Ryan’s late goal wins it for Union

Freshman’s first tally of season on 2-on-1 break wins it in third period

Union hockey teammates prepped Michael Ryan for his first postgame media session Saturday night, after the freshman became the game-winning hero.

“Just keep saying ‘Me, me, me’ and ‘I, I, I’,” one Dutchmen playfully chided outside the locker room. Ryan had no part in that kind of talk.

The final goal was more than enough for him. Ryan’s early third-period net finder came in a 3-2 win in front of an amped-up crowd (2,088) at Messa Rink. It broke a 2-all score and Union, which played without surrendering a power play in the final 20 minutes, capped a perfect weekend while snapping a two-game losing streak to Clarkson.

“You try not to think about that (individual) stuff when you play,” Ryan said. “Just put the team first. But getting it off your back is definitely big. And in a big game like that, it’s definitely a pretty nice night.”

The memory came with 14:41 left in the third period off a 2-on1 break up the right wing with Zachary Emelifeonwu as his middle man.

Now, Ryan — a freshman from Marion, Mass. — has a souvenir. Teammate Brendan Taylor retrieved the puck from the net while the rest of the team celebrated along the boards near Union’s bench.

“I’ll find a place in my dorm for it,” Ryan said with a smile.

Union had plenty of reasons to enjoy his success, which really came from strong team play throughout — especially in the second period.

Union posted its first two goals in the second period. It has a team-best 13 in that period, compared to a total of 10 in the first period and eight (including this game’s winner) in the third period in the early stages of the season.

Sure, it could just be coincidence. But it’s worth noting Union (6-2-1, 2-2-0 ECAC) didn’t score in the second period in either of last weekend’s losses to RPI. They had five this weekend, counting Friday’s 4-1 victory against St. Lawrence.

Union coach Rick Bennett chalked it up to focusing on better starts of periods, and being a more disciplined team in general.

“When we play hard, fast and smart,” Bennett said, “I think we’re a fun team to watch.”

Union had its first two scores against Clarkson come on power plays. Ryan Walker scored during an early advantage and Brett Supinski also tallied his third goal of the season at the 10-minute mark after Clarkson found itself down two players after calls of too many players on the ice, then a holding penalty 1:13 later.

Of course, it’s worth noting Union’s power-play defense held up in the second period despite three penalties. The last two came at 17:04 and 18:28, but the Dutchmen survived the remainder of the period and the early stages of the third.

Clarkson tied the score at 2 (Nico Sturm’s fourth goal this season) with 16:42 left in the game on a quick breakaway right after it survived a power play.

But Union answered with a shot-blocking mentality, and Bennett praised his group for being “good and not cute” when Clarkson was angling for shots near the blue line.

Ryan’s score came after a physical defensive stand by a teammate along the boards unleashed a rapid-fire fast break.

Leading by a goal, Union wasn’t threatened much in the final 14:41 until Clarkson started pulling its goalie with about two minutes left.

But Jake Kupsky (13 saves) was up to the task on a relatively quiet night when Clarkson (4-3-0, 1-1-0) posted five shots in each period. Union had 29, including a 23-10 advantage across the final two periods.

“We stayed with it in the third,” Bennett said. “We didn’t take a penalty, which was key. We tried to stay detailed and disciplined, and I thought we did that.”