{"id":50641,"date":"2013-03-22T23:11:45","date_gmt":"2013-03-23T04:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=50641"},"modified":"2013-03-22T23:11:45","modified_gmt":"2013-03-23T04:11:45","slug":"union-finds-a-successful-familiar-formula-late-in-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2013\/03\/22\/union-finds-a-successful-familiar-formula-late-in-the-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Union finds a successful, familiar formula late in the season"},"content":{"rendered":"
Union is back in a familiar spot.<\/p>\n
Friday night’s 5-0 win over Yale put the fourth-seeded Dutchmen in the ECAC Hockey title game for the second time in as many years, and third time in the last four years.<\/p>\n
[scg_html_ecac2013]Union is playing in the late game Saturday thanks to an outstanding penalty-kill unit, timely goals and a shutout from Troy Grosenick — all hallmarks of their Frozen Four run last season.<\/p>\n
But it hasn’t always been that way for the Dutchmen. Union got off to a 8-2-1 start but wasn’t necessarily playing its best, in spite of the record. A 2-6-3 skid that extended from December into the second half set the Dutchmen back a bit, but Union was able to secure a first-round bye on the final weekend of the regular season and entered Atlantic City on a four-game winning streak.<\/p>\n
“We’re playing with a lot of confidence, but we’re relaxed at the same time,” Grosenick said. “I think we’re peaking at the right time, is the best way to put it.”<\/p>\n
Still, the Dutchmen aren’t looking at this year any differently. There’s a good chance Union is tired of the proverbial roller coaster-season talk, but it’ll have an opportunity to put an end to that Saturday night against Brown.<\/p>\n
“You get tired as a coach, and I know the players get tired of, of the up-and-down season jazz,” Dutchmen coach Rick Bennett said. “But it’s part of the racket that we’re in — not that we’re going to accept it. It kind of fuels our fire a bit too. These guys are resilient. You’re going to write what you want to write, but I think this is a pretty darn good team.”<\/p>\n
Still, they’ll face a tough opponent Saturday in Brown, as the Bears thoroughly outplayed Quinnipiac and tied Union earlier in the year before the Dutchmen won 2-0 at Messa Rink on Feb. 16. The Bears were also the only ECAC team to sweep the Dutchmen last season.<\/p>\n
As for Yale, the Bulldogs’ second trip in three years to Atlantic City wasn’t as productive as their first. Yale beat Cornell 6-0 in the 2011 league title game but heads into Saturday’s consolation game against Quinnipiac looking for a win to secure an NCAA tournament berth.<\/p>\n