[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign the following program is brought to you in living color on Dell gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
Thank you Scott Gezy, 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. It's our weekly visit with Union meds head hockey coach Josh Howjee. Josh, welcome back. How are things going? Things are good.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: How about yourself?
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Not too bad, not too bad. Oh, it turned my mic up a little too fast there so. Well, let's get into it. The Union just had one game last weekend, but it was a big one. It was the 12th edition of the Capital District Mayor's cup game against RPI. Union had won eight of the first 11 cups, including three in a row. And let's get into the game didn't really start well for Union. I felt that RPI was carrying the play in the opening period and just a little more than eight minutes into the game, Jack bracket scores to give RPI a 1 nothing lead. It was sort of a floogie goal I thought Josh Jake Gagnon shot was blocked, put the puck, bounced the Bracket at the net. Tough break, but I think RPI earned that goal with the way they were playing.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yeah, they came out strong and you know, credit to them. They, they made a play there, Jack pulled it to his backhand and finish, you're right, kind of hit our defenseman and bounced right to him. But the play happened, you know, up the ice. We had a 4 checking mistake and gave them a 3 on 2. Tried to get back in time but we unfortunately weren't able to.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: Well, here's an interesting stat. Bracket's goal was the first time RPI scored the first goal in the Mares cup since January 19, 2017 when Riley Bourbonne scored with 4:24 left in the first period. Union won that game 3:2 in overtime. This could be a prelude to a deja vu.
Well, if there's one thing that you must be pleased with is the way your team can bounce shrug off a goal by the opposition by coming back and scoring themselves. Josh Nixon got Union on the board when he won. Time to pass from Kaden Villegas from behind the RPI net and scored me. How good is it to get that goal back quickly?
[00:02:12] Speaker B: Yeah, we needed it because you know, for whatever reason, you know, I don't know if it just was playing on the big stage I just, it was, we had some nerves and weren't as sharp as we normally were coming out of the gate and you know, I thought that goal really settled us in the second period.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Did not produce any goals. They union outshot RPI 96 in the period. What did you think of that period and what did you tell your team between the second and third period?
[00:02:36] Speaker B: You know, just, just to keep the game as simple as we could. I mean it's, you know, the, the pucks were kind of bouncing everywhere and it was, you know, a lot of people in the building which made it, you know, warm and it was hot in there. So just trying to focus on one shift at a time and keeping the game simple so, you know, not to make any mistakes.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: Well, Nixon came through again 349 into the third period to give Union a 21 lead. This was another flu he goal. Nixon took a pass from Colby McArthur in the Neutral zone. Nixon skated the puck down the left wing into the RPI zone. He saw MacArthur going to the net and sent the puck there but it ended up going between the pads of goalie Noah Giesbrick and into the net. When I saw it initially it looked like Giesbrecht misplayed it, but afterwards RPI head coach Dave Smith said it hit off an engineer player. Did you feel fortunate with that goal?
[00:03:24] Speaker B: Yeah, it was an unfortunate break for us and hopefully it's your hard work that kind of gets you those breaks and that's how we got it. But Josh drove the puck wide with speed and threw a puck towards the net. Obviously we had pressured with us driving the net, so between the two it gave us a chance to finish.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: Well, unfortunately for Union, Josh the lead lasted just 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Union was scrambling as RPI controlled the puck in the offense.
Tyler Hodson skated with the puck and he got to the high slot. His shot went in to tie it at 2. Hodson was initially credited with the goal, but it was changed to Jeremy Payant. Well after the game, no matter who scored it, that had to be a tough one to give up.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Yeah, there was, you know, a lot of traffic at the net and we allowed Hodson to roll the middle of the ice and he's a pretty dangerous player and you know, he put a puck towards the net and I, I knew it hit something. It kind of, it seemed like it ricocheted and again everybody was right on top of Kyle and you know, unfortunately for us it ended up in the back of our net.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: Yeah, unfortunately I Was sitting in the media room downstairs. I didn't really get a chance to get outside and watch the game because I was having WI fi issues with my computer. So, yeah, obviously Josh's second goal was, you know, some of us in the media room were saying, look, looked like it was a bad play by Noah. And then obviously the Hodson goal, it was tough one as well.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think when you're, you're playing in a, you know, a game like this, it's just, you know, get pucks to the net and anything can happen. And I think you saw that on Saturday night.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: Well, Union goalie Kyle Sovette play well. He stopped a Brad McNeil breakaway early in the second period after McNeil had gotten done serving a penalty. Then Kyle made a left pad save him at a Jagger tapper shot with 530 left in regulation. How critical of a save was that one?
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Yeah, that was, that was the difference in the game. I mean, that, that should have probably ended up in the back of our net. We had a defensive breakdown and you know, they made a play and you know, luckily for us, we had Kyle in our net and you know, that, that was the difference.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Tapper did not have the moves of Jagger quote to quote a song. But I digress. Well, the game heads to overtime. The cheat. The teams exchanged possessions and Nate Hanley had a good opportunity early in the overtime, but a shot missed. And as time approached the final minute of overtime, Colin Ferguson carries the puck down the left wing into the RPI zone. He slips it to Hanley, who fakes a shot and then skates a couple more strides before firing a shot home with 105 left in OT to give Union a 32 win. There's a deja vu 32 overtime win and a fourth straight Mare's Cup. Talk about that play.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: Yeah, it was, you know, it started just with us winning a, you know, a puck battle. Brand and beer behind our own net. You know, was able to poke the puck away from them. And then, you know, Cullen picked it up, skated it down the ice by, you know, bought some time there for Nate and gave him a drop pass. And then Nate faked that slap shot, cut to the middle and, you know, unbelievable shot by him.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: How do you like to approach the overtime? The three on three overtime. It's gotten into a puck possession game. The way it's been playing now. I mean, I wonder if maybe too much time with possession not enough attacking.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Yeah, for us, you know, we, we want to hold on to it as much as we can. And. And if we have to regroup, we don't want to go past the, you know, more than a stride length over the red line. Just so, you know, you don't allow the other team to change and, you know, hopefully you can, you know, wear them down and then attack. And that seems to be, you know, the recipe to have a little success in it. But when it. When it goes back and forth and it's just line rush after line rush, it gets to be, I don't know, you have some control of it, but not as much. And I think as a coach, you like when you have as much control as you can have.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: Well, with Union winning the season series and the Capital Skates Trophy from the ECAC Hockey Games back in October, this marks the first time Union has both trophies since the 2017-18 season. How big is that? Especially the final year, Mesa?
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's, you know, for us it was a goal at the start of the season to, you know, to get both trophies home and, you know, never been able to do that in our time here. And, you know, from the seniors never seeing the skates to being able to have them in their locker room to now having had the Mayor's cup their entire time, I think it's, you know, quite the tribute to them.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Yeah. How about, how big is that for the seniors? 4 for 4 with the mayor's Cup?
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, that's. They've had some goals and, you know, when we first met as a staff, it was, you know, something that they, you know, they really wanted to do is, you know, and they took a ton of pride in and then, you know, really just trying to elevate the program and, you know, take as many steps as they can. So they've. They've done a great job with that. And now we have, you know, 10 games left to take another step and, you know, achieve some goals they're. They're looking for.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: Yeah. This also marked the first time that the Union men and women won the Mayors cup games in the same year. The Union women beat RPI 3 to 2. They did that in regulation to capture their second cup and first since 2020. Did you feel any pressure heading into the game after the women won?
[00:08:18] Speaker B: You know, what I actually did. I didn't think that would affect me, but, like, I was really happy for them because they've. They've been playing some good hockey and, you know, really wanted them to get that done. And then, you know, now. Now it was on us. So it was like, they did their part and, you know, I felt like it was a little bit of, you know, we got to do our part. Now.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: Where are the Capital Skates trophies right now?
[00:08:39] Speaker B: Those are in there in our. In our locker room.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that's. They're going to be just on display sometime before the end of the season.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: Yeah, we can put them all here. On Friday night.
[00:08:47] Speaker A: The attendance for the game was 7,306, up from last year's 56.98. It was the largest crowd for the Mayor's cup in seven years when 7672 fans watched Union beat RPI 43 on January 27, 2018. It was the fifth time that over 7,000 fans attended. The others are January 24, 2015, at 8,714 for the game. The January 23, 2016 game, 84, 85. And January 25, 2014, 700. Because that was the postgame Mares cup role. What did you think of the crowd?
[00:09:18] Speaker B: I thought it was a great crowd. And, you know, we still got to get, you know, we got a few people that are cheering for the wrong team there, but I think. Yeah, I thought it was, you know, pretty evenly split and I thought our fans were really loud.
[00:09:29] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's why I'm disappointed. I didn't get a chance to really get outside much. As I said, I was having issues with WI Fi at the MVP arena, so I just wanted to stay close and thank goodness they have a TV in the media room so you can watch everything. But it was great to see. I think that's really great that they were able to draw over 7,000 fans. It had been a while. So it's maybe this, maybe one day we get to see 8, 9, 10,000.
[00:09:54] Speaker B: Yeah. I think we just had a meeting this week about reviewing it and if there's anything we could do to come up with better ideas or to brainstorm to get more people there and to really, you know, make it even more special because it is. It is such a fun game to be a part of.
[00:10:11] Speaker A: Well, let's hear from the Union players after the game on the Dads, where Josh Nixon, Nate Hanley, Colin Ferguson and Kyle Chauvet. By the way, before we get to them, how about Ferguson and Hanley, the way they were dressed.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: Yeah, they have a lot more style than I do.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: Well, here they are. Let's hear from them.
To me, and how much this game means to the Jersey and. Yeah, I mean, the guys couldn't have done a better job showing up for it. Yeah, Josh Is your third. So what does it mean to you?
Yeah, obviously, going. Going 3 and 0 since I've been here. It's pretty nice. Like, we knew it was going to be a battle today, and it went down to the bittersweet end, so we're just proud of the group. Right now. You're locked in a tight game like this. What's your mindset as a goal? Just trying to do everything you can to give your team a chance to go get the winner. Yeah, I mean, my mindset doesn't change whether the score of the game, like, whether it's like, 2:2, like, whether we're off by 5. Like, my job stays the same. Just focus. Be in the present moment and just focus on one shot at a time and do whatever I can to help the team win. There's that one there. Or they got your. You left pat on there late. How big was that? Yeah, it was big. I kind of. I saw the guy that I've been looking like peripheral vision. So once he passed over, I was able to get across for it. Nate, talk about your goal. I mean, you had a chance earlier in the overtime, but what. What. What happened on the game winner. Yeah, I mean, I took a couple of slap shots earlier in the game, so decided to mix in a tape.
How about the setup there? Talk about setup. Cullen went end to end, uses edges really well, dropped it to me, left a lot of space for me to the puck in the back of the net. It was a lot of fun. I mean, three in a row. I've been here for three at least, so it was good to see.
Josh, that was a pass. Your second goal. You're trying to pass it over. Yeah, I'm not gonna last fully a pass, like, but we'll take it. So. Yeah, I don't know how it got in there, but obviously it was. It was big for us. Well, Dave Smith, the same. Went off one of their. There are skates of one of their players. That's how it ended up. Oh, did it? Yeah.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: Okay, well, we'll still take it.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: I don't know, Josh, your first goal was just right place, right time there and getting the perfect pass.
[00:12:21] Speaker B: Yeah, it was just a great pass. Like, honestly, like, the goalie slid out a little bit, a little too far.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: So there was some space up top, so. But Vie gets great pass by him. Good work in the corner there to give me the puck for sure. For all four of you. This is the first time that a school has swept both mayor's cups. Union's first to do it. So what does that mean to you guys that men and women both have won the Mares cup in the same year?
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Yeah, it's obviously big.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Like, I knew that we were at the game last night watching Union and rpi, so we knew that they had a chance to get the 3P too. So obviously big time for them and for us to get it as well. It's huge, Nate. Yeah. Ever since I've been here, the women's team's getting better and better, so it's definitely good to see that in the Mars cup as well, for us to take care of business. Well, yeah, no, I agree. You know, we all love the school here. We want to represent the logo well. And, you know, by getting both those trophies this year and the women's team, too, like, I think we did a good job of that. And, yeah, it's special, too, Colin. Yeah, I think it's really special what the Owens program is doing. I think Tony's doing a great job turning it around. You know, every year we get here, you come in around the third period and you always check to see the score. So when you come in and they're winning the game, I mean, a little bit more fuel to the fire. Hey, Kyle, I want to go back. Beginning the second period, McNeil comes out of the box, he gets the breakaway. Did you know he was out there and he was back, or did you. I mean, it was just kind of a weird play. Like, I knew he was coming out of the box, so, I mean, he made a nice play on it. Like, he was able to catch the pass and come in for the breakaway. So, like, I saw him cutting in, but good play with him.
And now let's hear from RPI head coach Dave Smith and players Jack Brackett and Tyler Hodson.
Despite the outcome, were you. Were you pleased with the effort tonight? I thought you got close to a full 60 minutes tonight.
Yeah, I thought it was.
I mean, it was a grind game both ways, and, you know, you generate good quality chances. And, you know, what we just talked about briefly there is outcome doesn't determine output, because I thought we had high output all the way across the board tonight and had chances to win that game, and they had a chance to win it and capitalize in a couple chances. It was a lot of desperation in the game, both sides.
Guys, how tough is this? The fourth in a row. Yeah.
I don't have a lot of words to put in the feelings, but it hurts.
Yeah, that's what sucks. Obviously, losing back to back for Me is not good and hopefully we get an extra.
What do you guys as players take from being able to kind of get this game into overtime after the way it had gone the last couple years? Yeah, I thought we played really well today. Like coach said, just a couple bounces.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: Didn'T go our way.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: And I think we build from a lot of things here from this game and yeah, just moving forward. I think this is a good step in the right direction even though the outcome wasn't there.
Yeah, I thought our overall compete as a team was great. It was just tough not to get the final result.
Jack, you had the opener. Just what was kind of that look like for you? How did that come about? Yeah, it was three on two. I remember Gags just tried to get a puck on net and fortunately puck just came right to me and I was able to just make a play on the goalie. So Tyler, on your goal, you guys created a lot of pressure in the union zone. You had them running around. What did you see on your goal? Yeah, it was a good play by the D. Just got a little motion at the top. Just kind of trying to get done at there. And fortunate enough to win it coaching that overtime period. Got a possession down on there and just. Did the team kind of run out of gas. What was kind of happening? No, we had. We had fresh guys out there. They just. They made a play. They made a play. I mean, Hanley's a good player and cut across and there was a slight fake that created just enough space for him to shoot back against the grain and got to give him credit for a nice goal. But we had a. We had good changes. We had good possession, good pressure. 1. One change and one change of possession and they came down and made a good play. Did Noah say what happened on the second Nixon goals? Looked like Nixon was trying to pass. I don't know if Noah misread. Yeah. Went off our. Went off our players skate. Okay. It was clearly going from our goalies right to left and he was tracking the puck and hit our guy skate. Yeah, and that's. I mean, unfortunately, when you put that much desperation in, you know, there was hurt, but I give our guys a lot of credit. We just got right back to it. It didn't define us in that game and it could have and it didn't.
Still a lot of hockey left in the season with the foulship AC coming up. How do you expect your guys to rebound the rest of the game? You know, we love our group. Our group has not been too high or too low. They.
We talked about it, you know, preparation in tonight, that many teams are imperfect, as are we, but we're doing stuff together. And I think, you know, we haven't had a game off of effort since the turn, since Christmas. We've competed hard and I expect us to continue to do that. And if you do that, you're going to find some wins. And sometimes, like tonight, you put out the effort and you don't get a win, but you're a minute from a tie, you're a minute from a shootout. You know, you're also one. One play. We had a couple of really good plays. Shovet made a couple really nice saves in the third. We had really good pressure. And you wouldn't change much about tonight other than one shot here or there. Jack, can you guys. I know it's a tough defeat in the way it happened. Can you guys try and use this for going forward, especially next weekend with a pair of home games? Yeah, I mean, we got. We got a lot of exciting weekends coming up and just really excited for it.
Well, let's take a break off another Mesa Rink memory. We'll preview this weekend's ECAC hockey games with Yale and Brown at Mesa Rink. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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Hi, this is Union College women's hockey alum Michelle Tardif.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: With Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott. The Parting Shots podcast presents another Union hockey Messerink memory.
I'm Ashley Kilstein Charet. I played for Union College women's hockey.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: From 2004 to 2008.
[00:20:14] Speaker A: My most vivid memory of playing at.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: Messer Rink was probably every practice just.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: Getting in the ice with my friends.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: And starting and ending the day here.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm host Ken Schott. I'm joined by Union Meds hockey head coach, Josh Hauge. Josh Union heads back to ECE hockey play this weekend as it begins the home stretch of the regular season. There are 10 games left in the regular season, six of them at Messerink. Two of those games will be played there this weekend as Yale is Friday's opponent and Brown will be in on Saturday. You beat both teams early this month on the road. A 31 win over Brown on a 43 come from behind win over Yale.
And I have a question from regular listener Ryan Fay. Union picked up those wins over Brown and Yale early in the season. What were your takeaways from those games and what needs to happen for Union to repeat the success this weekend?
[00:21:05] Speaker B: Well, I think, you know, starting with Yale, like they really attacked off a transition and you know, we, we mismanaged the puck a little bit and didn't pick guys up on, on our tracks back into the zone and they have enough of talent there where they, they can make you pay, we gotta pay play, you know, a grind it out style, hold on to pucks, you know, keep it in, keep it in their end and really force them to defend and you know, and then you're coming up against Brown, who I think is playing some of their best hockey of the season right now. So that'll be a unique challenge in the fact that some of their young guys have taken some steps and obviously both teams have goalies that had success last year and then varying levels of success this year.
[00:21:44] Speaker A: Ryan, appreciate the question as always. Thank you very much. One aspect of the last three games Union has played, Josh, that the team has gotten off to some slow starts. They didn't handle well against Dartmouth losing four nothing, but they were able to hold off at Harvard 41 and then win last Saturday's game against RPI in that capital Skates Mares Cup. What does this team have to do to get off to a good start, not and avoid those slow starts.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: We've been talking about it all week is, you know, starting at 7:00 on Friday and, you know, trying to start at, you know, our practice time, the first drill being, you know, dialed in, ready to go and you know, for us, I think it's, it's, it's a bit of, you know, we're in that final stretch now. Like you said, there's 10 games left. We got to be ready. We can't take for granted anything and, and just really make sure we're ready at the opening face off.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Yeah. As I mentioned, Union rallied to beat Yale. Union actually had a two nothing lead in the first period, but Yale scored the next three goals. Union got two in the third, one by Josh Nixon with 819 left, and then Kaden Villegas with 150 to go won it. What did that game tell you about your team in the sense that they had a lead, lost it, and came back?
[00:22:49] Speaker B: Well, it's a really resilient group, and they work hard pretty much through everything, and they faced some adversity this year, and it just kind of shows that no matter what happens, we're never out of a game and we'll keep competing.
[00:23:02] Speaker A: Well, Yale is 1 and 4 in its last five. They lost both games in last weekend's Connecticut Ice. 82 to Sacred Heart and 62 to Quinnipiac. How important is it for the Garner Chargers to not get overconfident against a struggling Yale club?
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Yeah, it's extremely important that we're ready to go. I mean, Yale has enough talent to, you know, really beat anybody in the league. They're, you know, they have some good wins, you know, wins over BU and, you know, they've done some really good things. So we, we have to make sure we. We focus on ourselves and we're ready to go.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Yeah. As you mentioned, Brown has been on fire late, having won four in a row after had lost five straight, which included Union's win. The streak started with a home sweep with St. Lawrence and Clarkson, followed by nine conference wins over Merrimack on the road and against Stonehill at home. This past Sunday. In those last two games, the Spirits, the Bears scored five goals in each contest. You have to worry about, of course, Yale on Friday and Brown faces RPI on Friday. Suddenly, Brown looks dangerous.
[00:23:57] Speaker B: No, I like their team. You know, you look at their lineup, they have, you know, some. Some really good players. You know, whether it's St. Louis or Scott or the Nichols forward, who's a fresh first year. Like, they have some really talented guys, Pino on the back end and Zacher's, you know, talented in net. So they're a really tough matchup. And, you know, like you said, they're playing really good hockey.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: Looking at the standings right now, Quinnipiac leads with 28 points. Dartmouth is in second with 25, Clarkson third. 24, Colgate 23, Union. Harvard tied for fifth with 21 points. So you're right in the hunt there for first round bye or at least home ice in that first round game. So six points critical on the line this weekend. What do you have to do?
[00:24:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it starts with Friday night and taking care of business and, you know, we can't, you know, can't worry about what everybody else is doing. I think, you know, I think Quinnipiac and Dartmouth have played one more game than us. I think Harvard's played two more. So it's, you know, there's some, you know, things that are against us that way, but we, we just got to focus on, you know, getting points every night we play. And it starts with Yale on Friday night.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, let's hear from the Union players. From Tuesday's media availability, here are Cullen Ferguson, Josh Nixon, John Prokop and DJ Hart.
Guys headed here at the home stretch of the ECAC hockey regular season. 10 games left. You start with the home games this weekend against Yale and Brown. Start with D.J. how important is this weekend to guys are right now fifth playtime for fifth. How important is it to get in some wins and get into the top four and get a home first round bye? I mean, it's really important. It's something that we've been talking about since the start of the season and since last season. So just another game gotta win Friday and then we'll go on to Saturday. Colin? Yeah, I mean, just taking it one game at a time. I think, you know, I've made it pretty clear at this point that the next game is the most important game.
Every single step of the way. We need to make sure that we're dialed in the D zone and all our structures, especially, you know, Brown's been playing really well. I think they've won four their last. Yeah, they won four in their last four games. Yeah. So. And then we need to make sure we take care of Yale. So like I said, just taking it one game at a time. Josh.
We obviously got the best of Yale and Brown on the road about a month ago, so we're definitely gonna see their best this weekend for sure. So these aren't like easy games at all. Like, we're gonna see some really good teams these the next two games here, so they're very important for sure. John, the last time you played Yale down there, you guys got out to a two nothing lead. Yale comes back, makes it three two. But you guys rallied to win that game. How important will it be to, if you guys get a lead, not have that Lead, go by the wayside. Yeah, I feel like every game from here on out is going to have momentum swings, and it's just being, you know, that veteran hockey team that you want to be going down the stretch so you're a playoff team when it comes to the playoffs. How important will it be to get off to a good start? The last couple games, you guys, you know, not getting off the good starts. So how important will it be to, you know, you guys dictate the pace of play from the opening face off? I think every game, you know, we want to get off to a good start, but every game's not going to go that way. So it's. I mean, It's a full 60 need to play, and I think the start obviously helps it. But even if we go up a first goal, like, just like on Saturday in the Mayor's cup, like, it doesn't matter, you bounce back right away. So, Josh, your thoughts on that? I think if we're going to go far, we got to win these tight games. And I feel like you said the Yale game and the game, even on Saturday, it's tight games, man. So I think finding a way in those type of games, those are the ones that are going to help you winning the tight games down the stretch, for sure.
Yeah, just. I think John said it best. Every game is going to have momentum swings. You want to have a good start, but it's not always going to be that way. So you kind of just brush off to the side and make sure you take care of your job and get the job done. DJ how important is it to build off the momentum of what happened Saturday, the Mayor's cup, the overtime, when you guys have won two in a row? So how important is it to keep that momentum going into this weekend? I mean, it's definitely important, but it's in the past now, so it's. We're looking forward to this next game ahead of us.
Like John just said, it's. Momentum is a huge thing in hockey, and especially right now. So take every shift as it comes, do your job, and we'll be just fine.
Yeah, I mean, it's nice to have a big win like that, but you need to move on. We get back in a league play here, and like we've all said, we were chasing that top four spot we've been chasing for a while now. So we need to make sure that we don't let any games slip away. Josh.
Like. Like last year, we can't let games slip away. Like. Like, that's how we didn't get the top four last year as well. So these games, like this weekend, are. Are definitely crucial. We got to get all six for sure.
Dj, I got to ask you a question. The hand, the bar mustache. I don't know if you. Have you ever heard of Rollies Fingers hall of Fame closer? No, I. I think I've probably seen a picture of him. But what inspired you to do a handlebar mustache?
Not really sure. I was honestly growing it out. I ended up getting injured last year and messed up my. My nose and lip a little bit, so it was honestly to. To cover it up to start, and I think my dad made a joke and said, you should grow it out and haven't looked back since. So do you like it? I do like it. So do you get compliments? Get razz meeting around campus? I'd say I get a fair share of compliments, but, yeah, it's part of me now, so we're gonna let it rock for the rest of the season. And now that's about it. All right, I'll ask everybody here. Colin, your thoughts? Yeah, I like his mustache a lot. I. I back it. Do you tease him a little bit about it? Yeah, I live with this guy, so I'm the one who's, like, watching him wax it. So it's got a nice curl going for every game.
Josh. I think it shows his character a little bit. I feel like the. The Stash is him, so he's a funny guy. The Stash is a little bit funny.
[00:30:14] Speaker B: So let's let it roll. I like it.
[00:30:16] Speaker A: Oh, you got a little bit of a stash here. Yeah. All right.
We're not talking about me here. Go ahead. Yeah, I like it. I think it fits DJ perfectly.
How about DJ Hart with that handlebar mustache? I mean, I haven't seen something like good since Raleigh Fingers back in the day.
[00:30:34] Speaker B: Yeah, it's pretty impressive. He's put a lot of time in that.
I think he gets a, you know, a big kick out of it.
[00:30:39] Speaker A: Could you ever grow one?
[00:30:41] Speaker B: Not if I want to stay married. I've had one before, and it's been.
[00:30:44] Speaker A: You had a mustache before, but you. Could you do a handlebar mustache?
[00:30:47] Speaker B: I don't think I could even do it. Yeah, I could not do it that well.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: I used to have a goatee back in the day.
[00:30:52] Speaker B: I messed around with that a little bit, but, yeah, I like my wife too much.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: We should mention that on Saturday, Union will honor the 1975-76 squad, the first Union team to Play at what was then known as Achilles Rink when hockey was brought back to the college. And one of the most celebrated teams in Union hockey history, the 1983-84 squad that reached the NCAA Division 3 championship game, highlighted by the Dutchman's 54 quadruple overtime victory over RIT on the Tigers home ice in the national semifinals. Unfortunately, there was no off day between the semifinals and championship game and Union lost eight nothing to Babson back then. The overtime periods were 10 minutes in length, so. But still, that was a tough way for Union to lose a championship. Winning so great in a big win in the semifinal and tough to come back. No new day off. But how much fun will that be to celebrate those two?
[00:31:48] Speaker B: Well, yeah, it's going to be great and I think just, you know, really trying to honor some of the teams that, you know, played before us in these last six games. And, you know, it's. It's a special place to play and we're going to, you know, hopefully earn the right to play some more games, you know, you know, at home. But yeah, just to get everybody back. And, you know, hopefully there's a lot of people back.
[00:32:08] Speaker A: Of course, the Union women honored the first varsity team and the first D1 team last weekend. You were there for that. How much fun was that to see?
[00:32:17] Speaker B: I just think, you know, to see the growth of the game and, you know, how many people were back was great. And, you know, I'm really glad that Union has decided to do this and honor these teams.
[00:32:29] Speaker A: Of course, in a couple weeks from now, the First Union Men's D1 team and the first Frozen Four team, the 2011-2012 squad will be honored at MESSA at the Princeton game. So. Well, if you have any questions for Josh, just like Ryan Fade did, email them to me at shot. That's s c h o t
[email protected] you can also post them on my Facebook page and on Bluesky X and threads at Slap Shots. Josh, appreciate the visit and good luck this weekend.
[00:32:58] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:32:58] Speaker A: All right, up next, we'll have sound from the Union women's media availability. That's the women's hockey team media availability on Tuesday. You're listening to 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. Hi, this is ECAC hockey commissioner and Union hockey alum Doug Christiansen. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:33:35] Speaker B: With Daily Gazette Sports editor Ken Shop.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: Welcome back to the podcast. The Union hockey women's team back on the road as they get set for the final six games of ECAC hockey playing the regular season. The Garner Chargers won the Mayors cup on last Saturday, 32 over RPI. They took the season series from RPI 3 nothing.
So that was the first Mare's cup for the women since 2020, the second in the eight games that the women have played in the Mayor's Cup. Well, it's a big weekend for the Garner chargers. They have 20 points right now. They're in ninth place or half point behind Brown and Yale, who are tied for seventh. Those are the teams Union plays this weekend. They go to Brown on Friday and then Yale on Saturday. Union beat Brown earlier this season four to one, lost the Yale the day before. That was the last games of the 2024 calendar year. So it is a great chance for Union to make a move. They want to host a first round game in the ECAC hockey tournament. They made their first tournament appearance last year. Of course, last year was the first year all 12 teams made the tournament. The previous year was just the top eight and Union never made it. So Union, of course, lost last year at Yale. So Union's looking to try to, you know, get some points here and move up in the standings. As I said, six games left in the regular season. Their last two Messa ring games will be next weekend when Colgate and Cornell come to town and then finish up with Quinnipiac and Princeton. Those will be the final two games of the regular season. Union had its media availability Tuesday and I spoke with head coach Tony Macy, goaltender Sophie Matsukis and defenseman Stephanie Bourque, who for the second consecutive week was named ECAC hockey defender of the Week. She had three points in the two games against RPI last weekend. She had an assist in the come from behind 2:1 victory on Friday in ECAC hockey playing. She scored a goal and had an assist in Saturday's win over the Engineer. So here are Tony Macy, Sylvie Matsoukas and Stephanie Bourquet. Oh, how's my. Can you see my. Where I was wearing my helmet.
[00:35:53] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:35:54] Speaker A: Guys, get some momentum going into the final six games of the regular season here. How important is it to build off that, especially the two wins against rpi, including the Mayor's Cup. Tony, start with you? Yeah. I think it puts us in the right path to where we want to be. Right. We're trying to play those tight games, playoff style hockey. You know, like I've said, In the past, like right now we're, we're in playoff hockey right now. That's got to be our mentality. I think we've done that the last little bit here, so we just could continue doing that. Stephanie? Yeah, I think he covered all the bases. I think going into this weekend. It's definitely a big weekend for us and it's time to, like he said, playoff hockey. We have to, to bear down on.
[00:36:36] Speaker B: Our systems and be sure that we're.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Ready to go because it's not going to be easy and it's all going to be like hard fought battle starting now. So Sophie? Yeah, I think they said it all. I think also it was nice to get out of that little slump of losing and getting back in the win column. I think that momentum helped us a lot to keep going and keep pushing forward. And I think that just using that moving forward as well is going to help us. I mean, you still feel satisfied with winning the Mare's cup there start that. Still good feeling or have you moved on from that? I think a little both. Obviously we are happy that we won, but we've moved on and looking at Brown and Yale and looking at what we can do to get ready for that. Let me ask you about Brown. You did beat them here back in December, 4:1. But they're a team that went up to the north country, recently took a pair of overtime victories against two nationally ranked teams in St. Lawrence and Clarkson. What's going to be the key on Friday to have a repeat performance to beat them? I think just not taking them lightly. I think that just because we won last time doesn't mean that we can walk all over them again just playing our game and staying simple and doing what we need to do to beat them no matter what they did or what they're doing now. Stephanie, your thoughts? No, I think Sophie basically covered everything. I think it's just sticking to our system. We've been working hard in practice so making sure that our forecheck and our neutral zone are all intact and everyone's on the same page. I think that's going to be key for us. Tony, what do you think will be the keys? Yeah, well, every team's gotten better throughout the course of the year. They're no different. You know, I think we caught them at a time where they were going through some injury things. So they're going to be a different team than what we saw. So we got to be ready for that. You know, I think we're again, we are ready for that. So that's good to see as well. So we just got to make sure we, we come out, try to come out fast, stifle anything that they have, and it's going to come down to us playing well. Definitely defensively, these games now are going to be one goal games that you got to try and win. So we've started to get on the right side of those, so we got to continue that, especially trying to get home ice at least in the first round. How important is it to at least, you know, get a tiebreaker on these, on the, on ground, get at least one or two points?
Yeah, that's always good to grab points when you can, right? So as much as we can, we want to try and come away with as many points we can this weekend.
You know, the league's tough. It always has been. That's why we have so many teams in the top 15 right now. And, you know, we just got to make sure that we're coming out right from the gates and then again making it tough on them defensively. Looking back at the RPI games last weekend, what did you like and what do you think needs improvement?
Yeah, I liked our fight. I liked our resilience to come back and the Friday night game and get the job done there, you know, and then we jump out to the lead. So good to see that we can hang on to a lead now as well.
Probably like to see us not be as frantic at times, but that comes with just playing more and getting used to it and being comfortable a little bit with being uncomfortable and really trusting our systems and trusting our defensive zone stuff. How much confidence do you guys gain from that, you know, jumping out to that lead and holding on as RPI had that push there toward the end.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: I think it's, it's really good for our confidence, just like Tony said, to.
[00:39:55] Speaker A: Know that we're able to hold on to, to, to that lead and especially during like a big game and like a stressful game because as he said, it's. They're all going to be one nothing games. So it's important to, even if we're up or we're down, to stick with our system and to keep playing our game because like, we, we are confident. We are, we do practice it. So I think it's just important to stick with it. Sophie? Yeah, I think Seth said it all. I think it also shows our, like, grit and determination to win and our want and will to win. And I think that just everyone putting everything on the line and doing whatever it takes to Win is what helps us move forward.
I'll be back to wrap up the podcast and have the latest winner and the Daily Gazette's you Pick'em Football Contest in just a moment. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:41:05] Speaker B: ECAC Hockey 12 programs competing at the highest level.
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Hi, this is Union College hockey alum Sebastian Midmar. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Cassette Sports sports editor Ken Schott.
Back to wrap up the podcast. The Week 21 winner in the Daily Gazette's U Pick a Football contest was Kenneth Roerich of Mayfield. With a 20 record for 16 points, Kenneth wins a $100 Hannaford gift card. Congratulations Kenneth. The VIP winner was me. I went 2. 0 the only VIP player to do so for 16 points. I improved at 214 and 108. I'll announce the Upingham 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 Upicken football banner. Just one more game to go. Super Bowl LVIX between my Philadelphia Eagles and the hated Kansas City chiefs. Just because COVID 19 mandates are easing, that does not mean you should relax. Be vigilant. If you have not gotten vaccinated or received a booster shot, please do so. Do it for yourself, do it for your family and do it for your friends.
Don't forget to download the Daily Gazette app and sign up for our E Edition so you never miss a headline. Subscribe today at www.dailygazette.com. we have a lot of great specials going on. When credibility matters, trust the Daily Gazette. That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots podcast. I want to thank Josh Haugy and members of the Union men's and women's hockey teams for being a part of the show. If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me @shot. That's s c h o t
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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 Shots. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Pawning Shots Podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good hockey.
