Union clinches home ice in senior day victory
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Union College men's hockey team secured the eighth seed in the ECAC Hockey playoffs with a 3-1 win over Princeton University on senior night at Messa Rink.
Union (14-18-2, 8-13-1 ECACH) will host Princeton (12-17-0, 8-14-0 ECACH) on Saturday in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Messa Rink. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at unionathleticstickets.com.
Eight different Union skaters found the back of the net in the win. Sophomore Josh Nixon, senior Chris Theodore, and junior Liam Robertson all registered goals in the win. First-year John Prokop tallied his fifth multi-point game of his career with a pair of helpers.
Union wasted no time getting on the board, scoring 1:06 into the opening frame. Prokop sent a pass from the center of the left-wing circle to Nixon on the doorstep who flipped it home for a 1-0 lead.
The hosts took a 3-0 lead in the second period. Theodore scored his third goal of the season at 4:57 of the middle stanza. Junior Mason Snell ripped a shot from high in the slot and Theodore buried the rebound for the 2-0 lead.
Union extended the lead to three goals with a powerplay tally later in the frame. First-year Cal Mell sent a wrister from the bottom of the right-wing circle that bounced off Princeton netminder Aidan Porter before Robertson picked up the loose change for his ninth goal of the season.
The Tigers spoiled the shutout bid with a goal at 5:41 of the final frame. Mike Kennedy corralled the puck down the far wall and sent a low wrister past senior Connor Murphy.
Murphy made 22 saves in the victory and Porter stopped 23 shots in the loss. Senior netminder Merek Pipes entered the game in the final seconds and recorded a save off the faceoff.
In a post-game ceremony, Union honored six seniors for their contribution to Union hockey: Theodore, Matt Allen, Christian Sanda, Pipes, Owen Farris, and Murphy.