SCHENECTADY, NY – The No. 19 Union College men’s hockey team earned a 3-1 win over Brown on Friday night at Messa Rink.
With the win, Union improves to 9-6-2 on the season and 6-1-0 in ECAC Hockey. Brown is now 4-6-0 with a 3-6-0 mark in conference play.
The Dutchmen came out flying in the first period against the Bears, out-shooting them 10-4. Brett Supinski made a fantastic move to get in alone on the Brown goaltender Gavin Nieto early in the frame, but Nieto made the save to keep Supinski from scoring.
Union did sneak one past Nieto in the first period. A rebound from a Cole Maier shot was sitting just to the side of the net, and Ryan Scarfo crashed in to pick up the rebound and poke it into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season.
After the opening 20 minutes, Brown started to battle its way back into the game and ended up out-shooting Union in both the second and third periods. Fortunately for Union, the Dutchmen would net the game’s next two goals to take a 3-0 lead before the Bears could get on the scoreboard.
In the second period, Anthony Rinaldi scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season. He received a pass from Supinski in the corner and fired a shot over the glove of Nieto to put Union up 2-0 just 6:16 into the middle frame.
Union’s third goal came in the third period off the stick of defenseman Vas Kolias. After winning a defensive-zone face off, Sebastian Vidmar carried the puck the length of the ice before dishing it off to Kolias in the offensive zone. Kolias skated with the puck behind the Brown net and quickly turned around in front and fired a shot between Nieto and the near post for his second goal of the season.
The Bears ended Union’s shutout bid late in the third period, scoring off a rebound scramble with less than six minutes to play in regulation.
Overall, junior netminder Jake Kupsky made 31 saves in the contest for his third win of the season, and improved his current undefeated streak to 3-0-1.
Union is back on the ice tomorrow, hosting Yale for the Dutchmen’s final ECAC Hockey contest of 2017. The game against the Bulldogs will start at 7 p.m. (ET).
