It's hockey weather. Ice, snow, freezing ass cold - perfect for skating around and crashing into people. The Nittany Lions will face Union College twice this weekend.
Union College is located in.......(googling).....wow, Schenectady, NY. I had a buddy in the Army who hailed from Schenectady. Based on that experience, I'm going to guess that kids who attend Union College are neither cool, nor athletic, nor marksmen, nor can they drink much before passing out, and getting tattooed with a Sharpie by barracks-mates.
The Union College mascot is.....(googling)....unbelievable. "Dutchmen". Union College Dutchmen. It's like they think New York is still called New Amsterdam, and no horse riders have traveled from the 717 area code to tell them about the Pennsylvania Dutch, or Birch Beer.
Who: #16 Union Dutchmen (6-3-2), ECAC
When: Saturday, 11/30 at 7pm; and Sunday 12/1 at 7pm
Where: Pegula Ice Arena
Video: BTN Digital Network ($ innernets); GoPSUSports All Access ($ innernets)
The Dutchmen knocked off Penn State twice last season, 2-0 and 4-1, in a weekend set at Schenectady. Then they beat eventual NCAA Champ Yale in the ECAC semifinals; beat Brown in the ECAC final; went to the NCAA tournament and beat Boston College 5-1 in the first round; and then lost to #1 overall seed Quinnipiac in the East Regional Final. Two seasons ago they made the Frozen Four.
So - two weeks after dropping a pair to Lowell, the Lions get another top shelf hockey squad on a 3-game winning streak. Union out-shoots its opponents 34 to 20 per game this season, out-scores them 3.8 to 2.6; and they must understand spacing and pass well, because they've tallied 76 assists already this year, while opponents have notched just 48. Special teams? Yes, Union have those too. The Dutchmen power play converts at twice the rate of its opponents - that's a winning recipe. This will be another fun test for the Lions, and it will be interesting to see how our squad adjusts since Lowell.
Oh - and if you make it to Pegula, bring a teddy bear.
Follow @BSDtweet on Twitter
And join us on Facebook
All BSD community members should review our current Posting & Commenting Policies before creating any posts or commenting.