RPI vs. Union men’s hockey: A Sixth Sense

ALBANY, N.Y. » The Engineers take on area-rival Union College in the sixth annual Mayor’s Cup at the Times Union Center on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Union took the inaugural playing of the trophy game, 3-2, on January 26, 2013 and the teams have since traded offwinning the event, including last year’s 3-2 overtime victory for the Dutchmen. RPI’s wins came in 2013-14 (2-1) and 2015-16 (5-2).

RPI owns a 51-39-10 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to February 26, 1904 – a 6-2 victory for the Engineers in Albany. The 113-year history has been highlighted by a number of streaks, including early RPI winning runs of nine and eight games. The Dutchmen put together a seven- game unbeaten streak (5- 0-2) from 2004 to 2007, before beating the Engineers in 10 straight – the long unbeaten in series history – from 2011 to 2013. After ending the dry spell, RPI quickly ran off wins in 6 of 7, before Union swept the three-game season series last year and took both of this season’s conference games.

The Engineers dropped both games of their ECAC Hockey- opening series to Union College, by scores of 4-3 and 4-2 on October 27 and 28. Chase Perry had 25 saves in each game, while Todd Burgess (1 goal, 1 assist) and Brady Wiffen (1 goal, 1 assist) paced the team offensively ... Freshman Jon Richards chipped in with two assists on Saturday, helping RPI to a 2-1 lead after two periods, but the Dutchmen scored three in the third, including an empty-netter for the comeback win.

Union has won four of their last six games, including the last three in the row. Senior Ryan Scarfo paces the Dutchmen offensively with 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points. A trio of juniors follow, including captain Cole Maier (8 goals, 16 assists) with 24 points, Brett Supinski (6 goals, 16 assists) with 22 and Sebastian Vidmar (7 goals, 14 assists).

Junior Jake Kupsky has a 5-9-1 record in 16 games (15 starts). He has a 2.75 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Freshman Darion Hanson (9-3- 0) has a 2.11 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 12 starts. He has the team’s lone shutout.

The Dutchmen took all three meetings last year, sweeping the ECAC Hockey weekend series, 4-1 and 3-2 in overtime. Union then won the Mayor’s Cup game at the Times Union Center, 3-2 in overtime. Mike Vecchione was the hero in Schenectady, scoring the OT-winner, while Cole Maier potted the game- ender in Albany.