The name that always comes to mind when one mentions Union College is Garnet Goaltender Brandon Snee (3.11, 0.899, 12-17-4). On track to set Union records in games played, minutes played, and saves, Snee was the Dutchmen’s team MVP in 2000-01, and will likely improve on last year’s slightly disappointing numbers. The only question that remains for Union is their offensive tenacity.
Last year, Union started the season with a 6-1-2 record (3-0-1 ECAC), with their only loss being to Providence. In those games, they outscored their opponents 27-22, including the two games against RPI. The Dutchmen beat the Engineers 4-2 at Achilles Rink in their ECAC opener and stole a tie at the Houston Field House four weeks later, scoring with 6:42 left in the third period. It was Union’s first-ever series win against RPI.
In those games, Snee made 69 saves, giving up only four goals in 125 minutes of action. If Union can muscle 68 or more goals this season in conference games, Head Coach Kevin Sneddon will lead his troops to their first ever Lake Placid appearance.
But in order to score 68 goals, their second-leading scorer will need to be a forward instead of Defenseman Charles Simard (7-14-21). Jeff Wilson (12-10-22) and Kris Goodjohn (7-13-20) will need to have career years by contributing about 20 goals each, and someone will need to step up and succeed Brian Yackel as the leading face-off winner on the squad. The team is also in desperate need of role-players; specific players that can take control in different situations.
On defense, Simard and Randy Dagenais (3-14-17) will need to stop the offensive thrust of the perennial powerhouses by standing up at the blue line and clearing rebounds from the front of the net. They are joined by Jason Kean (2-7-9) and Brent Booth (0-5-5), both strong defensemen who will need to develop into effective puck movers to jumpstart the offense.
The bottom line is that Union always improves with every game, and they need to be taken seriously by the other teams in the ECAC, especially Rensselaer.
