Joel Beal (Brantford, Ontario) continues to lead the Dutchmen in scoring after
his 1-2-3 gave vs. UConn. The sophomore has three goals and 13 assists in 12
games.
Jonathan Poirier (Duluth, Georgia) scored his first two collegiate goals, including
the gamewinner, on Sunday. His four points overall is second among
Union rookies.
Kris Goodjohn (Calgary, Alberta) is on a six-game scoring streak, adding an
assist vs. the Huskies. He has three goals and five assist in that span, and his
15 points overall is second among his teammates.
Union Captain Nathan Gillies (Cambridge, Ontario) has scored in the last five
consecutive games with 2-4-6. Gillies tallied a goal and an assist vs. Connecticut
and is third overall in scoring for the Dutchmen.
Scott Seney (Silver Springs, Maryland) leads all freshmen in scoring (2-5-7)
and added three points on Sunday (1-2-3).
Brian Kerr (Kirkland, Quebec) also had a goal and two assists on Sunday
which led the Dutchmen. Since joining Glenn Sander's line on the left wing,
Kerr is 1-3-4 in three games.
Jason Visser (Mississauga, Ontario) took home his first collegiate goal on
Sunday, his first point in four games.
Leading the Union defensemen were Randy Dagenais (Val Rita, Ontario) with
two assists, and Brent Booth and Matt Vagvolgyi with one assist each.
Line by line…Poirier-Beal-Neron had four goals and two assists which led
the Dutchmen while Visser-Seney-Blabac were 2-3-5. Gillies-Goodjohn-Webb
scored one goal and three assists. Kerr-Sanders-Seel were also 1-3-4.
The Union College Dutchmen improved to 5-4-3 overall with an impressive win
over the University of Connecticut Huskies in non-conference action on Sunday
evening. Seven different players scored for Union en route to the win, but it was
freshman Jonathan Poirier that was the story of the night, netting his first collegiate
goals, which included the gamewinner.
Poirier fittingly scored that gamewinner for Union at 2:44 of the first, assisted by
Joel Beal. Brian Kerr, Nathan Gillies, and Marc Neron also added goals in the first,
all at even strength. The Huskies pulled goalie Jason Carey at 11:42 after allowing
the four goals on 12 shots. Artie Imbriano finished the game for UConn.
The Dutchmen added three goals in the second by Beal, Poirier, and Jason Visser.
Scott Seney scored the eighth goal midway through the third.
Beal and Seney led the Dutchmen in scoring with three points each (1-2-3) while
Randy Dagenais, Gillies, Kerr, and Poirier each had two points.
Union was 1-4 on the power play while UConn was 0-3. Shots were 33-15 in favor
of Union.
Freshman goalie Kris Mayotte improved to 5-0-1 after turning away all 15 UConn
shots for his first collegiate shutout. Carey and Imbriano made eight and 17 saves
respectively.
After one non-conference game last Sunday, the Union Dutchmen are back on
the road this Thanksgiving weekend, visiting Harvard and Brown. These ECAC
contests will be a tough test for Union, squaring up with teams that are ranked
first and fourth in the conference. Harvard is also ranked nationally, coming in
at 13th overall. Union is currently tied with Clarkson for sixth place in the ECAC,
five points behind Harvard and three points behind Brown.
Harvard is coming off of its third loss of the season on Tuesday night, a 3-0
shutout thanks to Boston University of Hockey East. Their league losses have
come against Brown (4-0) and Cornell (5-2) while they have defeated Dartmouth,
Vermont, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Colgate.
The Crimson are averaging 3.25 goals per game compared to the 2.38 of their
opponents. Tim Pettit and Tyler Kolarik lead Harvard with 1.25 points/game.
Goalie Dov Grumet-Morris has played in all eight games with a 2.15 GAA and
.926 sv%.
Harvard swept the Dutchmen last season by a score of 3-2 at Achilles and 4-0
at Bright. Current Dutchmen scoring vs. the season are Jason Kean (1-0-1),
Joel Beal (0-1-1) and Kris Goodjohn (0-1-1).
Brown was swept last weekend with ECAC losses to Colgate (3-0) and Cornell
(5-0). They have beaten Harvard, Vermont, Dartmouth, and St. Lawrence in
league play, their third loss coming to Clarkson (5-1).
The Bears average 2.71 goals per game while their opponents average 2.29. Les
Haggett leads Brown with 1.29 points/game and goalie Yann Danis has a 2.29
GAA and .915 sv%.
Union split with Brown last season with both teams winning at home (Union 3-
2 win, Brown 4-2 win). Randy Dagenais (1-1-2), Jordan Webb (1-0-1), Joel Beal
(0-1-1), Kris Goodjohn (0-1-1), and Nathan Gillies (0-1-1) each registered points
vs. the Bears in 2001-02.
Dutchmen to watch include Joel Beal and Kris Goodjohn, who are 1st and 2nd in
league scoring, and Kris Mayotte who leads the league with a .917 win %.
Nathan Gillies and Jordan Webb are also in the top-10 of ECAC scoring. Beal,
Goodjohn, Gillies, and Webb are all averaging at least one point/game with Beal
leading the group (1.33 pts/gm). Goodjohn, Gillies, Brian Kerr, Max Seel,
Jonathan Poirier, and Marc Neron each have scoring streaks on the line this
weekend.
At first meeting, Dana Smullyan comes across as a quiet, almost shy, young lady. But, put her on stage, either at Achilles Rink or at the Yulman Theater, and the freshman from Salisbury, Connecticut, has a take charge, competitive side that shows the leadership qualities that lie within.
Smullyan, who is the Skating Dutchwomen's starting goaltender, captured the lead role in Mountebanks', the Union College student theater club, “The Wrong Box,” an original musical farce. The play, with adaptation, music, and lyrics by Union student Kit Goldstein, was based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.
Set in late Victorian England, “The Wrong Box” is the story of an elderly gentleman, Joseph Finsbury, who is a member of a tontine – a fund which will pay a substantial sum to the last surviving family member – and his scheming nephew Morris, who would do anything to inherit his uncle's winnings. When Joseph is involved in a train wreck and assumed dead, Morris does everything in his power to cover up the death and win the tontine, creating mass confusion and chaos.
Smullyan's character, Julia, is a ward in Morris's and Joseph's house. Julia longs for adventure and excitement and is tired of being treated poorly by Morris and of being stuck in his house (which she feels is a prison for her). She is kind and caring, but also determined and tough.
The play, which had a run of three days, opened on Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m., the same night that Smullyan was making her Achilles Rink debut between the pipes against ECAC rival Sacred Heart. Opening night went on with Dana's understudy playing Julia while the Dutchwomen, behind Smullyan's 21-save effort tied, 1-1 in overtime. Saturday afternoon Smullyan was again in her hockey uniform for a 1 p.m. contest against Sacred Heart, then made her Yulman
Theater debut that evening at 8 p.m. (and again Sunday at 1:00) in costume as Julia.
“I've been acting in plays since I was in second grade,” said Dana, who was an early decision candidate at Union. “As for hockey, I've been playing since I was eight. This is my 11th season as a goaltender.”
Smullyan, who has not yet decided on a major, took acting classes while at the Millbrook School and is pursuing her craft by taking an acting class at Union. As for her progress as a hockey goaltender, Dana has a 2.55 goals against average, a .897 save percentage, and a 3-1-1 record. On November 15 she posted her first collegiate shutout against MIT then followed that up the following afternoon by again blanking the Engineers.
“Dana has quickly established herself as Union's starting goaltender with her aggressive and confident style of play,” says head coach Fred Quistgard. ” She is the first one on the ice and the last one off at practice. Her work ethic and her hunger to learn has made her a joy to coach and has gained the respect of her teammates. Dana brings a passion to all that she cares deeply about, whether it is academics, ice hockey or the theater.”
“Dana brings a passion to all that she cares deeply about, whether it is academics, ice hockey or the theater.”
Megann Denefrio, raised as an only child, couldn't help wondering what having a little sister would be like. So when she arrived at Union College three years ago, she decided to become a “Big” to a “Little” named Stacey.
Since then, Denefrio and Stacey have done a lot together, spending up to five hours a week at things like apple picking, hockey games, movies, holiday parties and Stacey's favorite: joining Denefrio and her friends in the College dining halls. “She loves to eat with the big kids,” Denefrio says.
On Dec. 12, Denefrio, now a senior political science major, will be honored as Big Sister of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.
A native of Blauvelt, Rockland County, Denefrio is a 1999 graduate of Saddle River Day School where she was an All-State selection in the sport of tennis and was also her high school's “Most Valuable Player.” An accomplished player throughout her career at Union, , she has compiled an overall record of 43-15 singles record. Denefrio won 11 games this year (a feat she first accomplished as a freshman), just missing her career high of 12, which had in her sophomore season. She served as co-captain during the recently concluded 2002 campaign, helping the Dutchwomen to a college-record third place tie in the state championship tournament by finishing in the semi-final round of the No 4. singles bracket.. Union's previous best was seventh.
Tennis co-captain
The Big Brothers Big Sisters Club is one of the largest student clubs on the Union College campus. Last year, with Denefrio as president, more than 100 Bigs – about 5 percent of the student body – were matched with Littles. She worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters staff to increase communication among the Bigs, and to increase the opportunities for promoting Big Brothers Big Sisters on campus. Denefrio serves this year as the club's treasurer.
“I had heard a lot about the Bigs program at Union before I arrived,” Denefrio said. “So a friend and I decided to give it a try.”
Denefrio, who will graduate in June with a degree in political science, plans to go to Washington next year to gain experience in a congressional office. She and Stacey have discussed their future, and they plan to stay in contact, Denefrio says.
The experience has been valuable to Stacey for showing her opportunities, and to Denefrio for developing an appreciation for the value of mentoring, she says.
“(The experience of being a Big) has shown me a lot about how education and involvement with kids are important,” Denefrio says. “It has also shown that we need to have more programs so that kids can know what is available to them and to see what their options are.”
Besides her involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Denefrio has been active in the College's admissions office, serving as a senior intern; as a member of the U-Program board, which coordinates student activities; and as president of the Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society. She is a resident of Wells House, a Union theme house whose residents commit to community service projects.
