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The first season of the Josh Hauge era can be best described as inconsistent. There were some good games for the Dutchmen, and there were others where they were badly outplayed.
There were growing pains for Hauge as he navigated his way through his first season as the Dutchmen’s head coach. Union posted a 14-19-2 overall record. The Dutchmen finished 8-13-1 in ECAC Hockey and earned home ice for the first-round single-elimination game in the ECACH tournament. But the team they beat, Princeton, in the regular-season finale Feb. 25 to clinch home ice, exacted revenge last Saturday and eliminated the Dutchmen with a 6-4 victory.
On Tuesday, I sat down with Hauge in his office at Messa Rink to look back at the season. I asked him to assess the job he did.
“I think we’ve established a culture of what we’re trying to be, as far as a hard-working team that possesses the puck,” Hauge said. “I’m really excited about the group of guys that we have and that we’re going to be moving forward with.”
Later in the interview, Hauge talked more about the assessment of his job.
“If I can go back and change anything on the job I did, you come in and you want to make sure you’re taking over from a coach [Rick Bennett] that has a pretty rich history and tradition, and you want to respect everything that he did,” Hauge said. “But at the same point, you’ve got to come in and try to make it your own [program]. I think it took me a little bit of just kind of feeling it out instead of just grabbing the bull by the horns and taking over and doing it the way I want to do it. I think that was the biggest adjustment we made throughout the season was just the comfort level I had of being a head coach that hasn’t been one in a while.”
Union’s offense wasn’t explosive for most of the season. But there is some potential there.
Four of the team’s top-five scorers were underclassmen, and three of the top four were recruited by Hauge.
Freshman defenseman John Prokop led the Dutchmen with four goals and 19 assists. His puck-handling and skating brought memories of how Shayne Gostisbehere played from 2011-14.
Nate Hanley, a playmaking freshman center, finished second in scoring with five goals and 16 assists. Prokop and Hanley became the first Union freshmen to finish 1-2 in scoring since forwards Adam Presizniuk and Stephane Boileau did it in the 2007-08 season.
Sophomore forward Josh Nixon was fourth with a team-leading 11 goals and five assists. Nixon transferred from Lake Superior State.
The other freshman in the top five in scoring, defenseman Cal Mell, committed before Hauge was hired. Mell finished with three goals and 12 assists.
The Dutchmen have a capable replacement for Connor Murphy in goal. Freshman Kyle Chauvette played in 10 games, starting four Chauvette was 2-2-1 with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He posted his first collegiate shutout Jan. 14 against Yale. He made 30 saves in 65 minutes of action, and then another four in the shootout that Union won 1-0.
“I think they all have a high ceiling,” Hauge said. “Those are guys that we’re going to be really relying on as we move forward as a program. You look at a guy like Nick Young, even though he doesn’t get all the points, he’s a really accountable defenseman. [Forward] Carter Korpi plays hard every single night. There’s guys that were key key components of our lineup that’ll be back.
“Kyle Chevette did an outstanding job when he was in the pipes. And Cal Mell was unbelievable for us this year and played such key minutes when John went out on Saturday. Cal really stepped up and played well, even though he was banged up at that time of the season.”
One area Union will need to do better is winning on the road. The Dutchmen were just 2-13-2 away from Messa Rink. Union was 11-6-0 at home
“When you look at it, you want to be .750 at home and .500 on the road to have a shot at making the NCAA tournament,” Hauge said. “We did our part at home for the most part, but fell really short on the road, and that’s an area that we have to improve on.”
A new era begins this offseason with the ability for Union to offer athletic scholarships for the men’s and women’s hockey programs. Both programs will have 4 1/2 scholarships to offer for the 2023-24 season. The scholarships will be phased in before the full 18 is reached in 2026-27.
For Hauge, offering the scholarships will be an interesting decision. There are players currently on the roster who deserve a scholarship, but Hauge has to attract top-notch players with scholarships, too.
“The scholarships come into play, and they allow us to reward some guys in house, and then obviously, try to bring some players in,” Hauge said. “It’s a bit of a game changer, and it can help us get some more guys and keep some guys happy. You always want more and wish you had a little bit more, but we’re excited about the scholarships we do have.”
And Hauge is hoping to use the potential new rink near Rivers Casino as a selling point to attract recruits. The college received state funding last spring, and it has been trying to get additional funding to get the rink under construction.
“I think giving the guys some extra amenities is important, and it’ll be a great addition,” Hauge said. “It is tough to walk away from the arena we have right now. Saturday was just an unbelievable atmosphere. I’m really grateful to all the athletes and students that came out and supported us because it was a great, great environment. But to be able to put a stamp on a new building and kind of make it our own would be pretty special and something we’re looking forward to.”
Hauge knows he has things to work on to improve as a head coach.
“My level of comfort as a head coach is you’re sitting in it as a first-year head coach, and everything’s new, and everything’s kind of a surprise, and you’re doing different things that maybe you didn’t think would be your responsibility and now you’re comfortable,” Hauge said. “So I think just hitting the ground running right away and having the knowledge of what’s coming and just being more prepared. We have a lot of time as a staff to get prepared for next year. We’re really excited about keeping everybody around. We’ve all worked together now for a year, so we’re pretty comfortable with each other and growing that way.”
2023-24 SCHEDULE
Besides the ECACH foes, Hauge mentioned some of the teams the Dutchmen will play next season.
He said that UConn will play two games at Messa to reciprocate the two-game series the Dutchmen played against the Huskies in Hartford. A trip to Bentley to open the season is tentatively on the agenda.
Hauge said he is talking with Vermont about a potential two-game series.
SIGNING SEASON
With the end of the season for Union and RPI, their senior players are looking to begin their pro careers.
Murphy is off to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers after signing an amateur tryout contract. He’ll see another former Union player there. Defenseman Nick DeSimone is on the Wranglers, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
RPI defenseman Kyle Hallbauer didn’t have to go too far to start his pro career. He signed a contract with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder,
QUARTERFINAL PICKS
After going 2-2 in the ECACH tournament first-round games, here are my best-of-three quarterfinal-round picks.
No. 10 Yale at No. 1 Quinnipiac: The New Haven-area rivals will battle, but it won’t be much of a contest. The pick: Quinnipiac in 2.
No. 9 Princeton at No. 2 Harvard: A rested Crimson gets the Tigers after their win over Union. Princeton will be tough, but Harvard won’t falter. The pick: Harvard in 2.
No. 6 Clarkson at No. 3 Cornell: This is one of two intriguing series. Clarkson won the season series with two regulation wins. That makes it even more confounding as to why the Golden Knights didn’t finish in the top four. Winning once at Lynah Rink was amazing. Can Clarkson make it two more? I don’t think so. The pick: Cornell in 3.
No. 5 Colgate at No. 4 St. Lawrence: This is the other intriguing matchup. Colgate won the season series, one in regulation and the other in overtime. Like Clakrson, Colgate should have been a top-four team, but the Raiders had some bad losses that cost them. St. Lawrence was the beneficiary of the stumbles of Colgate and Clarkson. But this is the series where the road team wins. The pick: Colgate in 3.
SPECK HONORED
Burnt Hills native and Endicott defenseman Cam Speck was named to the Commonwealth Coast Conference All-CCC Second Team.
Speck has three goals and eight assists in 26 games. His plus-22 rating ranks sixth in the CCC, and his 27 blocked shots rank second on the team.
Endicott has a first-round bye in the NCAA Division III tournament.
COLUMN NEWS
The end of Union’s season doesn’t mean that Opening Faceoff is done. I’ll still have columns, but they won’t be weekly.
I hope you have enjoyed the first season of the column. Enjoy the postseason.
Contact Ken Schott by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @slapschotts.
Categories: -Sports-, College Sports, Email Newsletter, Union College
