[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to.
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The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host and shot.
[00:00:18] Speaker D: Thank you Scott Geezy and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast studio in Connecticut, New York for the 488th episode of the Parting Shots Podcast.
And it's a Wednesday. That means we're talking with Union men's head hockey coach Josh Howsey. Josh, welcome back. And how are things going?
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Yeah, things are good. Finished boys, finished up finals. So we're just hockey right now.
[00:00:43] Speaker D: That's got to be relaxing. Finally, no more, no more academics worry about for the next five, six weeks and it's all hockey, hockey, hockey.
[00:00:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:00:52] Speaker C: So.
[00:00:53] Speaker D: Well, let's look back at last weekend's games against a pair of Hockey east teams UMass low in New Hampshire and it proved to be a statement making weekend for the Gardner Chargers. As they rolled to Rouse and both Games Union beat UMass Lowell 7 to 1 and then down New Hampshire 6 nothing, scoring four of those goals against former Union goalie Kyle Chauvette. The wins caught the attention of the voters in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls as after four weeks of being in the other teams receiving votes category, Union is ranked 20th in both polls. We'll talk about the polls later, but let's get your general thoughts on the weekend.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: You know, I thought our special teams were were really, you know, kind of going in different directions as far as just like obviously the penalty kill was really positive. I thought it was very strong, you know, a couple shorthanded goals. I thought at times our power play was a little bit sporadic, but found ways to finish. And then I thought we were, you know, pretty solid five on five and got really good goaltending.
[00:01:51] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:01:51] Speaker D: Well, let's start with the UMass Lowell game. 75 seconds into the contest, Union has to kill a penalty after Brandon Burr was called for slashing. But instead of being a detriment to the Garnett Chargers, it really ignited things for the team. Lucas Buzziol gets the puck along the left wing boards, beats a UMass Lowell defender and has a breakaway on goalie Austinelli and beats him. Five hole for a shorthanded goal 43 seconds after Burr's penalty. I mean, how big was it to get the jump on the Riverhawks with the shorty?
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, it could have went the other way if they get one on the Power play, but you know, the guys do a good job killing it off and Lucas, you know, gets that opportunity and makes no mistake about it.
[00:02:27] Speaker D: Well, while Burr's in the, in the penalty box, UMass Lowell's Luke Shipley has called for Slash to get 206. And after Burr's penalty expires, the Riverhawks call. Lonsdale is called for interference at 3:17. That gives Union a 43 second advantage of two man advantage. And this early in the game, how important is it for Union to take advantage of this for us?
[00:02:48] Speaker B: We always talk about five on threes, as, you know, you have an opportunity to really, you know, grab momentum.
You know, you've already gotten a couple, you know, earned a couple power plays and now you have a chance to really make a statement. And, and I thought that's what the power play did.
[00:03:01] Speaker D: And the guard of the Chargers do indeed take advantage of it. Burr, our score is only 513 at 3:44 and 28 seconds later, Burr sets up Alex Lorenzo's five on four goal. Unions up three nothing less than five minutes into the game.
[00:03:15] Speaker C: I mean, how happy were you that the team came through like that?
[00:03:18] Speaker B: Yeah, extremely happy. I mean it's, it's what you have to do. I mean, you get those power plays and you know, instead of letting them back in the game, they, you know, we really just pulled away and I thought they, you know, from that point on we were able to just lean on them.
[00:03:31] Speaker D: Well, Union was not done scoring in the first period. Parker Lindauer adds an even strength goal.
[00:03:35] Speaker C: Late in the period. So it's four nothing after one. I imagine it was a very happy locker room.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: I mean, I think everybody was excited about it, but you're just trying to keep everybody focused and you know, you know, at that point there's still a lot of hockey to be played and we can't be too overconfident because UMass Lowell is a good hockey team.
[00:03:54] Speaker D: What was the message there with the.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: Four goal lead as you prepare for the second period?
[00:03:58] Speaker B: You know, just winning your next shift for us, that's, you know, the mentality we want to have is we want to be relentless and we want to stay in the game and stay in the moment. And I thought the guys did a.
[00:04:07] Speaker D: Nice job of that and they certainly did. At 437the second period, Colby MacArthur with a nice tip of a DJ Hart left point shot past Elliott, making it five nothing. And that ended Elliott's night. Samuel Richard replaced him. I wasn't ready to declare on social media that the route was on, but sure felt like it.
[00:04:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: Again, a lot of positives and I thought, you know, the play DJ made there, he looked, looked to his partner, which kind of opened everything up and, you know, kind of sold that he was going to go D to D and then made a nice, nice play to the net and a good tip and you know, a real nice goal.
[00:04:39] Speaker D: Of course, it wasn't a perfect period, Josh, because first time the season, Union was out shot in a period. Although had an 11:10 shots on goal advantage. But Union had the advantage where it counts on the scoreboard. One nothing second period. Obviously you'll take that trade anytime, right?
[00:04:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I thought our game was, was pretty clean in the second and you know, you play good hockey teams, they're going to get shots on net and that's, you know, that's what we have good goaltending for.
[00:05:03] Speaker D: And then Union wasn't done scoring yet. Nate Hanley in the third period, 857 and Connor Smith at 135 later. Make it seven nothing. Now, I thought this was a really weird.
After Connor's goal, for some reason, Lowell coach Norm Basin takes his timeout. You wait until the seventh goal to use your timeout. I mean, Basin would have better served calling that timeout after Lorenz's goal. I mean, did it surprise you that he took the timeout when he did?
[00:05:29] Speaker B: I thought it was just the game was getting kind of chippy. I don't know if he was just trying to calm his guys down or make sure that, you know, they don't quit and, you know, try to finish.
I'm not 100 sure why he called it, but he's been doing this for a long time, so I'm not going to question him.
[00:05:44] Speaker D: Well, I guess shortly after that, maybe because I was raising some about that press box, the puck came up into the press box, right?
Yeah. Fortunately, it sailed over my head and hit the back wall, rolled to my computer bag.
[00:05:57] Speaker C: You guys actually saw that happen? They saw me on the video screen.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Yeah, it was, it was there for everyone.
[00:06:02] Speaker D: So, yeah, guys had a good laugh.
The only drama left in the was to see if goalie Cameron Corpi would get his third shutout of the season. And he was close. But then with Union on a late power play, Lorenzo was tripped by Dalen Wakely at the Union blue line. Neither referee, Charles Hannifin. When. When did Charles go from Charles from sea day to Charles?
[00:06:25] Speaker C: I don't know.
[00:06:26] Speaker D: And Michael Zyla raised her arms.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: A call.
[00:06:29] Speaker D: Penalty. Wakely got the Puck and slid a backhander underneath Korpi with 125 left, ruining the shutout. How frustrating was that?
[00:06:38] Speaker B: I was disappointed in, you know, that happened again, like I thought. I did think Alex was tripped, but they don't make the call. And then you would like to see Cameron get the shutout, but, you know, gave him some motivation maybe for the next day.
[00:06:51] Speaker D: Did you ever get an apology or at least an explanation from the referees?
[00:06:54] Speaker B: No, and I didn't honestly even question it. It was at that point I was, you know, was kind of onto the next game here. And let's get ready for. Unh.
[00:07:01] Speaker D: Well, the positive out of that was freshman Brendan Holohan replaced Corpy and to play the final 36 seconds of the game.
I mean, how good was it for him to get some sometime just, you know, sorry about that banging on this.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Microphone here just for him to be able to get in and, you know, see what it's like and, you know, just kind of get his feet wet to college hockey. Was really happy for him. And he works extremely hard. He's the first guy, you know, on the ice and like the last sleeve, he's. He'll. He'll take shots at any time and happy for him to get, you know, into some action.
[00:07:34] Speaker D: Well, let's hear from Union Four's Lucas Buzzol, Brandon Burr and Colby MacArthur and goalie Cameron Corpi.
[00:07:45] Speaker C: Lucas, let me start with you.
The shorthanded goal, how big of a spark was that to get the team going tonight?
[00:07:52] Speaker A: I mean, it was going to get the first goal. I mean, our. Our game plan was have a good start. You know, we want to make.
Make a big statement here with this weekend and obviously we to that with the first one tonight, but, you know, the job's not done. We need to win another one tomorrow.
[00:08:03] Speaker C: What, you steal that one?
[00:08:04] Speaker A: I. I knew he was coming on my back, so I kind of tried to pull it to the middle and got the boy moving.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: Put a five hole.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: So that was nice to win in.
[00:08:11] Speaker C: Brandon, did you guys get the power play going there?
Talk about how that is going?
[00:08:16] Speaker E: Oh, well, I think. I don't really remember how the first goal happened. Like, I think Lindy passed to me the bottom. I just was five on three, so there's a lot of space. I shot that second one. Matt found me just kind of alone then. I know Lorenz is always back there, so I just kind of know what good got lucky.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: How good was it to be able to score those, you know, first three goals are special teams goal. You get the 503, then get the 504. Did that really set the tone for this game?
[00:08:42] Speaker E: Yeah, like special teams, they're known to win games. And if you can get the three nothing lead off them right away, it's good. It's a good spot to be in.
[00:08:48] Speaker C: What were your thoughts on that? Yeah, no, obviously important to get out to a good start. Special teams got us to a good start today, so it was good. How important was it to keep your foot on the gas and not let them. You're up for nothing after one, you get up early. Five nothing. Second, it's five nothing after two. So how important was it to, you know, make sure you. You didn't let them come back? Yeah, Coach Allergy always says five minute segments. So we don't look past the five minutes. The first runners never period.
[00:09:15] Speaker E: So yeah, we play our game.
[00:09:18] Speaker C: Camera for you. Bounce back game. How's it feel?
[00:09:20] Speaker F: Really good.
Guys made it easy on me. I saw pretty much every puck. So did a good job seem like.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: You were just sharper? I wouldn't say you were out of focus last week. You seem really dialed in today. How was that?
[00:09:32] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, it's still really good. It's kind of hit that flow state and obviously the guys boxed out and I, I saw every shot for the point, so really easy.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: How upsetting was it to lose a shot shut out the way you deal on a penalty that was missed?
[00:09:44] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, it happens, obviously miss, miss, penalty, but can't do anything about it. Just glad we got the win.
[00:09:51] Speaker C: How would you say he played?
[00:09:52] Speaker A: How he played? Yeah, I thought he played really good. I mean, like you said, sucks he lost the.
[00:09:56] Speaker E: Shut up.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: But I mean, he made some big time saves. We need him to. And you know, we're probably gonna need him again tomorrow, big time to make some big time saves.
[00:10:03] Speaker C: Just the way you guys want me. Just how it goes. If you feel to be able to.
[00:10:08] Speaker E: Have a route like this, that's obviously good. But it's over now. Now we're gonna look forward to unh tomorrow.
[00:10:14] Speaker C: Short live teammate tomorrow.
Now you can talk about how much excitement will be there tomorrow.
[00:10:20] Speaker E: Well, I'm excited to see him again. It's been a while, but I just a plan to. It'll be fun.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: Looking forward to it.
[00:10:26] Speaker C: Yeah. No, it was always a lot of fun shooting on in practice. A lot of battles with them.
[00:10:29] Speaker E: So it should be fun tomorrow.
[00:10:30] Speaker C: Do you think you guys have knowledge? Maybe his weaknesses were all shooting. Oh, he could have our number. We could have his. So you never know, but it'll be fun.
[00:10:39] Speaker F: What do you think?
It'll be a good test for us. And obviously at the end of the day I just got to be better than him and hopefully we can get the job done and get a win.
[00:10:49] Speaker C: Second straight game of three points.
You feel like you're in a group.
[00:10:53] Speaker D: I mean.
[00:10:54] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, my line mates helped me a lot, so it makes it pretty easy on playing with this guy and window.
[00:10:58] Speaker G: So a game like this, offensively, what. What's going right for you guys when you.
[00:11:04] Speaker E: When you're clicking like this, pucks find their way in. I think just working hard, it's like getting on that puck every time. Just doing the simple things and like it's starting to pay off now. You can see that in the score sheet.
[00:11:15] Speaker G: Yeah, you're averaging like 40 shots a game or something like that.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: It's.
I. I guess.
[00:11:20] Speaker G: Is there something that you guys have seen this year that's allowed you to kind of to take that step offensively?
[00:11:26] Speaker E: I'm not sure about anything different, but I think just a lot of confident players who know they can score when they shoot. So we're just confident shooting that puck.
[00:11:33] Speaker G: And then Cameron obviously transfer in and you play. You played split time in Michigan this year.
[00:11:39] Speaker F: Right.
[00:11:40] Speaker G: So what's it like. What's it been like being more of a clear number one?
[00:11:45] Speaker F: It's. It's been good. Obviously we have. We have three really good goalies, so I mean, it's never guaranteed that I'm going to get to start. Like every week we're battling against each other and I think we have a great relationship, so it's good.
[00:11:57] Speaker G: How do you and you feel good about how you played so far in the world Club here?
[00:12:01] Speaker F: Yeah, it's been a little up and down, but I hope to, you know, I'll be more consistent and just get more wins, I guess.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: The only negative out of this game for the first time this season, who now shot the period second period, that he would sprint score 22 skates.
[00:12:15] Speaker E: Probably that's unacceptable.
[00:12:16] Speaker C: Maybe I expect guys to be.
Let's move on to Saturday's matchup against New Hampshire. Of course, the big story was the return of former Union goalie Kyle Chauvett to Schenectady. He was coming off a 22 save performance at Friday 63 win at RPI and he was the only UNH goalie to see action this season.
So what was the mood like Saturday as it got closer to facing Kyle?
[00:12:39] Speaker B: It was one of those things that you know, we're trying to approach it, you know, just as another hockey game. You know, he's someone that's, you know, been, been in our locker room before and you know, I feel like we had good knowledge about him but at the same point he has the ability to steal a hockey game. So we wanted to make sure we were ready.
[00:12:57] Speaker C: Well, Sauvet is from Goffstown, New Hampshire. But it was another New Hampshire native that set the tone for the Garnett Chargers. Sophomore forward Ben Muthesbaug, who is from Gifford, New Hampshire scored twice in the opening period to give Union a two nothing lead. And both goals were his patented one timers. The the first one, a power play tally. Less than six minutes into the game, Muthasbar was at the top of the right circle when he sent a pass, when he got a pass from Tyler Dunbar and sent it past Kyle Chauvet. The second one with 158 left in the first was an even strength goal. And Muthesburg was in the right circle when he took Calmel's pass and fired it off the post and into the net. How good was it to see Ben get those goals on shots you are familiar with?
[00:13:40] Speaker B: Well, he's been doing a lot of good things for us and I know, you know, early in the season he had a lot of shots and hadn't finished. So for him to be able to get that, I thought it was, you know, really important for the team and just for him to feel a little bit better because he has done a lot of good things but just hasn't been rewarded with goals.
[00:13:57] Speaker C: Having practiced with Kyle last season, do you think Ben knew some weaknesses with Kyle in stopping the one timer?
[00:14:02] Speaker B: Well, I think Ben can blow a puck past any goal. He just has that kind of ability when he, when he lets it go, it's pretty impressive. I mean that second one, like I don't, I don't know who could have say. I mean he just. It was a perfect shot.
[00:14:17] Speaker C: There's a loud ping off the post and is there any rumor to that the post suffered an upper body injury on that shot?
So. Well, the second period was the Brandon Burr show as he scored a natural hat trick with two power play goals and a penalty shot goal. The two power play goals came during a five minute major to Cam McDonald for hitting from behind at 258, a penalty that that was upgraded from a two minute major to after a video review. Malin Burr's first power play goal was a near disaster for Union. Josh, a turnover led To a two shorthanded break for unh. Felix Gagnon had the puck on the right side. His shot sailed wide of the net and Union headed up the ice and Burr scored at 351. That was a big two goal swing for Union. Instead of being a two one game, it was three nothing. I mean, how bad, how big was that to, you know, could have been a near disaster.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: We got to clean, clean that stuff up. I mean, we can't be allowing breakaways on the power play. And you know, that's been a focal point for us is to make sure we take care of the puck.
So I mean, it was a break for us. I mean, we got lucky on the fact that they didn't, you know, they didn't finish. And then Brandon comes back and when he has space, he can make plays.
[00:15:28] Speaker C: Less than four minutes later, Chauvette makes a stop on a Burr shot. And then Burr got the rebound along the goal line to Chauvette's left.
Burr in a post game press conference said he was looking to pass the puck to Parker Lindauer in front. But the puck apparently hit Charvet and Karen Rinden the net for a 4 nothing lead. Sometimes it's good to be lucky.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: Yes, it is. And you know, you throw pucks at net, anything can happen.
[00:15:49] Speaker C: Well, unfortunately that goal ended Charvets night. He allowed four goals on 16 shots. He was replaced by Jarrett Whale.
Even though you're happy with you have a 4 nothing lead, did you feel bad for how Kyle's night ended? Because the last thing he wanted to have happened and his homecoming was to get pulled.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: I mean, for us it was, you know, kind of our process and making sure we were playing well.
You know, don't wish ill upon, you know, Kyle at all. And you know, but we were going to, we were going to throw pucks on the net no matter who was in net. And you know, we, we have to do our job just like he has to do his.
[00:16:23] Speaker C: Yeah. While Union is on another power play late in the second, there's a scramble at the UNH net. The whistle blows and the refs decide to go to a video review to see if there was a violation with regards to the puck in the goal crease. And it turned out that UNH defenseman Alex Carr covered the puck with his glove and that resulted in a penalty shot. Burr was selected to take it. What led to that decision?
[00:16:46] Speaker B: Brandon made that decision. He didn't even come near the bench. He was just standing out at center ice waiting for it. So when we got Awarded was a pretty easy I.
He's. The ref came over and he's like, he's taking it. And I was like, yeah, he's taking it. So that was Brandon's choice.
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Well, Burr picks up the puck at center ice, makes a deke that Whale falls for, and Burr deposits the puck into the net to make it five nothing. It's Burr's third career hat trick. A hat trick. What a way to complete a hat trick.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: Yeah, that was, that was exciting and, you know, a good way to finish off the natural hat trick.
[00:17:20] Speaker C: When the third period. Parker Lindauer scored Union's second shorthanded goal of the weekend. And for the second straight game, all the drama that was left was to see if Cameron Corpy could get his third shutout of the season. This time he did. He finished with 24 saves. So, I mean, how good did you feel for him?
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Yeah, especially after the night before, him not getting that opportunity and, you know, wasn't able to. We weren't able to finish that for him. And you know, kudos to the penalty kill. It started the weekend off for us and it also finished it with, you know, to bookend the weekend on with penalty or with shorthanded goals.
[00:17:52] Speaker C: On Monday, Korpi was named ECAC hockey goalie of the week for the second time this season. Here are his numbers. He's tied with Northeastern's Lawton Zacher, former Brown goalie, for the national lead in shutouts with three.
Korpi's 1.60 goals against average ranks 10th in the country. And his.927 save percentage is tied for 17th with Minnesota State's Alex Tracy. I think Cameron's showing that he is a top notch goalie.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, we're lucky to have really good goaltending and you know, we have three really good ones. And Cameron has, has been outstanding every time he's played for us this year.
[00:18:27] Speaker C: Well, let's hear from four's Ben Muthesbog and Brandon Burr and goalie Cameron Corpi.
Let me start with you. You're a New Hampshire native.
Ben, let me start with you. You're a New Hampshire native. Did you have any extra motivation tonight against the Wildcats?
[00:18:51] Speaker H: I mean, it's just another game. I mean, we just wanted to start putting games together and, you know, winning on Friday and Saturday. So it was just all around a good team performance after last night.
[00:19:02] Speaker C: Were you ever recruited by them?
[00:19:06] Speaker H: I mean? Yeah, years ago.
[00:19:09] Speaker C: Did you grow up as a fan?
[00:19:11] Speaker H: Yeah, I grew up watching them.
[00:19:12] Speaker C: Yeah. How much fun was it to watch them play at Whittemore Center.
[00:19:15] Speaker H: Yeah, it's a good atmosphere. Yeah, it's a good, good little campus there.
[00:19:18] Speaker C: And yeah, two patented one timers for you.
Did you. When you practiced with Kyle last year, did you.
Did you have a sense he couldn't stop those in practice? I don't know.
[00:19:33] Speaker H: I mean every goal is different and you know, we just, we're trying to throw a lot of pucks at him early on and you know, thankfully we got a couple of bounces early and kind of ran with it.
[00:19:42] Speaker C: How big was that start there in the first period to get those two?
[00:19:44] Speaker H: Yeah, it was big. Obviously after last night and just building off that, coming out strong, that was big for our team.
[00:19:49] Speaker C: Brandon, for you natural hat trick in the second period, two power play goals. The first one is really a two goal swing. They missed on the 210 breakaway and to come back, you know, down and get that. How big was that?
[00:20:01] Speaker E: Yeah, it was pretty big. Obviously it could have been one goal game. Thankfully missed the net and I was maybe a little bit lazy on that back check, so I got a little chance.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: What about the second one was that I saw you got your own re. Did you bank it off the.
[00:20:13] Speaker E: Yeah, so I saw Lindy back door so I was trying to pass through his fievel but he put his pad down and went in. So I was.
[00:20:19] Speaker C: Oh, in a way, do you feel bad for him getting pulled there after that second move?
[00:20:25] Speaker E: I mean, of course, like there's tough bounces, not much you can do. Like obviously I like the guy a lot so don't want to see up for him.
[00:20:31] Speaker C: But to complete your hatrick with a shorthanded goal. I'm not with a penalty shot.
[00:20:35] Speaker B: Excuse me.
[00:20:36] Speaker C: What did you see on that play and against, well, their goaltender and how good it did it feel to do a natural Hatcher?
[00:20:43] Speaker E: Obviously it felt great. And do you mean like when he covered it or.
[00:20:46] Speaker D: No?
[00:20:47] Speaker C: No. When you were going in on the, on the penalty shot, what were you thinking?
[00:20:50] Speaker E: I kind of had an idea. Just, just Deke and he bet so I was able to slide it in.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: And Cameron, for you, after getting robbed in the shutout last night, you get get it tonight. How good did that feel?
[00:21:02] Speaker F: Yeah, felt good.
[00:21:03] Speaker C: I'm just glad I got the win the big weekend. Obviously you guys, you know, took care of these two hockey schools. Lowell last night, New Hampshire tonight, 131 the combined score.
Is this what this team could do every weekend just like this?
[00:21:18] Speaker F: Yeah, I think we all know it. We have a really Good group and it's just, you know, putting the piece together and guys getting hot at the right time.
[00:21:25] Speaker C: So Brandon, your thoughts on that?
[00:21:26] Speaker E: Yeah, consider like it's a great feeling. I think this is the show is what we can do and I hope to put the league on notice a.
[00:21:32] Speaker C: Little bit and then do it during exam week. What does that mean?
[00:21:36] Speaker E: I don't know.
It means pretty good stuff, I think. Resilience, I don't know. Hopefully the exams are as good as all games.
[00:21:45] Speaker D: Well, let's take a break. We'll talk about Union making the national polls and preview this weekend's ECAC hockey matchups at Cornell and Colgate. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:22:05] Speaker I: 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 best student athletes in the sport.
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.
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[00:23:32] Speaker C: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Gazette Union hockey beat writer Ken Shot, and I'm joined by Union men's head hockey coach Josh Halge. After four weeks of being listed under the other teams receiving votes category in the USCHO and USA Hockey polls, Union cracked the top 20 on Monday. Union is ranked 20th in both polls. The Garner Chargers received 136 points in the USCHO poll and 76 points in the USA Hockey poll.
I mean, as far as the USCHO poll is concerned, it's the first time Union has been ranked in that poll since February 18, 2019. And then the USA poll. It was November 5th of last season that Union was last ranked in that poll.
How does it feel to be ranked 20th in the country right now.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: I think it shows that we've taken some strides, but at the end of the day, if this is the highlight of our season, that's not what we're about.
It's kind of about continuing to build and continue to take steps and, you know, be playing our best hockey at the end of the year.
[00:24:30] Speaker C: Well, you'll be facing another ranked team on Friday when Union visits line of rink to take on Cornell, which is ranked 19th in the USCHO poll and 17th in the USA Hockey poll.
Cornell is under new leadership. Longtime head coach Mike Schaefer retired at the end of the last season. Your former boss at Clarkson, Casey Jones, is the head coach now. He spent last season as Cornell's associate head coach. Head coach in waiting.
There will be a change in philosophy with Casey in charge.
[00:24:59] Speaker B: I think that, yeah, there'll definitely be some, you know, changes. Just watching on video, they're, they're a little different structurally, but for the most part, I think you're still going to see a team that defends really hard.
You know, they're bigger bodies and they try to get to the net front.
They'll have good special teams and they'll be very structured.
[00:25:18] Speaker C: Well. Casey is a Cornell alum. So did it surprise you that he decided to leave Clarkson to go to Cornell?
[00:25:26] Speaker B: A little bit. He had a, you know, a good situation at Clarkson and was doing a nice job there.
But at the same point, I know that that's the Cornell job's a real appealing job and, you know, they have a, you know, a lot of really, you know, really good things to offer. So I think when it became available, I wasn't surprised that he went either.
[00:25:46] Speaker C: Yeah, Cornell has a pretty good freshman goalie in Alexis Cornway. He is 4:1 with a 1.42 goals against average and a.953 save percentage. What have you seen on video and how impressed are you with him?
[00:25:58] Speaker B: Yeah, really impressed. He's been very good and, you know, he's going to be somebody that's difficult to face.
[00:26:05] Speaker C: We got an early question from our listeners. Ryan Fay, regular supplier of questions here.
He says an interesting offense defense dynamic is setting up for Friday's big game against Cornell. Union has been on a roll offensively with 18 goals over his last three games. And now the Garner Chargers are third in the country with an average of four goals per game. On the other side, Cornell's defense ranks third in fewest go per game at 1.5.
Excluding exhibition play, no team has scored more than two goals against Cornell in the game this season.
Ryan would be interested in hearing what you think makes Cornell so potent defensively and what you think Union needs to do to break through that and generate an offense to win on Friday.
[00:26:47] Speaker B: It's going to be difficult to get to their net and I think they do a really good job defending that space. Obviously the goaltender's been really good so, you know, for us it's going to be driving pucks to the net, it's going to be trying to take away the goaltender's eyes. So, you know, we always have traffic in front of the net and then our special teams are going to have to be good. You know, I think for us that's been a way we've been generating so we have to, you know, continue to do that.
[00:27:09] Speaker C: Well then on Saturday, Union travels to Hamilton to face Colgate. The Garnet Chargers earned a shootout victory on February 7th at Class of 1965 rink, but the Raiders ruined Union's final Messe Rink regular season game with a 51 win on March 1. Colgate is 471 and 2 and 2 for five points in the ECAC hockey play. The Raiders are coming off a 43 overtime victory over Yale last Friday and 4 nothing win against Brown on Saturday.
Colgate seems to be an inconsistent team. The Raiders split two game series at Maine, but they got swept at home by rit.
You faced Colgate in an exhibition game last month.
Colgate won that 5 3. What did you see in that game that concerns you about Colgate?
[00:27:53] Speaker B: I think they're, you know, they're really different than Cornell, like as far as just how they play. Like they want to exchange chances, they'll make plays off the rush.
They're very comfortable playing in transition where Cornell is going to, you know, try to grind you down. So it's really hard to, you know, make this trip because it's, you know, two polar opposite hockey teams.
So we got to make sure we take care of the puck against Colgate.
[00:28:19] Speaker C: Well, we are loaded with listener questions this week. Regular contributor David Trestic says he loves the aggressive forecheck.
He said we have created a lot of turnovers and mistakes with teams trying to exit their defensive zone. However, we currently have the nation's worst strength of schedule per new npi.
Will this aggressive strategy continue and still play well as we get further into conference play and face better competition, or is there a willingness to play more aggressive and potentially give up some odd man opportunities here and there?
[00:28:52] Speaker B: Well, we want to attack. We want to be an attacking Style hockey team, you know, as far as what the other teams have done, you know, in their games, like, we can't really control that. And you know, you saw like UMass, Lowell and New Hampshire had two of the better records we've seen this year as far as teams. So I just think we gotta, you know, continue to try to push the pace against our opposition. And you know, again, whether a team is ranked really high or they've lost other games or won other games, we just gotta, you know, continue to focus on us.
[00:29:22] Speaker C: Another regular contributor, Jim Calhoun, asked what does coach see as positives and negatives being ranked in the top 20? Does it motivate opponents to be more focused on beating them?
[00:29:33] Speaker B: I'm sure we're going to get, you know, people's, you know, attention now. I don't, we don't want to be under the radar. We want to be a spot where people expect to see a really good hockey team. That's, that's what we want. We want to take a step as a program. We want to, you know, have people be worried that we're, they're going to have to face us. You know, I don't know if we're at that spot yet, but I think we're starting to, you know, claim attention that way. And then I think, yeah, I mean for positives, it's, it's really, it's really key as far as just recruiting and trying to continue to build the program because you know, people want to be on teams that win. And you know, right now we're doing that. So we got to keep it going.
[00:30:11] Speaker C: Union Bob 100x another regular contributor asks how slash, what does you, what does you do to do build off this past week? What does he have to do? What the team has to do to build off this past weekend. Keep momentum going important. Six points coming up.
[00:30:28] Speaker B: I think just continuing to, you know, again, like we talked about attacking the game and you know, staying right in the moment and not getting too excited too high or too low. Just focusing on that next shift and you know, really trying to just win that next shift to win that next period, to win the next game.
[00:30:45] Speaker C: A newcomer, Mark Brockbank writes. Good morning, Mr. Schott. You write great articles in the Daily Gazette about Union College men's ice hockey. Mark, appreciate that comment.
He says, I would like you to ask coach Halji whether their team plays non conference games like the ones against UMass Lowell in New Hampshire any different than the games they play against ECAC hockey teams.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: I don't think so. I think we try to approach every game the same.
You know, we want to make team or our guys aware of what the strengths are of each, you know, each opposition and also where we can attack them. But for the most part we try to focus on us and playing our brand of hockey. And you know, for the most part this season we've been fairly consistent, but we still have, you know, a level to grow there as well.
[00:31:30] Speaker C: Thanks everyone for the questions. Much appreciated that you always enjoy your participation in this. And if you have a question for Josh, you can email them to me at shot that's s c h o dash t
[email protected] or you can post them on Facebook on my personal page and the Parting Shots podcast page. You can also send them via bluesky X and Threads Lapshots.
The Daily Gazette's ECS Yockey Face off selections are back for another season. I'll post my pics usually on Wednesdays and then you can send your to me. I'll post those pics before the first game, usually on Fridays. So to play, send your picks to shotaily gazette.com well, Josh, good luck this weekend. We'll talk after the game next week at this time. I'll probably be we might be actually a little earlier because you'll be in Belfast, Northern Ireland, getting ready for the Friendship four. So we'll figure out a way to get this podcast internationally next week.
[00:32:23] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you. And exciting times ahead.
[00:32:25] Speaker D: Yeah, that's Josh.
[00:32:26] Speaker C: Howdy. Thanks again, Josh. Coming up on Thursday's podcast, I'll talk more Union men's hockey. I'll have interviews with Nick Young, Brandon Burr and Lucas Buzziol. The Union women's hockey team returns to action this weekend after having last weekend off the Garner Chargers host Cornell Colgate. I'll speak with head coach Tony Macy and defenseman Stephanie Bourque and Quinn Dunkle.
Gazette high school sportswriter Drew Wemple talks high school football as we get set for the state quarterfinals. Gazette executive sports editor and Union football beat writer Will Springstead talks about the Dutchman's win over RPI to capture the Liberty League title, the Dutchman's shoes and a berth in the NCAA Division 3 tournament. Union will face Muhlenberg on Saturday. I hope you tune in.
The views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Gazette News Group. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Gazette News Group. I am Daily Gazette Union hockey beat writer 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 hockey.
