Union faces tall task against Quinnipiac

Chargers taking on No. 9-ranked team in the country on Friday, then travel to Princeton on Saturday

SCHENECTADY — A road game at the defending national champion is next on the schedule for the Union College hockey team.

Tasked with going on the road to face Quinnipiac, currently ninth-ranked and leading the ECAC standings with six games to play, Union is embracing the challenge rather than viewing the matchup with the Bobcats as a daunting assignment.

Union (13-13-2, 7-7-2 ECAC) lost 5-0 to the Bobcats at Messa Rink in December

and is gearing up for another shot at Quinnipiac (20-7-2, 13-3-1) on Friday before traveling to Princeton on Saturday.

“It is a great opportunity for us, a chance to attack the game against really good opposition,” Union coach Josh Hauge said. “We have to start fast because they are really talented. If you go to sleep at all, they will make you pay. They have a ton of offense, dangerous up front. They are a complete hockey team. If we get some momentum, we have to keep carrying it.”

Union heads into the weekend in fifth place in the league, one point behind Clarkson for the valuable fourth-place slot, a position that comes with a bye in the opening round of the league playoffs while ensuring the Garnet Chargers the chance to host a best-of-3 quarterfinal series with a berth to Lake Placid and the semifinals on the line.

“Every weekend now is a good measuring stick. We have tough opponents every weekend on the way out,” Hauge said. “Quinnipiac is in first place, a top-10 team in the country. It will be good to see how we stack up nationally.”

Facing a high-powered offense like Quinnipiac — the Bobcats rank fifth in the nation in scoring — will require discipline on Union’s part in the expected hostile environment of M&T Bank Arena.

“They are a deep, structured team, they play well in their system,” Union captain Ben Tupker said. “We know what to expect but we’ve played a lot of good teams this year and I think we are hitting our stride ourselves. We are comfortable and excited to get going on Friday.”

Union is coming off a 6-1 loss at home against Cornell,

a game that featured five Garnet Chargers penalties, including a game misconduct for boarding against Carter Korpi.

“The first 10 minutes are huge, especially on the road at Q-pac, they have a good crowd there,” forward Chaz Smedsrud said. “Just getting ahead of it, getting pucks deep will be huge in the first 10 minutes. We have to be layered in our structure, all three zones. I think that will slow them down.”

Union has lost seven straight to Quinnipiac and is 8-13-1 on the road against the Bobcats.

“Going on the road anywhere is not easy, especially going on the road against the defending national champions,” Liam Robertson said. “Just staying calm for everybody, especially helping the freshmen out who haven’t been there yet. It will be difficult but we are up for a challenge.”

RPI: Three big standings points are on the line Friday for RPI (8-17-3, 59-2) as the Engineers skate against Princeton on Friday at Hobey Baker Rink with one point separating the ECAC foes.

RPI lost 6-4 to the Tigers at Houston Field House in December and will be looking to square the season series before traveling to Quinnipiac on Saturday night.

Freshman Tyler Hotson has emerged since the Christmas break as a consistent offensive threat with six of his team-high 10 goals coming off the break to go with four assists.