[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: The following program is brought to you in living color on elliot gazette.com or wherever you get your podcast.
The Gazette News Group presents the Parting Shots podcast. Now here's your host, Gazette News Group 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 for our 482nd podcast episode. And that's our weekly visit with union men's head hockey. Josh, how's he. Josh, how's it going?
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Going well. How about yourself?
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Not too bad, not too bad. I'm looking outside our studios right now. It's getting cloudy out there. I think we're getting some rain soon, so it'd be interesting. So. Well, normally I would say let's look back at last weekend to review the games the team play, but the Garner Chargers had the weekend off. So what did you do and what did the team do on the team's bye weekend?
[00:01:00] Speaker A: Well, yeah, we had a normal practice week where we got a little bit more skill sessions in and then, you know, the guys had Saturday and Sunday off. You know, for me, I was able to watch the women's game on Friday and then Saturday just, you know, got a bunch of games up and we're, you know, watching and different recruits and players that we're kind of looking at. And then obviously got to go to my kids games. So that was, that was a lot of fun to be able to watch my kids play.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: What does specifically the team work on during last week and into this week?
[00:01:30] Speaker A: Well, I think, you know, for us, we're still trying to, you know, find different ways to score and to make sure that we're, you know, I think that it's just such a hard thing to do is score in college hockey. So trying to give us, you know, layered offense. And then, you know, for us, we were able to, you know, work on a few different things. Whether it was four on four or three on three or some situations that maybe we don't get as much time to really work on in a regular week.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Was the week at all beneficial for the team?
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I think anytime you can, you know, get away from the, the game for a little bit, I think it's good. But everybody was excited to be back and, you know, this is obviously a huge week for us, so it's a little tough when you're rolling, but at the same point, you know, you don't, you don't know how that's going to go when you get the schedule.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Well, you mentioned really get the fun begins now as the puck drops on the East Easy hockey play with what has become the traditional opener against capital region rival RPI. Game one is Friday at 7p at MT Bank center and game two is Saturday at 4pm at Houston Field House. How excited are you to not only get conference play underway but to face your rival?
[00:02:32] Speaker A: Yeah, it's, it's going to be a tough, tough weekend and you know it's, it's a good way to start ECAC play knowing that our guys find out how hard, hard ECAC hockey is and just make sure that we're battle tested. I think it prepares both teams and, and you know it's, it's exciting when you, you just know that it's going to be a little bit more intense.
[00:02:55] Speaker B: I mean your team was firing all cylinders in the first five games. They're averaging 46.6 shots on goal per game. The Garner Chargers are on a four game streak with over 40 shots on goal including a season high 55 and the six nothing win over Niagara on October 18th. Was, was there any concern that the week off may slow the tee's momentum?
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean it's definitely a concern because you come back on Monday and guys had taken two days off, maybe a little, a little rusty. But as the weeks progressed here I've been happy with the way we're playing and you know, I think we're, we're ready for Friday night.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: We are taking on RPI team that has a new head coach and Eric Lang who is going to be on the Thursday's podcast. The Engineers have gotten off to an 06 start and they have been outscored 26 to 8. The Engineers last four games have been against ranked opponents in Boston College, Providence and two games last weekend at Minnesota State. Lange has turned over the roster. He has 20 new players, most of whom came from the transfer portal. What have you seen on video of RPI's play so far this season?
[00:03:55] Speaker A: I think the thing that stands out is just how much they've improved from, you know, week to week.
You know, you can see them closing the gap and I thought their best period of hockey that they've played this year was Saturday in the third period and probably their best game was Saturday. So I think that you know we're going to see their best and excited, excited to play them.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: These are the kinds of games a coach worries about. You guys are four on one because I mentioned RPI is 06. Your team is playing well and the team you're facing is not. This is what they, you know, like to call a trap game. How do you avoid getting involved in a trap game?
[00:04:31] Speaker A: Well, I think you're playing your rival. You're playing somebody that, you know you're going to get their best and, you know, we got to make sure that we play our best. So it's the first chance for ECAC hockey. So I think it's really important that, you know, we're ready to go and I think the guys are.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: One of my interview with Eric, he talked about the need for patience as he rebuilds the program and he thinks it's going to be a three year project. He compared it to when he took over as head coach at American International when he was hired there. I'm sorry, when you were hired April 22, the union program was in an interesting place. Rick Bennett had resigned as head coach in late January. Assistant coach John Roden was the interim coach. Union lost forward Colin Graff to Quinnipiac in the transfer portal. Now he's playing for the San Jose Sharks.
Looking back, and it's probably not as drastic as a situation as Lang has at rpi, but did you have a goal in mind about how many years it would take to help the Union program regain the success it had last decade?
[00:05:31] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't know that we necessarily had a, a goal in mind of what it would take.
It was some dark days early. You know, you get, you find out Dylan Anhorn's going to St. Cloud and Gabe Seeger's going to Cornell. And, and obviously that you mentioned Graff, those were, you know, you have those three guys, you're a completely different hockey team right away, but we just focused, you know, trying to, trying to bring in athletes that are going to, you know, excel in school, excel in the classroom, on the ice and in the community and just trying to get a little bit better every single day. And I think that's, you know, been our focus is to, to leave, to leave the program in a better spot than, you know, like this senior group, to leave it in a better spot than when they found it as freshmen. And I think they're doing that right now. So I guess probably this year was the year we were hoping to maybe take a new step with or a big step with, you know, the addition of scholarships, with the new building coming into play, like all those things that kind of line lined up for us to hopefully be able to take a step this season. And you know, that's, that's where we're at right now.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: You probably didn't have any chance of keeping Colin Grab, because he was. I think he was gone before he even got hired.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Yeah, all those guys were, you know, already in the portal. Obviously, you make the phone call, but once they tell you they don't want to be a part of it, it's. It's like, all right, let's find guys that want to. Want to be here. And we were able to do that. So the landscape has changed so much, even in the time from, you know, three years ago to when I was taken over to now, like, you can turn a roster over in 20. Like, we have 11 new players. It's. Everybody's got, you know, a lot bigger turnover than. What is. What is. What is normal.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, but has 20. 20 players. I think it's probably combined between the recruits and the transfer portal. I know Erica is very heavy in the transfer portal. I mean, that's. That's got to take some time trying to get these guys to Joe.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure.
Just speaking with 11, it's. It's hard so to have 20, and then, you know, not only is there 20, I don't know what their roster is, but if it's 28, there's 28 new players to coach Lang. So he's got to, you know, make sure that they're. They're doing the little things that he wants. And, you know, that's like, you can see on video, like, they're tracking back really hard. Their. Their details are improving, and you can tell that he's making a difference.
[00:07:47] Speaker B: Since you were associated coach at Clarkson, you had the rivalry, St. Lawrence, can you compare similar and differences between that rivalry and this rivalry between union rpi?
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I think they're. They're similar in the sense of, like, you know, you go to, you know, I go to the hockey rink and, you know, someone's wearing an RPI shirt and, you know, they're quick to tell you that they're excited for the game but hoping it doesn't go well for you. So that's. That's real similar.
I just think there's a lot more media coverage here. That's the biggest thing is just, you know, there's a lot more people that seem to really care about it. And the building in Appleton is just so small that. That. That's. It's a different. It's different than anything as far as just how loud it is and how, you know, you got. It's 60% St. Lawrence fans, 40% Clarkson. So, like, the fans are going back and forth. The game at Clarkson is typically majority Clarkson fans. So it's maybe like the game at St. Lawrence is really pretty special.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I remember when I was traveling with the team going to St. Lawrence. I mean, Appleton arena, where we had the writers, we had to climb a ladder, and there was a rung that was right up against the wall there, and you had to just be very careful not to slip and end up falling down and breaking your computer.
I'm glad they remodeled it since then, so. But it's. That was a. Oh, you're taking your life in your hands up there.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: Yeah, there's. There's definitely some interesting character characteristics to that building.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, speaking of buildings, the union hockey fans have been asking for weeks where the 2014 national championship banner was. It wasn't in the rafters with the other banners. And it seems as if the issue is resolved. The banner is hanging now at MT bank center on the wall near the doors leading from the lobby to the concourse. Plus, there are new banners representing the 12 ECAC hockey teams. I mean, how nice is it to have the national championship banner finally hanging in the building?
[00:09:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I think, you know, we wanted to make sure that that gets up and pay respect to the people that put so much effort and time into winning that. And, you know, I think a lot of. A lot of little kinks when you're just trying to figure out where things go and how to make things work. And, you know, I still think they're could be some different adjustments to how things are done, but I think they're. They're finding a way to make everything work and again, to pay respect to those people that earn that championship.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: I think. I mean, a friend of mine we know, Brian Ungers, mentioned to me, and I think he probably mentioned to you that he'd be willing to donate to get a new banner which would hang over the.
With the Ice Surfers. I think that's where it belongs. The only other place I could picture it is maybe across from where the American flag is. If you put it on the other side. I don't know if that's. I know Jim McLaughlin said that lighting was an issue, and because the banner's longer than the other ones, but I don't know if that's maybe something where they can look at. Put there or maybe just get a new banner. It's the same size.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Yeah. I think there's some different ways to again, make sure it's over center ice and to do Whether it's buy a new one or figure out a good spot for that one.
You know, at this point, every option's open, and the biggest thing was just to make sure it got in the building and we could pay respect to.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: The people that earned it just in time for rpi. So that's probably good. So. Well, as always, we like to take questions from our listeners. And we have one regular contributor, Jim Calhoun, asked has the ruling by NCAA making Canadian Hockey League players eligible for NCAA had an impact on union recruiting? Do you think many CHL players will be on ECAC hockey team rosters next year?
[00:11:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I think you've definitely seen a lot of players that maybe wouldn't go to the chl, go that route.
So I think we're definitely involved in the recruiting of CHL players and watching players up there.
But obviously for us, the ushl, the bchl, the North American League, we've consistently gotten players from those leagues, so we don't want to just disregard them, but we want to make sure we're still bringing in the same quality player that, you know, and maybe even more so that we could get with the CHL inclusion.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: I guess there's some. Was a published report somewhere. I don't know where I saw it, but the Canadian Hockey League teams are not giving comp tickets to the NCAA coaches.
[00:12:11] Speaker A: Yeah, it's team to team now at this point, which is, you know, I mean, honestly, you go to the ushl, like, most teams give you, like, now we have a pass. But like in the past, you know, 90% of teams would let you in for free. Some wouldn't. I think right now it's like probably 25% of the teams in the CHL will let you in for free, and everybody else makes you pay.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: I mean, what is the relationship between the CHL and NCAA at this point now with this situation?
[00:12:35] Speaker A: Again, I think it's really team to team. And, you know, for us, when we're going to be in a CHL building, we reach out, let them know we're going to come, and if we're going to talk to one of their players, we let them know. That's kind of how we do things. We want to be through the go through the front door on everything, and that's how we would have done it in the USHL and BCHL as well. So it's really no different for us. Most people have been pretty receptive and respectful. There are people that don't want you to talk to their older or their younger players.
So then you might have to go through an agent or advisor, but for us, again, we'd let the team know we're going to reach out.
[00:13:10] Speaker B: It's kind of ironic that the CHL would be so pissy about it because they were for years raiding NCAA teams.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: Yeah. And they're taking players from minor hockey programs and, you know, maybe not always doing the same thing that they're asking us to do. So it's one of those things, like it's.
It seems like it's getting better, but there's always going to be some people that just, you know, they don't want to. They don't want to help.
[00:13:38] Speaker B: What was it like recruiting goaltender Braden Gillespie then? Because obviously he came from the Ontario Hockey League.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: Yeah, it was, you know, one of those things, like he was ready for school. They knew that. And, you know, he. He was in constant contact with them about how.
How it was going and where it was, where it was at. And, you know, for us, we're lucky enough to get them that way.
[00:14:02] Speaker B: Well, Jim, I appreciate the question. And if anybody else has ever has a question for Josh, you can email them to me at Shot. That's s c H o 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 Blue Guy X and threads at Slap Shots.
The Daily Gazette EC Hockey Face off selections are back for another season. I'll post my picks usually on Wednesdays, and then you can send your picks to me. I'll post those picks before the first game, usually on Fridays to play. Send your picks to shot dailygazette.com well, Josh, good luck this weekend. A little shorter episode than normal because we obviously, we didn't have any games to look back. We'll have a Go Back to Normal segment next week with reviewing the RPI games, and then we'll obviously preview the Clarkson St. Lawrence Clarkson games next week. So. But good luck this week and we'll talk after the games. And as I said, we'll do the podcast again next week.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: Sounds good. Thank you.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: All right, that's Josh Algae. Coming up on Thursday's podcast, we'll have interviews from Tuesday's Union Hockey media availability. On the men's side, I'll have forwards Parker Lindauer and Colby McArthur and defenseman Nick Young. On the women's side, it'll be head coach Tony Macy for Carrie Ann Engelbert and the fenceman Stephanie Bourke. The women will head to Quinnipiac and Princeton. This weekend, as I mentioned earlier, I'll have an interview with the RPI men's hockey coach Eric Lang. Gazette high school writer Drew Wemple will preview the Class A and class C section 2 football playoffs starting on Friday.
Also, Gazette horse racing rider Mike McGadon will preview the Breeders cup and Gazettes. The Gazette Union football writer Will Springstead will look back at the Garner Chargers big win in the Liberty League last Saturday against Ithaca and preview this Saturday's matchup with the newest member of the Liberty League Football Hilbert. 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 Hockey 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.
