While the fall teams are heading toward the end of their respective seasons, the men and women's ice hockey teams are off to a solid start. The 1-1-1 women earned their first win of the young season when they defeated New England College, 5-1. Freshman Meghan O'Connor was named the ECAC's Rookie of the Week after scoring a hat trick, which included the game-winner. Meanwhile, classmate Kelly Lannan was named to the honor roll after picking up three assists in the win and a pair of goals in a 4-4 overtime tie with Rensselaer.
“The season has been a joy for me so far,” said head coach Fred Quistgard, who has been with the team for the last five years. “The players have worked hard, listened to constructive criticism and have learned a lot of lessons in a short amount of time. We have
plenty of challenges ahead that will test their will, but it is clear we have the right nucleus in place for the coming years.
“Our style of play is more creative and confident than the past few years and that is a direct result of the great chemistry and dedication that has been displayed by the returnees and the freshmen. The RPI game was the first test of many this season,” Quistgard continued. “They handled us easily last season, but now they were the ones who had to battle back to tie us 4-4. RPI is one of the best DIII teams in the nation with great senior leadership. It was a good challenge for our young team. Those who attended last Saturday saw a great hockey game.
“We still have many lessons to learn this season, but we have shown improvement each game we have played so far.”
ECAC “ROOKIE OF THE WEEK”
#20 Meghan O'Connor
- Class: Freshman
- Hometown: Portsmouth, Rhode Island
- Highschool: St. Georges
- Height: 5'7
- Position: Forward
- Birth date: October 5, 1985
The men, under first-time head coach Nate Leaman, are 4-0-1 and are included in national rankings for just the second time in the Dutchmen's 13-year Division I history. Union players were recognized for the second consecutive week by the ECAC. Last week Scott Seeney was named the league's “Rookie of the Week” while Joel Beal was named to the honor roll. This week sophomore goaltender Kris Mayotte was named the ECAC “Goalie of the Week” with Seeney picking up honor roll recognition.
“Guys that have stepped up for us are really our role players,” said Leaman. “We are a team, in the true sense of the word. We will win and lose as a team this year. I have really liked the work ethic of players such as Glen Sanders and Max Seel and AJ Palkovich. They have brought a great effort to the rink each and every day, a big reason why we are successful.
“We are taking each game one at a time and are looking forward to playing UNH this weekend, especially
since we are going in with some momentum. We had a good weekend last weekend taking three of four points on the road against a very tough Bowling Green team. Our guys have shown a lot of guts and determination in the face of adversity, which I am very proud of.”
ECAC “GOALIE OF THE WEEK”
#32 Kris Mayotte
- Class: Sophomore
- Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
- High School: Thomas Jefferson
- Height: 6'0
- Position: Goalie
- Major: Engineering
Editor's Note: The following story would have been the lead story in this week's “Headliners.” However, the story of Lauren's success was used on the main page of the athletic web site in order to get her great accomplishment out to the public as soon as possible. I know all of us congratulate Lauren, not only for her history-making performance, but for her contributions to the Union College Community throughout the last four years.