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The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host and 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 Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York for the 497th episode of the Parting Shots Podcast. And it's featuring Union man hockey coach Josh Howjee for his weekly visit, his first of the New year. Josh, happy New Year. I know we're a few days past New Year's and there's some kind of rule that Larry David posted you can't say New Year's Day. Happy New Year's after a couple of days. But I'm saying it anyway. Happy New Year.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: Yeah, Happy New Year to you and yeah, it's good to be back.
[00:00:51] Speaker D: Yeah. Well, after a three week break, Union returned to action last weekend with an exhibition game against Canada's Royal Military College. The Garner Chargers didn't seem had to have any rust as they rolled to a 9 nothing victory. Let's break down the game, Josh, with some good news and some bad news involving sophomore defenseman Will Felicio. Let's start with the good news. Felicio scored the game's first goal 229 into the first period when he intercepted an RMC clearing pass in the RMC left circle and then fired a shot into the net. How good was it to get quickly like that?
[00:01:24] Speaker A: Yeah, great play by him. You know, we get in on the fourth check and he makes a good decision to step in front and unbelievable shot by him and yeah, got us off to a good start.
[00:01:35] Speaker D: Now the bad news. Just over 30 seconds later, Felicio had the puck in the Union right wing corner. He was facing the corner when RMC's Fisher O' Brien came up from behind. Felicio turned to his left and o' Brien hit him from the side, the right side and into the boards. Felicio went down and had to be helped off the ice. He didn't return.
It looked like he may have banged his head into the glass. First of all, what is his status for this weekend's ECA hockey games at Quinnipiac and Princeton?
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Yeah, so he's, he went to the hospital after the game and got out and you know, kind of goes through a protocol getting back to where he can be full full go right now. We're currently in that process. We're hoping to have him. But, you know, until he's medically cleared by our trainers on which would be tomorrow, like, we won't know.
You know, for us, one of those things is kind of scary when someone's laying on the ice and not moving much and.
But yeah, good. Good to have him back. He's a great personality.
[00:02:30] Speaker D: Lot of was. Has he practiced? He hasn't practiced at all then.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: No, he's. Well, he's able to move and be active and get on the ice. He just like right now hasn't had any contact and, you know, hopefully tomorrow he's able to do that and then if he is, then he'll be, you know, cleared to go. If, you know, he has any lingering effects from anything he did today, then tomorrow he won't be able to proceed at the kind of this next step.
[00:02:51] Speaker D: Do you think the hit was dirty? And watching it, I mean, Felice originally had his back. It could have been. But when he turned that exposed his right side and it seemed like it wasn't. I mean, unfortunate incident. But if he turns to the side like that, I mean, that exposes him and that's more maybe on him than the player.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, a little bit of watching his pass as well. And you think he could have done a better job, protect himself. The one thing like, I know, you know, some people have asked me if I thought they were a dirty hockey team. I.
I think they were just trying to compete really hard and I think maybe they were a step behind us. And I think when you're. You're chasing the game a little bit, that's when you're. You're getting frustrated. So overall, like, I thought it was a good game for us, and I thought that their coaches did a good job of making sure it didn't get out of, you know, they didn't, you know, do anything dumb or stupid.
[00:03:40] Speaker D: Of course, you know, people watching the game, when take to social media, a lot of outcry about the injury. Most of the complaints were about playing an exhibition game in the middle of the season and somebody getting hurt. Others thought that a penalty should have been assessed. I mean, do you think a penalty should have been assessed?
[00:03:54] Speaker A: I thought it for sure was a minor. You know, I don't, you know, they, they reviewed it, didn't think it was worth a major. And, you know, I think, I think it's funny that, like, you know, you're off for a couple weeks and if we come back and play a league game and we're not ready to go, I think you know, for me I'd rather take the risk of getting some action in instead of, you know, going into weekend and not being prepared.
[00:04:15] Speaker D: Well, you added two more goals in the first. Ben Muthesbaugh scored on the power play with 905 left and then Brandon Burr added an even strength goal with 348 remaining. So you take a three, three, nothing leading into the intermission. If there was any concerns about the players being rusty after that holiday break, I think that was erased for that first period performance. Right.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: I thought we were moving the puck. Well, I still think some of our, you know, attention to detail as far as stopping in the house and doing things that, you know, we, we talk about and what makes us successful and hard to play against, you know, wasn't exactly there, but it was, you know, overall you could tell the guy's got, you know, a lot of skating and over break.
[00:04:52] Speaker D: Well, you put the game away in with a five goal second period.
Ollie Chesler, Burr, Connor Smith, Brendan Miles and Etienne Lessard scored.
I, at that point, midway through the second period, I stopped. I was here at the office. I wasn't able to go over and be at the, at the, at the arena because I had the desk duty that day. But I stopped tweeting about the games at that point. It's like, it was like it's really not worth it. But you know, just the way that second period unfolded me. How happy were you with it?
[00:05:22] Speaker A: Yeah, really pleased again. I thought we were, you know, moving the puck well, I thought we possessed it, you know, going in. For us we really wanted to make sure that, you know, we're moving the puck and just definitely, you know, just not turning pucks over. And I thought for the most part we did that.
[00:05:37] Speaker D: Yeah. Jacob Jeannette added a third period goal to close out the scoring. Fourteen players had at least one point led by Burr with two goals and an assist and Lessard with a goal and two assists.
How pleased were you with the balanced scoring?
[00:05:50] Speaker A: You know, again for us, you know, we talk about our depth a lot. I think if we're going to be successful, that's what you need to see. And I thought it really was on, on display on Saturday.
[00:06:00] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:00] Speaker D: Well, let's talk about the goalies. You plan to use all three in the game and the each played a period. Let's start with Cameron Korpi. The sophomore wasn't tested much in his four save performance, but he did stop a breakaway midway through the first period. It was Korpi's first game since being pulled from the December 5th Princeton game. After giving up five goals and it was later revealed that he was under the weather. I mean, how do you think he looked?
[00:06:22] Speaker A: I thought he was sharp. I thought he looked big and square to the puck, really confident. I was, you know, really pleased with his performance.
[00:06:29] Speaker D: How important was that for his confidence?
[00:06:31] Speaker A: He's a pretty confident kid. So I think, you know, it's, it's good to get back in and you know, the big reason we want to give him a start just because he hadn't, you know, had gone through the, you know, that process in a while where, you know, you know, Braden had done that a little bit. So I think it was important to get him in the net and he did a really nice job.
[00:06:48] Speaker D: Well, speaking of Braden Gillespie, the freshman had the most save, stopping six shots. Like Korpi, Gillespie stopped a breakaway. He started the last three games winning them all. How did he look?
[00:06:57] Speaker A: Yeah, really again, really pleased. You could tell, you know, he took, he took his break, you know, and put it to good use. He was very mobile and he's very athletic. And again square to the puck and was really confident with him in the net.
[00:07:11] Speaker D: Finally, freshman Brendan Holohan got his first significant minutes playing the third period. He had some late mop up duty in November wins over UMass, Lowell and Sacred Heart. Whole hand stopped 5 shots against RMC. How would you assess his performance?
[00:07:26] Speaker A: Really happy with him. He just continues to do things the right way. Just always really positive at the rink, you know, and you know, he hasn't got as many minutes probably as he would like, but we're really confident in him.
[00:07:38] Speaker D: Even though it was an exhibition game, it was a sellout. 2,514 fans came out to the game. I mean, how thrilling was that? And can you expect more crowds like that in the second half of the season?
[00:07:49] Speaker A: Well, I hope so. I know there's. We got Yale and Brown coming up and I know there's a lot of seats for that, so hopefully people can get out and, you know, get theirs. But it was a pretty cool atmosphere just, you know, with everything going on, the salute to service and people that, you know, do a lot for, you know, our community and country. So it was, it was a lot of fun to be a part of.
[00:08:09] Speaker D: Well, let's hear from goalies Cameron Corpy and Brayden Gillespie for Brandon Burr and the Frenchman Etienne Lessard.
Start with you.
[00:08:17] Speaker C: You wanted a break. You got pulled from the Princeton game, didn't play the last three games. How important was this? I know it's an exhibition game. But how important was that 20 minutes for you tonight?
You faced only four shots, but you made that breakaway save there midway through the first period.
[00:08:32] Speaker E: Yeah, it's good to be back in the net and just play hockey with the boys. It was fun.
[00:08:37] Speaker C: Josh was saying before the break that you were probably battling a call that may have affected your performance.
How are you feeling?
[00:08:43] Speaker D: Better now?
[00:08:43] Speaker C: Was it. Was it a nasty cold, that kind of stuff?
[00:08:46] Speaker E: Yeah, I was sick on and off most of the time. I think it was just the flu. This year is pretty bad, but feeling a lot better. It was good.
[00:08:53] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, how it looked like. I mean, even though you've had three weeks off, it didn't look like you had three weeks off tonight. So how good was this performance to, you know, get to maybe shake a little rust off. But to play like this knowing that you got Quinnipiac next Friday.
[00:09:08] Speaker E: Yeah, it was good. Get some confidence going into next week. It's a really big, big week for us. So I'm excited to get to work this week and prepare for those guys.
[00:09:15] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:09:16] Speaker C: Let me ask Brendan, your first really full period of play. I know you got some mop up duty against.
[00:09:25] Speaker D: You managed Lowell and Sacred Heart.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: So how good was. Did you feel out there playing that 20 minutes to close out the game?
[00:09:31] Speaker E: Yeah, that was. It was good and just a lot of fun and happy to be back here from break and happy to get my feet wet with that game. So up.
[00:09:38] Speaker D: How's.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: How much confidence does that give you?
[00:09:40] Speaker E: Yeah, a lot. And you know, just keep working hard and continuing to get better and you know, other two goals are playing unreal. So keep getting better and focus on.
[00:09:50] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:09:53] Speaker C: Brandon, for you, two goals and assist tonight, how good was it to not show any rust in this game? You know, just come out and just take it to RMC tonight.
[00:10:05] Speaker E: Yeah, obviously it felt pretty good. I mean, that was a goal. I mean to shake the rust off. Like we had minimal of it, but just to get ready for next week because that's a huge weekend for us.
[00:10:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, how, how big? I mean, you did beat Quinnipiac a couple, couple of weeks ago, but you know, you saw what they did Friday night against Harvard, scoring nine goals. I mean, that was the first game since that game. So you know, you'll know you'll face angry team down there. So I mean, how important is it to be able to control the pace of the play, get goals, get power play goals. I mean, just. Was this true team effort tonight?
[00:10:38] Speaker E: Yeah, definitely a team effort. But yeah, as you're saying it's very important. Like they're a very good team. We know that and we still go in there and take it to the nick.
[00:10:44] Speaker C: Did last time tough to lose will that way. Brandon, how bad is he? Have you talked to him at all?
[00:10:54] Speaker E: We don't know yet.
[00:10:56] Speaker C: Okay, at the end for you, a goal and two assists. How good did that feel tonight?
[00:11:01] Speaker E: Yeah, felt pretty good. I mean I guess it's a team effort. The whole game our play was good. Good to get reps and from the break. So that was good to get ready for next week.
[00:11:10] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean how good was it.
[00:11:11] Speaker D: To see this team not show any.
[00:11:14] Speaker C: Rust of a three week break that you guys had because you know you guys went into the break on a three game winning streak and it just seems like you had the way you played tonight, you had just played last weekend.
[00:11:25] Speaker E: Yeah, I think the boys like we did, we did have a break but I don't think it wasn't as bad as the Braves. They did once they're active and we were excited to come back so I guess it showed.
[00:11:36] Speaker D: Let's take a break. When we come back, we'll talk about this weekend's ECAC hockey games at Quinnipiac and Princeton. Also answer some listeners questions. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: 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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[00:13:16] Speaker D: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Gazette the union hockey beat Writer Ken Shot. And I'm joined by Union men's head hockey coach Josh Halgy.
[00:13:23] Speaker C: Well, Josh is back to regular season.
[00:13:24] Speaker D: Action this weekend and returned to ECC hockey play for Union against the teams it closed out the 2025 portion of its conference schedule. First up is Quinnipiac, ranked eighth in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls. The teams meet at 7pm Friday at MT Bank arena in Hamden, Connecticut for the final installment of the unofficial MNC Bank cup series. Then Union head south on 995 to play Princeton for 7pm game Saturday at historically frigid Hoby Baker Rink. Let's start with Quinnipiac. The Garner chargers ended an 11 game winless skid against the Bobcats with a dominating 4 nothing win back on December 6th. And looking back at that game, how important was winning that game to end that slump against them?
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Well, there's, you know, been some things, you know, as we've kind of, you know, worked in here as a staff that have kind of been, you know, difficult for us. One has been, you know, Quinnipiac and they're, you know, extremely talented hockey team and we really needed to get that win and it came at a great time for us because we needed it in league points as well.
[00:14:24] Speaker D: Well, that was Quinnipiac's last game before the holiday break and the Bobcats must have been stewing over that loss because last Friday they completely destroyed Harvard nine to one and then defeated Dartmouth five to four. I mean, how much are you expecting an angry Dartmouth, I mean, equipment pack team hell bent on revenge?
[00:14:42] Speaker A: Yeah, I got to think that they're going to be playing their, their best hockey. They're, you know, an extremely talented team with just what they've done. You know, this, you know, coming back since break with, you know, scoring nine against Harvard, you know, extremely impressive. They're really good off a transition and they play fast.
[00:14:59] Speaker D: What will be the key to repeating the success you had in that December game?
[00:15:03] Speaker A: Well, I think taking care of pucks and making sure that we're, you know, not turning them over to, you know, give them free chances because if they get, if they get an easy look, they're going to finish.
So we got to make sure that we make it a hard game. We got to be difficult to play against and you know, things kind of came easy as easy for us against rmc. And I don't, you know, I got to make sure that we're the harder team here coming into this weekend.
[00:15:26] Speaker D: Of course, there's another streak Union is looking to snap against Quinnipiac. The Garner Chargers have lost five straight games at Quinnipiac. Union's last win there was a 5:1 triumph from November 10, 2018. I mean, how good will it be for the team to end that streak and take the season series?
[00:15:41] Speaker A: Yeah, it'd be a big statement for us. You know, look at some of the things we've done and you know, over the last few years and I think, you know, we've taken some steps, but we haven't really taken the, the huge step of sweeping a team like Quinnipiac. So, you know, it would be a great accomplishment.
[00:15:55] Speaker D: And Friday nights unfortunately have been a little tough. When he says the hockey player for Union, I mean, how important is it to get off this week, get this weekend off to start by winning Friday?
[00:16:03] Speaker A: Yeah, and I think we've had thus far a really good week of practice. So we've put ourselves in a good spot. Now we just got to go, you know, give ourselves that chance.
[00:16:11] Speaker D: Then it's on to Princeton, a team that is on a roll. The Tigers are on a five game winning streak that started with the 51 win over Union on December 5th at MNC Bank Center. Last weekend the Tigers won home games over Dartmouth 54 and Harvard 3 2.
In that Harvard win, Kai Daniels scored with 2.6 seconds left in regulation to help the Tigers to improve 80 at Hillby Baker Inc. And that's the best start in the 103 year history of the facility. I mean, the Tigers have made the national polls for the first time since 2018. They are 19th in the USA Hockey Pole and took your spot 20th in the USCHO poll. Second year head coach Ben Sire has his team playing well. What makes them so dangerous?
[00:16:52] Speaker A: Well, I think they got a lot of belief in how they're playing and you know, when you have an identity and you play to it, you usually have success. And I think that's what they're doing right now.
They have some really good forwards. There's some, you know, older guys on that hockey team that are playing well for them, whether it's, you know, Kai Daniels or Gorman. They're playing with a ton of confidence and they're making plays when they need them.
[00:17:11] Speaker D: Yeah, when we were talking about teams who could be contenders to win the ACC hockey regular season title, it was the usual suspects. Quinnipiac, Cornell, Clarkson and Dartmouth. But it's Princeton, which is on top of the standings worth 19 points. I mean, is this a team that could potentially win the Clery cup as regular season champions?
[00:17:29] Speaker A: Well, the way, the way they're playing, they definitely can. And I mean, I think, you know, they're, they're playing with a lot of confidence and they've given themselves a really good position to be in here in the second half.
[00:17:40] Speaker D: What do you think it would mean for the conference to have somebody like Princeton win the title set? Like Quinnipiac or Clarkson? The usual suspects?
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Well, I mean, I think it shows that there's a lot of depth right now in our conference and in our league. And, you know, we're still hoping to, you know, make a push here and, you know, not let anyone win it but us. So I think that's kind of been our focal point.
But, yeah, you know, Princeton's doing a great job.
[00:18:04] Speaker D: What will be the key to beating a hot Princeton team?
[00:18:07] Speaker A: Well, they're really physical and they usually own the net front, so I think, you know, we got to make sure that we're defending hard in front of our own net and then we're getting to theirs.
Yeah, they, a lot of their goals are from tips and rebounds and just, you know, getting to, again, getting to those high traffic areas. So we got to keep them out.
[00:18:24] Speaker D: Well, the big question entering the weekend is who will start in goal? Me and Gillespie shut out Quinnipiac, making 31 saves. Have you determined who will get the start against the Bobcats?
[00:18:34] Speaker A: No, we haven't. You know, we kind of been talking about it here now and starting to make, you know, getting close to making a decision, but it's a good problem to have. We got, you know, two really good goalies, well, three really good goalies and, you know, confident in all of them.
[00:18:47] Speaker D: Could you start maybe Gillespie in one game and a corp being the other?
[00:18:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's something that could happen. And, you know, typically we like to, you know, make decisions like, you know, and let guys know the day before games. And that's usually how we go about the process and.
But yeah, we'll play Friday and then make a decision on what we want to do Saturday.
[00:19:06] Speaker D: Of course, we always like to take questions from our readers, our listeners. Readers. Yeah, readers too.
Jim Cologne asked, how hard is it setting lineups with all the great talent on the team, how well do the guys not playing handle it? Most notably, Carter Korpi has not played much. Is it due to nagging injuries or too much talent to choose from?
[00:19:27] Speaker A: Well, I think one, all these guys come here because they want to play. So when somebody's out, it's really difficult on them. It's difficult on our staff. To make that decision.
You know, it's definitely something where you want to have a lot of empathy to them because they put so much work in and they all work really, really hard. You know, Carter's had some injuries and, you know, things that, for him that, you know, kept him out of the lineup. But I think he's played in about 12 of our, our games thus far, so a decent amount. But he's, he's been a key contributor for us over his time and, you know, kind of expect him to be in the, in the stretch run for us. But yeah, it's, it's a lot of time. It's a lot of. You'd be shocked at how much sleep you lose over making that final lineup decision.
[00:20:10] Speaker D: Ryan Fay writes no big questions for me this week, but this is a big weekend. Union needs to start stringing league wins together. The overall record is nice, but the league record needs work. The early losses to RPI and what was at the time a struggling Clarkson team hurt flipped those two games and Union is five, two and one in the league and not three, four. One big difference. Wins over Q and Princeton, both ranked highly in the npi, would boost Union's cause there, too.
They kind of have to start Gillespie again, at least against Quinnipiac, right?
[00:20:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
Great opinion.
Yeah. Obviously we'd like to get those two games back and, and you know, have an opportunity to redo those games, but that's not how how the real world works. You got to, you know, do it, you know, live with what happened. And those games are frustrating. But I thought, you know, like the Clarkson game, you out shoot them 40 to 15, have a ton of opportunities and just, just don't get it done.
[00:21:06] Speaker D: Yeah, well, thanks for the questions. If you have a question, email them to shot. That's s c h o t
[email protected] you can also post them on my personal Facebook page and the Parting Shots podcast page. You can also send them via bluesky X and Threads lapshots.
The Daily Gazette ECA face Off selection is back for another season. I'll post my picks usually on Wednesdays and then you can send your pics to me. I'll post those before the first game, usually on Fridays. To play. Send your picks a
[email protected] well Josh, appreciate a few minutes. Good luck this weekend. We'll talk after the games. Sounds good.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: Thanks.
[00:21:47] Speaker D: Thank you. That's Josh Howard. Coming up on Thursday's podcast, the 498th episode. I'll talk more Union men's hockey. I'll have interviews with Nick Young, Brandon Burr and Braden Gillespie. I'll preview the Union women's hockey weekend with games at M and T Bank center against Princeton and Quinnipiac. I'll have interviews with head coach Tony Macy, defenseman Stephanie Bourque and forwards Carrie Ann Engelbert and Matty Leaney.
Joe Yurden of Noted Hockey will join me to talk about the suddenly resurgent Buffalo Sabres, and the Associated Press's Dennis Wodzak Jr. Helps me wrap up an awful New York jets season. 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'm Daily Gazette Union hockey beat writer Ken Schott. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, Good hockey.
