and as a senior, it was very exciting, and I was very proud of our group. So I think moving forward, we, like Marin said, we know where we should be and we can play. So I think it's exciting to see where we're going to go for sure.
[00:32:21] Speaker B: Stephanie, your thoughts?
[00:32:22] Speaker J: I think marin and Emma basically covered all the bases here, But I definitely think that it was a big weekend for our confidence, and it just showed that when we play simple and we have trust in our ourselves and our teammates, how far we can go. So I think it was a huge weekend for our confidence.
[00:32:37] Speaker B: What was the celebration like after Friday p. M. I was watching you guys, you know, obviously celebrating. What was it like in the locker room afterwards?
[00:32:46] Speaker J: I think there was a. It was a hard battle. So I think there's a lot of relief in our group that we pulled that one out. But I definitely think there was a lot of happiness. And, like, I was so proud to just look around the locker room and just, like, see our faces that, like, we did something really hard, but we accomplished it as a team. So I think it was just a lot of, like, proudness in our group.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: If the first time union had ever won Atlanta ranking, that'd be a happy feeling to be able to do that in your senior year.
[00:33:13] Speaker H: Yeah, of course. I think it was just pure joy from the group and I think everyone just felt an incredible connection to each other afterwards. And yeah, just very proud of what we could accomplish. And obviously being a senior, that's amazing game to play.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: Yeah. The road doesn't get any easier this weekend. Two more ranked teams got to go to Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Of course, Clarkson game is going to be a bigger game not only for you guys, but for Tony's return to Clarkson. I mean, how. Have you guys talked about it all yet this week or how's it. How are you going to handle it?
[00:33:45] Speaker H: I don't think we've discussed it yet, but I think our strategy is just going to be the same and play to our game. Don't let our opponents manipulate how we play. I think if we just keep our pace up, if we follow our systems and have trust in each other, I think that's all we can ask for.
[00:34:00] Speaker B: How big would it to get the win of a Clarkson for Tony?
[00:34:04] Speaker I: Obviously that would be huge for Tony and that's exactly what we're going to go into that rink with. That's where our headspace is going to be. And we're going to do that not only for Tony, but also for us to keep proving to everybody else and ourselves that this is the new union and who we are.
[00:34:20] Speaker B: Stephanie winning and coming close against Colgate. Two highly ranked teams, top 10 teams in the country.
Years past, it would have been tough for you guys to maybe even stay close with those kind of teams. How much confidence did you gain from this past weekend's performance and how do you apply that for this weekend?
[00:34:41] Speaker J: I think think we definitely gained a lot of confidence just from like the past years and building up to where we are now. I think it gave us the headspace to realize where we can be and like what team we can actually be in. We can be really good. So I think going into this weekend is just to keep that confidence up and not be scared. I think in the past maybe we were a little bit scared to play those high ranked teams, but I think now, like we're attacking them head on with the mindset that like we're going to win and we can win.
[00:35:09] Speaker H: Yeah, I'll just build off that and say that. I think yes, our confidence is building, but we also as Emma mentioned, a little bit want to build a standard in which we go into these games with an expectation that we can come out with a win.
[00:35:22] Speaker I: Yeah, I think they honestly said it all. I think one of the things Tony said is that we can't dwell on the highs. So I think that's, that's our new normal. So I think that that's just exciting, exciting to see and it's, it's for sure. We just got to carry that confidence into every weekend.
[00:35:41] Speaker B: Coming up, Adam Schinder, my Gazette colleague, joins me to talk about the bad state of Union football and UAlbany football. Not a good weekend again last weekend for both teams. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:37:11] Speaker C: Hi, this is Daily Gazette Reporter Tyler A. McNeil.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:37:18] Speaker C: With Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shaw.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. It's our weekly look at the area college football scene is not going well. It's Adam Schinder here to talk about that. Adam, Union football for the second consecutive week gets shut out this time at home by Ithaca. What happened?
[00:37:39] Speaker C: They just could not build a drive. It was a lot of one first down and out. They would, they would move the ball a little bit, then they would bog down and you know, their puncher had a very good game. Hayden hall actually had a very, very good game.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: When your punter has a good game, that's not a good game.
[00:37:55] Speaker C: It's usually never a good sign when your punters, one of your two or three best players on the field. The defense, for its part, like the week before, held up through most of that game. They had a pretty bad sequence at the end of the first half that kind of hit them and then, you know, touchdown later in the game.
But they just have not found a consistent rhythm on offense through eight games and now there's, now there's two games left. You know, this was the first time since 1975 that union's gone back to back games without scoring a point.
So it Guarantees a losing season for the first time since Jeff Bearman's first year back in 2017. So these last two weeks are just not play out the string. These two games are meaningful for them because it's their seniors last game at Frank Bailey Field this Saturday against Rochester and then it's the Dutchman shoes game next week against rpi.
[00:38:53] Speaker B: What do they have to do to get better next season? I mean as we had to start looking ahead here and see what do they need to recruit.
[00:39:00] Speaker C: The two things, I don't even know if it's recruit. It's continued to develop.
The offensive line needs to improve.
They just have not gotten consistent push.
They have two. They had 2,000 yard running backs last year, they both returned and between them they have barely 800 yards. So they need a consistent push up front and then they just need to be able to stretch the field. They need to crew, recruit, speed on at the receiver position and speed in the secondary.
And it'll be interesting because they're gonna lose a lot of guys after this year. They're losing fifth year seniors, they're losing a lot of regular seniors now because we're finally getting to the point where Covid years are starting to expire. So you're gonna see a lot of young players and you've seen a lot of young players sort of get into the games as the season's gone on. So hopefully for this Union program it's just a case of maturing with a year behind them and get and getting some experience. But you want to see some things over these next two, over these next two weeks. And Rochester is a team that was really, really good early in the season and just came off of a pretty surprising loss to Buffalo State last week.
[00:40:11] Speaker B: Is the head coach John Drock frustrated?
[00:40:13] Speaker C: He's frustrated. I mean frustrated is. You're 2 and 6. Of course he's frustrated. I think he's optimistic as far as the future of the program while not being satisfied with what's happened this year.
[00:40:25] Speaker B: What do you mean?
I mean, obviously he came here with great credentials and obviously he's got to be disappointed the way things have turned out for him his first year.
[00:40:34] Speaker C: Yeah, but he was a guy who was also. You look at what he did at Wilkes, he came in and took over a program with no history. It was a. Essentially he came in at the spot that Jeff Bearman came in, you know, a decade ago at Union where things had really kind of hit the bottom a little bit and he slowly built them. He wasn't a guy who was winning, you know, nine, ten games a year at Wilkes. He was building them to a consistent above, you know, just above.500 team. And, you know, it could be a slower process. It could just be a bounce year. You know, this was a tough schedule with a lot of road games. They were close in a number of games where turnovers and penalties and, you know, struggles on third down made the difference. So this team, as bad as the record looks and as bad as the last two games look, a lot of this season was lost on the margins.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: Yeah. Looking at the stats and patch Flanagan ran nine times, lost three yards in those nine attempts. He had 18 positive, 21 negative. And the team only had 45 yards of rushing offense.
[00:41:33] Speaker C: I'll be fair with one of those, which was obviously college football quarterback. Rushing yardage is a weird stat because it does include sacks. And he was sacked literally on the first play of the game. The big thing was that Michael Fiore had about a 17, 18 yard gain on the very next play and they basically didn't produce another run of, you know, any significance the rest of the day.
[00:41:54] Speaker B: Yeah, Fiore ended up with just 29 yards on six attempts and flagging through 186 yards, one interception.
[00:42:01] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: Not much to say about the going to Chargers.
[00:42:03] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, there's two weeks left in this season and you know, this is, this is. These are two games that are going to mean a lot to this team. So you would be hopeful that they, they really turn in their two best performances of the season.
[00:42:15] Speaker B: Well, let's go over to Ualbany home and lost again, this time New Hampshire.
[00:42:20] Speaker C: Yeah. And very similar to the last couple of weeks, which is they've given up big plays early and they get into a hole and they can't chase out of it. Miles Burkett, their quarterback, exited the game. Trey Lindsay came in, actually played pretty well, but, you know, 31, 14, loss.
[00:42:37] Speaker B: Down, 24 nothing halftime.
[00:42:38] Speaker C: You know, they. They've dug themselves into holes, which was. This is a very similar season to two years ago, except they're not quite as explosive on offense. And when you've lost as. Let's not deny this team has lost an incredible amount of talent over the last few years. Jared, we can go back to Jared Verse leaving, you know, following the 2021 season. He's a defensive rookie of the year candidate in the NFL right now. And, you know, between quarterbacks and receivers and an entire defense departing after last season, there was just a lot left in the cupboard. There just was not a lot left in the cupboard with experience and with experience playing together and, you know, sometimes that just doesn't come together. That's college. It's an extremely volatile college football atmosphere.
[00:43:28] Speaker B: They go to Stony Brook, it's the rivalry game, and man, that's got to be their season at this point.
[00:43:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, this is. I mean, they're between that and having, you know, their. Their senior day coming up after that, that's. They've got things to play for. Stony Brook has been a team that is actually impressed after some pretty bad seasons. This year is a much improved Stony brook team. But UAlbany very much usually gets up for playing for the Golden Apple. So, you know, if they can figure things out, and they figured things out on a few occasions this year when they've been good, they've looked very good, and they've just not strung it together. So, you know, there's things. There's, you know, a scenario where they're able to finish up strong these last few weeks.
[00:44:09] Speaker B: So, speaking of, let's move over to pro football quickly. The Eagles made things interesting thanks to Nick Sirianni. Some of his decisions backfired and nearly cost him the game. And they made them largely against Jacksonville.
[00:44:22] Speaker C: Yeah, largely made things interesting thanks to a refereeing decision that. That nobody can explain.
That game. That game's not close and not remotely interesting.
If Saquon Barkley is correctly ruled down and not fumbling, that leads to a touchdown return.
Decision making where he's. When you're a coach who. Your only job now at this point, when you're not calling plays, your only job is these decisions.
This is something that I've said for years. NFL coaches are just smart enough to be some of the dumbest human beings on the planet. They cannot help but overthink things.
[00:45:02] Speaker B: Well, you better not overthink things. Sunday at Dallas, they play the Cowboys without Dak Prescott. So this is a game. I mean, they could put Cowboys season on thin ice at this point. You know, the Cowboys were struggling, right. We're struggling with Prescott at quarterback and within a Cooper rush now coming in. This is a game they got. They gotta win.
[00:45:21] Speaker C: Yeah, they have to win. You have to win impressively. You can pretty much, you know, especially with as well as the commanders have been playing, you know, the Eagles and Washington can pretty much put this division, you know, to a. To a two team race.
[00:45:32] Speaker B: Of course, they play next Thursday in Philadelphia. So that's a tough schedule. I mean, you got to go to Dallas and then come home, fly home and really not get much rest to get ready for Washington, but we'll see what happens. So Adam, thanks. We'll do this again next week. We'll probably be talking Dutchman shoes.
[00:45:46] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:45:46] Speaker B: All right, that's Adam Schinder. We'll wrap the podcast up with the latest winners in the Daily Gazettes. You pick them Football and Auto Racing contest. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[email protected] what's up everybody? This is Freddie Coleman from ESPN Radio's Freddie and Harry Show, 3 p to 7pm Eastern Time Monday through Friday. You're listening to the Party Shots podcast with my man Ken Shot, the Daily Gazette sports editor back to wrap up the podcast. The Week nine winner in the Daily Gazette's you Picking Football contest was Michael Moloski of Amsterdam. With a 150 record, Michael wins a $100 Hannaford gift card. Congratulations, Michael. The VIP winner was me. I went 13 and 2. I improved at 94 and 44 and I'm tied for first place. My Gazette colleague Adam Schindler was 10 and 5. He is 90 and 48 on the season.
I'll announce the youe Pick em football contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the U Pick'em Football banner. The week 35 winner in the Daily Gazette's auto racing contest was Mike vine of Schenectady. With 65 points. Mike wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations, Mike. The VIP winner was Scott Lucher of CapitaLand GMC with 55 points. I'll announce the auto racing contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Saturday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the auto racing contest banner.
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That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots Podcast. I want to thank members of the Union College men's and women's hockey teams, Alaska Fairbanks head coach Eric Largon and Adam Adam Schinder for being a part of the show. If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's schott dailygazette.com follow me on X and threads at Slapshots.
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 Schatz. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good sports and Godspeed. Quincy Jones, what a what a musician, composer, producer. Just an amazing gift he gave us in his 91 years here on Earth. Of course his memorable albums with Michael Jackson off the Wall. Of course the phenomenal Thriller and then Bad. And of course he helped compose We Are the World.
It's just sad when he when I heard he passed. He's just a great musician. Of course some theme songs that we're going to play with theme shows from some great shows and one of them right now is from Ironside. He wrote the theme for that. Actually two different themes for that show. But this is, this is a good one here. So I appreciate you listening to this and Godspeed Quincy Jones. Thank you very much.
